Buddhism
Buddhism is based on teachings of Gautama Buddha who lived 2500
years ago in ancient India. One of his key teachings is that suffering is
caused by the way we perceive things and ourselves. Things appear to us as
if they have the ability to provide us lasting happiness and comfort, so we
become attached to them and we develop desire for them. But this craving is
a result of ignorance about reality. The reality of things is that they are
transient, impermanent, and therefore cannot produce the lasting happiness
that we expect from them.
Buddhism does not reject matter and wealth as inherently evil, but
considers them useful. First, material wealth prevents us from poverty and,
second, it allows us to practice generosity; which causes ‘merit’ or positive
karma, and a more happy society for all. Thus, “right livelihood” is one of
the eight main requirements of the Buddha’s path, which has been defined
as follows: