From a historical perspective, economic development in human society can be divided into several evolutionary stages or modes. The early gatherers’ economy was followed by an agricultural economy, industrial economy, and very recently an information or knowledge-based economy. The Buddhist approach to economic development represents the next stage of economic evolution: a wisdom-based economy. Just as suggested in the Mahayana literature, sentient beings are not ready to receive Buddha’s teaching of the perfect wisdom until they have been prepared through different stages of cultivation. The time is ripe for the world to adopt the Buddha’s wisdom into their economic lives.
