10 Things Happy People Do to Stay Happy

By Lynn Newman

“Here’s a little song I wrote. You might want to sing it note for note. Don’t worry, be happy.” ~Bobby McFerrin 

I was one of those people that when asked what they want in life, would say, “I just want to be happy…”

In my past, I suffered from debilitating depression. There was a period when getting the dry-cleaning and buying toilet paper was difficult enough.

So, I made it my mission to study what happy people do to stay happy, then I started doing what they were doing. And my happiness increased until I became one of those people I used to be envious of.

Here’s a list I use now on a daily basis as a reminder to increase my happiness:

1. Give yourself permission.

Permission to be who you are; permission to laugh big, to cry when you need to, to fail brilliantly, to make stuff; permission to fall apart, breakdown, and get back up again; permission to be different and unique all onto your own; permission to go too far and reach your dreams.

2. Don’t take yourself so seriously.

Hold yourself with a “light hand.” Laugh at your foibles with amusement.

When things get tough or stress arises, lift your shoulders with an “oh well…” Know that it’s never as big or life devastating as your mind thinks.

Happy people trust that whatever glitch happens will work itself out.

They give a “Ha! Ha!” and a “So what? Who cares? Big Deal! Why not?” when met with resistances.

3. Don’t self-ruminate.

I remember a friend of mine from Mississippi saying, “Lynn, when are you gonna’ stop starin’ at your own belly button…?” (Insert: Southern drawl.)

I learned happy people don’t fixate on themselves and their problems. They don’t over-analyze the issue du jour.

When they start to get stuck on a problem or in their head, they put their attention on something else.
I remind myself to not have to have it all figured out: Get outside. Go back to your work. Plan something fun.

4. Don’t compare.

Comparison has been compared to a little death. When we compare ourselves to others, we harm ourselves.

Happy people know that they’re no better or less than another person. Someone will always be at a “more evolved place” and someone will always be “less-evolved.”

Note to self: Be concerned with only how to do your best and that’s all.

5. Make adjustments.

When something isn’t going your way, when your mood dips, or when you feel “off,” stay curious and self-aware. Fine-tune the energy in your body by making adjustments.

If you eat something that makes you feel poor, why eat it? Pay attention if that glass of wine the night before makes you feel crappy in the morning or that slice of pizza made you bloated or that ice cream caused you to crash, losing your focus and energy.

When you’re feeling stuck or heavy, take a walk, do something different than your normal routine, meet up with a friend.

If feeling anxious or stressed, tune-up with extra sleep, meditation/yoga or a hot bath…

6. Be of service and know how to take care of yourself.

Happy people want to give back. They have plenty to share. They volunteer, take time out to help a friend, offer to connect people to others for their betterment, and aren’t in need of getting anything back.

Commit to service but also stay aware of how to take care of yourself. When your energy gets depleted, remember to not give away to the point that you lose focus on your own emotional/mental/physical/spiritual health.

Have loving boundaries to care for yourself so that you have more to give.

7. Choose uplifting friendships.

When we have friendships and conversations that are uplifting, supportive, and loving, with people interested in our betterment, we are on a faster track to our own enlightenment.

If you hang out with someone and don’t feel great afterward, see less of that person and seek out other friendships.

Know which friends increase your happiness and nurture those relationships.

8. Be less interested in being happy and more interested in your peace of mind.

I used to think happiness was about being totally ecstatic. In order to balance out my feelings of hopelessness and depression, it seemed natural that my goal would be to be maximally blissed.
But with all the highs there’s a low—we eventually come down from it.

Remember not to get attached to the highs and focus more on experiencing peaceful aliveness.
When your life is at peace, there’s a relaxed balance; and the chances of sustained happiness and contentment increases.

9. Use your senses.

As they say, the ordinary is extraordinary.
Happy people receive pleasure from enjoying the simple joys in life, and usually they’re connected to our senses. This subtle awareness creates significant moments of happiness.
I discovered the pleasures I receive in the:

• Warmth of a teacup in my hands on a cold winter day
• Taste of a square of dark chocolate melting on my tongue
• Dance music in my cycle class that wakes me up
• Smile of a stranger on the street
• Aroma of my favorite essential oil and when people say, “You smell so good!”

