BUDDHIST ETHICAL AND ECONOMICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO HUMAN WELL-BEING: GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND CRISES

“We know what justice is when we feel the wounds of injustice”- Aristotle “Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life” - Buddha Buddhist Philosophy of ethics and economics is based on Sigalovada sutta or laymans code of discipline or gihi Vinaya and as well as the Four Noble Truths and one of the right Livelihood of the eightfold path, which is based on the insight of the Buddha that spiritual liberation is attained by avoiding extremes, whether by indulgence in worldly pleasures or severe asceticism, and treading namely ' the Middle Way. It talks about the ideal middle path between the competing models of capitalism and socialism. These Systems have failed to contain the relentless destruction of the natural environment and the human community, thereby forcing and leading executives and planners to search for new solutions for planetary problems. It supports the conventional forces of a free market and competition without destroying either nature or human society. The vision of sustainable economics is meant to be more just and more ecologically sound on the basis of morality. The fundamental Buddhist insight of the inter-connectedness exists among all living things, Economics and Ethics are all inter-related. The emphasis is on the concept of freedom as understood in Buddhism in contrast to the Western concept of 'freedom'. In the West 'freedom' revolves around the rights of the individual i.e. freedom to do what one wishes. In Buddhism, 'freedom' means freedom from personal desires or attachments. Buddhist approach to economics requires an understanding that economics and moral and spiritual life are neither separated nor mutually exclusive. The previous Century has been ravaged by a materialistic, self-centered consumerism. The present century needs to focus on the quality and spirituality of life itself. Buddhism, which advocates the 'Middle Path', serves as an important resource to pursue an alternative to the extremes of capitalism and socialism, or pure self-interest and utter self-negation. The entire articles discuss on the benefits of oneself, peace and tolerance, and save the natural resources…etc