These days Buddhist meditation techniques are well-known in the West and Buddhist insights into the human condition are, at least in academic circles, exerting a growing influence. Unfortunately the popular image of Buddhism is often an overly-austere one and many people still consider it to teach a denial or escape from worldly concerns into a private, hermetic realm of bliss. However, if we take the trouble to go to the words of the Buddha himself, we find a full and rich teaching encompassing every aspect of human life, with lots of practical advice on how to live with integrity, wisdom and peace in the midst of a confusing world. Perhaps it is time for such teaching to be more widely disseminated.
In this small volume, Tan Jow Khun Phra Debvedi (Bhikkhu Payutto) offers a Buddhist perspective on the subject of economics. While not seeking to present a completely comprehensive Buddhist economic theory, he provides many tools for reflection, ways of looking at economic question based on a considered appreciation of the way things are, the way we are. I hope that by making this work available in English it may go at least a short way towards resolving what has been called the current 'impasse of economics', and to awaken readers to the wide-reaching contemporary relevance of the timeless truths that the Buddha discovered and shared with us.
Dhammavijaya
Bangkok
May 1992