Continue to mark pleasant sense experiences in your mind and carry them throughout your day to increase your spirits.

10. Don’t make your intimate relationships the end-all-be-all.

I used to think the person I was in a relationship with was there to give me my happiness rather than increase it.

Happy people understand that those they are in relationship with are an “addition to,” not a completion of them. They live full lives so that at the end of the day they have so much more to share.
A loving reminder: Don’t rely on your partners to shift your moods, heal you, or fill your empty spaces. And remember it’s not your responsibility to do that for your partner either.

Support is an important part of relationship. We’re there on the bad days with compassion and a loving embrace. We’re there on the good days to cheer.

But mostly, we rely on ourselves to give that to ourselves. We trust that our partners can wrestle with their own demons. We offer space for them to discover his or her happiness, while we focus on creating our own.

What might you put your focus on to continue to increase your own happiness?

Read More: http://tinybuddha.com/blog/10-things-happy-people-do-to-stay-happy/

Happy Wesak Day

Health, Contentment & Trust are things we often take for granted. We live in a material world. We need money for shelter, food, education, etc. Therefore, in our journey in life, let us not let our lives be dictated by money and wealth. When you are happy with whatever you have, that's contentment.

Trust, sadly is in short supply these days. I've noticed that people, in their pursuit of wealth, are willing to do almost anything. Especially those who have a decent education and job, white-collar workers and professionals. Even with a job and paycheck, they are not contented. Some will cheat, steal, and even betray their families and make use of their friends. Blinded by greed and accustomed to unethical ways, sometimes, they are not even aware that they have committed a crime or offence that could ruin their lives and the lives of those they've wronged. Trust means very little to them. 

Trust is also lacking in business, friendship, and even politics. Trust is abused so often, people have become accustomed to it. What becomes of a society, when trust means so little? Has trust lost it's value in modern times?

Health is the most precious gain and contentment the greatest wealth. A trustworthy person is the best kinsman, Nibbana the highest bliss.

Ārogyaparamā lābhā santuṭṭhiparamaṃ dhanaṃ
Vissāsaparamā ñātī nibbāṇaparamaṃ sukhaṃ.

- Dhammapada Verse 204

https://www.facebook.com/tbcm.org.my

Monks at the Sri Lanka Buddhist temple in Sentul, preparing colourful paper lanterns to hang around the temple grounds during the Wesak celebrations.

Reuse and reduce: Juliet Wong Ming Sze, 10, shows a cut-out plastic bottle made by students of the Buddhist Institute Sunday Dhamma School in Brickfileds to hold lotus candles.

 

A greener, more meaningful event to mark Wesak Day 

SOME Buddhist temples are trying to ensure that this year’s Wesak Day will be a greener event by building their own floats with recycled materials and by not using disposable utensils.

Sri Lanka Buddhist Temple deputy chief monk Rev Siriwimala said Wesak should be a day to focus on Buddha and his teachings.

“Wesak is a day where we commemorate his birth, enlightenment and death but we should also take time to thank Mother Nature for what she has given us.

“We will not play loud music as we want to create a more peaceful environment for devotees,” he said.

The temple decided to cut costs by making the procession floats themselves instead of paying outsiders to construct them.

Read more here: http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Community/2014/05/13/A-greener-more-meaningful-event-Buddhist-devotees-and-monks-take-ecofriendly-measures-to-mark-Wesak/

 

Religion: The Lack of Respect

Recently, I've posted on Zaid Ibrahim's take on conversion here: Zaid: Crackdown on conversions the way out of ‘Allah’ impasse

Today, I would like to expand a little more on the subject of religious conversion.

The chart above is taken from Buddhanet.net, which shows number of adherents in terms of percentage. The chart below presents the estimated absolute numbers.

Both Christianity & Islam are the world's largest religion, in that order. Adherents from both claims that their respective religion has been growing in numbers. I don't doubt it, since the world population is expanding, it's natural. But there's another important factor which has contributed to the growth, which is conversion through proselytisation.

Conversion

In light of the recent controversy surrounding the restriction of non-Muslims to use the word "Allah" which is one of the 35 words (or more perhaps?) in the list, it is imperative that we get to the root cause instead of the symptom.

As mentioned in Zaid's article, the root cause has always been conversion & proselytisation, which he suggested to be made illegal, and to which I very much agree.

Firstly, banning words will not solve the problem. Because the problem did not arise from words.

Secondly, even if the ban is lifted, it still would not solve the problem. Because the problem is not with the freedom to use those words.

We have to first ask why was this restriction implemented in the first place? Conversion.

Both would not agree to this because both wants to continue with proselytisation. And each wants to have the advantage, the upper hand... the higher ground. Which is why nobody seems to be interested to comment on Zaid's article.

This is what makes Malaysians the greatest hypocrites in the world... they would rather focus and debate on the religious scripts, history, language, who did what first, etc... chasing their own tails.

Apparently, this is not a new issue but dates back to the 80s...

MALAYSIAN BISHOPS RESPOND TO RESTRICTIONS ON BIBLES, ´SENSITIVE WORDS´ ISSUE

The bishops of Malaysia, responding to an attempt by the government to prohibit Christians from using certain words deemed sensitive to Muslims, say Christians have a right to use them all.

"Our Catholic bishops have taken up this matter and our stand is that we have the right to use all 16 words," said a report issued June 14 to Catholics by the Catholic Research Center here.

The report also listed incidents since a 1981 gazette notification banning the Alkitab (Indonesian-language Bible). This and subsequent events, it said, form a "concerted plan to deprive Christians of their rights to practice their faith freely, as guaranteed in our Constitution."

Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian language) and Bahasa Malaysia are similar.
After correspondence between Archbishop Soter Fernandez of Kuala Lumpur and the Home Affairs Ministry, the banned words were reduced to four.

"However, we are still adamant, and insist that we guard our right to pray and use whatever words we have in the Alkitab," the report said.

According to the report, Catholic Sabah, newspaper of Kota Kinabalu diocese in East Malaysia, received a letter in February from the Home Affairs Ministry prohibiting use of certain Arabic words in Christian publications.

Officials enclosed alternative words for Christians, as follows:

Prohibited words Alternative
1. Al-Kitab (Bible) Baibel
2. Allah (God) Tuhan
3. Firman (say) Berkata
4. Rasul (messenger) Utusan
5. Syariat (teachings) Ajaran
6. Imam (believe) Percaya
7. Kaabah Tidak ada gantian
8. Ibadah (worship) Amalan
9. Injil Baibel
10. Baitullah Tidak ada gantian
11. Wahyu (revelation) Revelasi
12. Nabi (prophet) Prophet
13. Syukur (praise) Terima Kasih
14. Zikir (remembrance) Mengingat/menvebu
15. Solat (pray) Sembahyang
16. Doa (implore) Memohon

The 1981 ruling stated: "The printing, publication, sale, issue, circulation or possession of the Alkitab in Indonesian is prohibited, as it is considered prejudicial to the national interest and security of the Federation."

In 1982, the Council of Churches in Malaysia (CCM) wrote to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, asking him to lift the ban.

The CCM said it "denies Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christians their fundamental right of practicing their religion, since the Alkitab is the only version of the Holy Bible available to them for their daily devotions and public worship."

The letter and request for a meeting received no response, but the government amended the notification to say, "The above prohibition shall not apply to possession or use in churches of such publication professing the Christian religion throughout Malaysia."

This, the report says, meant the Alkitab and Perjanjian Baru (Indonesian-language New Testament) may only be used in Christian church buildings.

Possession, use or distribution in homes, shops or any other place would thus be illegal and liable to punishment.

CCM representatives, including then-Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Selvanayagam of Kuala Lumpur and Jesuit Father Paul Tan, Catholic Research Center director, met the day following the 1982 amendment.

Then-Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Musa Hitam did not attend, but Datuk Rozhan Kuntom, meeting chairperson, said Musa Hitam would lift the ban, on condition that the Alkitab not be circulated among Muslims.

"As stated, according to the provision in the amended order," the report said, "Christians (were) not even allowed to buy their Alkitab from shops, nor allowed to possess their personal copies in their homes."

Church leaders met with Home Ministry officials in 1982 to discuss the amended order, and in 1983 several of them, including retired Archbishop Dominic Vendargan of Kuala Lumpur, signed a memorandum regarding the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia, the Alkitab and related matters.

"Christ-ians are in fact unable to purchase and therefore use the Alkitab in the performance of their religious exercise, due to the prohibition of their sale throughout Malaysia," the memorandum said.

"More and more of us Christians are using Bahasa Malaysia in our daily devotions and in our Church services, but are greatly disturbed and distressed because of this constraint placed upon us by the respective ban."

"It is almost two years now that Christians have not been able to purchase the Alkitab locally," they wrote.

In 1984, the Christian Book Center in Sibu City, Sarawak, East Malaysia, received a letter informing them that copies of the Alkitab and Perjanjian Baru ordered by them would be destroyed.

Christian leaders in Kuala Lumpur urged Musa Hitam to stop the destruction of Christian Scriptures, saying "the Christian Community in Malaysia regards this as a sacrilege."

After a letter was sent by Archbishop Fernandez and other Church leaders, a meeting was held with Deputy Home Affairs Minister Kassim, who decided:

1. The Alkitab copies held in Sibu customs would not be destroyed, but Perjanjian Baru copies held in Johor customs would be returned to Singapore.

2. The government would allow Christian leaders to appoint agencies importing the Alkitab, provided the government was informed.

3. The list of words such as "Allah," forbidden to non-Muslims, would be compiled and given Christians.

After further meetings, 10 outlets throughout Malaysia were authorized to buy the Alkitab and Perjanjian Baru from Indonesia.

But, the report says, the agreement did not filter down to minor officials.

In 1984, 450 copies of the Alkitab, 200 copies of the Perjanjian Baru and 1,860 other Christian books were confiscated in Sabah.

Kuala Lumpur Church leaders again protested to Home Affairs.

"And so, as far as the importation and distribution of the Alkitab and Perjanjian Baru is concerned, where do we stand? Only 10 authorized ´agencies´ appointed by Christian Churches are permitted to import them," the report said.

- SOURCE (It's a Catholic site by the way...)

I think it is common knowledge that both Christians & Muslims have been very active, if not aggressive, in their proselytisation efforts. However, in Malaysia, it is illegal to proselytise to Muslims, but not the other way round. In fact, as I've highlighted before in previous posts, the rights of Muslims (and the converts) reign supreme over other religions.

So, if both Islam & Christianity is expanding, then which religions are declining? My guess would be the Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, and other minority religions.

Respect

Why are some people so eager to convert others to their religion? Is it because they think they are answering a higher calling, and made it their duty to do so? Or perhaps, deep down, it is actually a lack of respect towards other religions?

And nobody does it with more zeal and passion than some new converts, whom in their warped sense of logic, feel that it is their duty to ridicule & insult their own community's traditions, culture & religion, often to the delight and amusement of their new found "brothers"... in the likes of Ridhuan Tee, Ann Wan Seng, et al. Ask yourselves, is that the right thing to do? Why do they hate their own so much?

It is no wonder that there are so many cases of body snatching for Muslim burial, child conversions and custody issues. They feel that it is their duty, and right, to claim the body for an Islamic burial despite the protests from the family members of different faith, causing untold misery and sadness to the family. So, much for compassion.

On the other side, we have the evangelist Christians, born again Christians, or other smaller denominations like Jehovah's Witness, etc. building a vast network of members and churches within the country and without. You will hardly find a Christian family who have family members from different faiths. If a member converts, they will make it their duty to convert the whole family and their relatives as well.

Why? Because they think that it is their divine duty to "save" you. Because they think that your religion is false, fake, and you will be condemned to eternal hell. So much for respect.

The fact is, there is no freedom in religion. On one hand, they demand freedom, on the other, they restrict freedom. Humans can't deal with freedom of religion.

Death

Death is often the main motivation and factor that drives a religious conversions & proselytisation. Because it is the one thing that humans fear the most. Death. The more important teachings are forgotten or neglected. Adherents are more concerned about what happens to them after death, rather than the present. And it is because of this fear & uncertainty that drives humans to seek refuge in religions. Religions that promises forgiveness for all sins, an eternal life and a wonderful place specially just for them, will attract the most followers.

Why do we see so much negative issues in religion these days? So many bad things are done in the name of religion. A religion is judged  by the actions of their followers. When religion is exploited, you will see the terrible things done which reflects negatively on that religion.

We won't see the true virtues and values of religions in politics, in the news, in wars, rallies, protests, conflicts, etc. We don't see it in powerful politicians, the rich and powerful, big corporations. Instead, we see the goodness in our everyday lives, on a personal level, in the community level. We see acts of kindness when someone offers a seat to and elder, care for abandoned animals, rendering help to the less fortunate, across race and religions.

That, my friends, is how religions are meant to work, on a personal level. Providing guidance to do the right thing, to know right from wrong. It's what you do with what you already have, that is important. It's the intention that's important, not the amount.

So are the Buddhists worried about death? Whether we end up in heaven or hell?  I think not...

Like they say... go to heaven for the climate, hell for the company... :)

Be Mindful

We’re sorry, says Buddhist chief high priest

Buddhist chief high priest K Sri Dhammaratana said as we live in Malaysia , we must be sensitive to other religions.

PETALING JAYA: Buddhist chief high priest K Sri Dhammaratana Nayake Maha Thera has apologised on behalf of a group of Buddhists who meditated in a surau in Johor recently.

“We would like to apologise to our Muslim brothers and sisters for the actions of a certain Buddhist group from Singapore in having their meditation session at the surau of a resort in Kota Tinggi,” he said in a statement today.

The chief high priest was referring to a viral video clip depicting a group of Buddhists led by a monk chanting inside a surau of a resort in Tanjung Sedili Besar.

The video showed the group sitting on mats while facing a picture of Buddha , which was placed on a table underneath Quranic verses that were hung on one of the walls.

“I advise Buddhists in Malaysia and Singapore to respect the religious sensitivities of other religionists while carrying out our own religious obligations,” added Dhammaratana. 

Using common sense

When contacted by FMT, Dhammaratana expressed hope that an incident of this magnitude would not repeat itself.

“I try my best to encourage Buddhists to not have this kind of incident in the future,” he said.

Declining to say whether the actions of the Buddhist group were right or wrong, he instead said: “We have to understand as we are living in Malaysia, you have to use a little bit of common sense.

“We should not make other people unhappy, we should try our best to make everyone happy.

“All Buddhists must at all time be conscious and aware of the fundamental principle expounded by Lord Buddha: ‘It is impossible to build one’s own happiness on the unhappiness of others’,” he said.

Police have since arrested the resort’s 45-year-old operator, a Singaporean with Malaysian PR status.

Known only as Ahmad, he was arrested yesterday afternoon at the Tanjung Sutera Resort. He has been remanded until Aug 16.

Police said the incident is being investigated under Section 295 of the Penal Code for injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class.

-Source

=================================================

Resort owner who let Buddhists use surau remanded for 4 days

KOTA TINGGI: The owner of the resort in Tanjung Sedili Besar here, who had allowed a group of Buddhists to meditate in a surau, has been remanded for four days.

He was brought to the Session's Court here at about 9.30am Tuesday before court registrar Hairul Azhar Mohamad who approved the remand order until Friday.

The 45-year-old, who is a Singaporean with Malaysian PR status, was arrested Sunday afternoon at the Tanjung Sutera Resort, 40km from here.

Police said the incident is being investigated under Section 295 of the Penal Code for injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class.

- Source

=================================================

Buddhists must be sensitive to the feelings of the people of other religions. It is unfortunate something like this happened, which should not have happened in the first place if we are careful. The manager should not have allowed the surau to be used for other religious functions. The tourists should have been a bit more mindful as well.

It's sad that the manager is arrested for this because I believe it was unintentional.

I sure most Buddhists regret that this incident happened and echos the thoughts of Venerable K Sri Dhammaratana.

Buddhism in the West - Famous Buddhists

Keanu Reeves

Orlando Bloom

Tina Turner

Famous Buddhist Women

Not sure how accurate this is, but just for the fun of it, here goes...

List of Celebrity Buddhists

• Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Nigerian-English actor
• Roberto Baggio, soccer (football) star for Italy
• Orlando Bloom, English actor
• Kate Bosworth, American actress
• Jeff Bridges, American actor
• Jackie Chan, actor
• John Cleese, actor, writer
• Leonard Cohen Canadian singer/songwriter/poet
• Patrick Duffy, actor
• William Ford, Jr., Executive Director of the Board at Ford Motor Co.
• Richard Gere, American actor
• Allen Ginsberg, poet
• Philip Glass, composer
• Herbie Hancock, musician
• Goldie Hawn, actress
• Hermann Hesse, Noble Prize winning author
• bell hooks, author
• Kate Hudson, actress
• Michael Imperioli, American actor
• Phil Jackson, Basketball coach of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers
• Angelina Jolie, American actress, humanist activist, Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency
• Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc.
• Jack Kerouac, author, poet, painter
• Miranda Kerr, Australian supermodel, one of Victoria's Secret Angels
• K.D. Lang, Canadian singer
• Jet Li, Chinese martial artist, Hollywood actor
• Jennifer Lopez, actress, singer
• Courtney Love, American singer-songwriter
• George Lucas, American filmmaker, director of Star Wars
• Alanis Morissette, Canadian singer-songwriter
• Maya Soetoro-Ng, university professor, sister of U.S. president (Barack Obama)
• Ellison Onizuka, U.S. Air Force colonel, NASA astronaut
• Sarah Jessica Parker, actress, producer
• Victor Pelevin, novelist
• Brad Pitt, actor
• Ron Reagan, talk show host, son of former U.S. president (Ronald Reagan)
• Keanu Reeves, American actor
• Alex Rodriguez, American baseball player
• Steven Seagal, American actor and aikido expert
• Russell Simmons, Entertainment and Fashion Mogul
• Sting, English singer-songwriter, lead vocalist of The Police
• Oliver Stone, film director
• Sharon Stone, American actress, producer, and former fashion model
• George Takei, American actor, "Sulu" on Star Trek
• Uma Thurman, American actress
• Thuy Trang (1973-2001), Vietnamese American Actress
• Tina Turner, American singer-songwriter
• Alice Walker, author (Color Purple and others)
• Naomi Watts, British-Australian actress
• Dennis Weaver, actor
• Ming-Na Wen, Chinese American Actress
• Tiger Woods American Golfer
• Elaine Wynn, Wynn Resorts, charities
• Steve Wynn, CEO of Wynn Resorts Limited, Las Vegas
• Adam Yauch, American musician, director, producer, Beastie

Buddhist politicians

• Bill Clinton, U.S. President (1993-2001)
• Mazie Hirono, U.S. Congresswoman, (2007-2013) and U.S. Senator (2013- ) Democrat from Hawaii
• Hank Johnson, U.S. Congressman, (2007- ) Democrat from Georgia
• Eric Lubbock, United Kingdom, elected member of the House of Lords
• Rosa Parks, U.S. Civil Rights activist

 

Business & Buddhist Ethics

I chanced upon this interesting ebook titled "Business & Buddhist Ethics"  by Subhavadee Numkanisorn. It was published in 2002 if I'm not mistaken.

Basically, it talks about applying Buddhist teachings and ethics in business.

Excerpts from the book:

Buddhism gives freedom to everyone in seeking wealth and making profit, provided it is done in the right way. It is how the wealth is gained and utilised that matters. On the other hand, consumption or economic prosperity are not goals in themselves, but the ground for human development, for helping human beings achieve a better quality of life and attain something of higher value. The creation of economic prosperity is an important task, but economic progress and prosperity must be related to the goal, to lead to a quality of life that prepares people to develop their potential, to create, or practice for, a wholesome life.

1. Seeking wealth: seeking wealth rightfully

2. Using wealth:
  - to support oneself (and one’s dependents)
  - to share with others
  - to contribute to beneficial and meritorious activities

3. Attitude toward wealth obtained: not to be infatuated with wealth, but utilize it mindful of its advantages and disadvantages, to have a mind that is free and to use wealth for further spiritual and intellectual development.

Next is the interesting part is on the business level, if you are a business owner. There's a section on "The solution of ethical problems in business".

1. PRODUCTION

Production in economics means transforming things, in one form into something else. This process almost always involve destruction. Destroying certain things in it's natural for to transform it into something of value in the economic sense. Some types of destruction is acceptable, some not, and others are forbidden. For example, if the process results in pollution or poisoning the environment and its inhabitants, it is unacceptable.

The products itself, although not destructive in the production stage, should not be destructive in it's usage, such as weapons, poisons, etc. So, we must be mindful of production that promotes quality of life, and those that destroys it.

2. LABOUR

There are bound to be conflicts between employer & employee. Employees who are selfish will think that they are unfairly treated and compensated, while employers who are selfish will exploit their employees to maximise profits. The Buddhism solution is to find a middle ground, a meeting point:

Employers should support their workers by:
1) assigning work that is suitable according to physical strength, gender, age, and ability;
2) giving a wage according to the work assigned and cost of living;
3) providing welfare, such as health care in time of illnesses;
4) sharing any extra benefits with them;
5) allowing days off for rest as appropriate.

Employees should respond to this support by:
1) starting work before their employer;
2) finishing work after their employer;
3) taking only what is given by the employer and being honest;
4) striving to improve their work;
5) spreading the virtues of their employers and businesses.

Understanding and meeting each other's needs are important because each party need the other.

3. MARKETING / SELLING

There are 5 types of goods that are forbidden by Buddhism:
1. trade in weapons of destruction such as spears, swords, guns, etc.
2. trade in human beings;
3. trade in livestock and meat;
4. trade in intoxicants;
5. trade in poisons.

I think those examples are self explanatory.

The use of deceptive marketing and advertising causes trouble for other people and should be refrained. Bringing together the principles and teachings dealing with commerce in Buddhism, we can conclude that business dealings according to Buddhist ethics must accord with Right Livelihood, exploiting neither oneself nor others.

4. PROFITS

Can a businessman who seeks maximum profit be a good Buddhist? 

Buddhism has never condemned a millionaire simply for being a millionaire, because wealth achieved justly through hard work is not something to be condemned. By this token, if a businessman is ready and able, he may seek wealth or profit, then rightfully store it and accumulate as much as he can, as far as his/her potential allows. To seek maximum profits within the bounds of fairness and morality is not against Buddhist ethics, as long as it is achieved that profit maximization means a fair maximum profit, one obtained through a pure process, a profit gained through a commercial system which has been created efficiently without exploiting or violating others.

Well, that's about the gist of it.

Incidentally, there's a section on the duty of the state:-

The duty of the state

In Buddhism there is also mention of principles of government. For instance, one of the duties of an emperor is to share wealth to the needy. Buddhism recognizes the importance of wealth in worldly society. Poverty and need are important causes of crimes and social evils, and it is considered the responsibility of the state or government to look after and apportion wealth to poor citizens and to remove poverty from the land. To do this, many methods are required, in keeping with each situation, especially creating opportunities for the people to pursue honest livelihoods, giving career support, allocating funds and equipment, as well as preventing and controlling unfair and wrongful methods, exploitation, etc. We can see from the Buddhist viewpoint that the state has a major role in the economy, unlike the economics of liberalism in which the state has only a minor economic role.

“Health is the greatest gift, contentment is the greatest wealth”