Most
people think that religion and economics don’t mix. So you would think the
same in the case with Buddhism and economics. But actually the there is a set of
rules that go along with our modern day economics that have their own meanings.
Buddhists believe that spiritual health and well being go hand in hand. They use
the fundamentals of practical ecnomics and mix it with the values and morals of
Buddhism. The Buddhist point of view takes the function of work to be at least
threefold: to give a man a chance to utilize and develop his faculties; to
enable him to overcome his ego-centeredness by joining with other people in a
common task; and to bring forth the goods and services needed for a becoming
existence. In modern economics, when there is a demand for say, beer, it is
supplied by production and distributed to the consumers. When it is consumed,
that demand is satisfied. Modern economics stop thinking here at the
satisfaction of the demand. There is no interest in what happens after the
demand is satisfied. Economics inspired by Buddhism would be concerned with how
activities influence cause and condition. This means looking at the three
conditions of humans, the individual, society and nature or the environment. In
the case with the beer, the person would ask how does this influence the
individual, society, and the environment.