上飛機前留點功課給有興趣的人看,(五天的存量就這麼兩篇, 慢慢讀吧!) 台灣人, 這幾年一值在拼經濟, 連總統都頻頻在口頭上掛著:"拼經濟" 我之前曾於搭捷運回家的路上寫了一篇感言:後葛林斯潘時代第一天的省思: Economy from now on? Ｅconomy in the past 18 years! 其實也是希望大家能夠想想什麼是經濟? 經濟的英文"Economy": Economics (from the Greek οίκος [oikos],
'family, household, estate', and νομος [nomos], 'custom, law',
hence "household management" and "management of the state") is
a social science that typically studies the production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and services.Ｅconomy

近年來, 許多人喜歡把經濟(Economy) 與 生態(eco-system) 相提並論:

In ecology, an ecosystem is a combination of all the living and non-
living elements of an area. Ecosystems are the smallest level of
organisation in nature that incorporates both living and nonliving
factors. They can range in size from as big as the Sahara Desert to
as small as a pond. The term microecosystem may be used to
describe a very small (often closed) ecosystem.
其實一個小魚缸就是一個生態環境,(加上我的餵食囉!)當初寫這兩篇: Ethan's Saltwater Tank!and Clownfish attacked: Ethan's Saltwater Tank(2),其實也是想要帶到一些基本經濟學的觀念, 可惜時間有限, 而且這些內容是很專業,(魚缸的化學藥品, 餵食,基本經濟學等等) 不好好花時間, 反而誤導的可能性很高 ,也就暫時擱在一邊. 這篇英文是法鼓山有關聖嚴法師參加(WEF)年度會議的新聞資料, 探討得深度很夠.經濟, 不是以個人荷包的飽滿為唯一的目的, 個人的物質富裕, 需要加上個人的"社會責任", 而要了解"社會責任", 就必須了解經濟結構, 沒有人的現狀 是"完全"靠自己努力得來的!

For the past 32 years, the goal of the World Economic Forum annual
meeting has been the same: to be "the event where the leading
issues confronting humanity are discussed and debated." Through
these discussions and these debates, the World Economic Forum can
advance its real agenda: "improving the state of the world by acting in
the spirit of entrepreneurship in the global public interest to further
economic growth and social progress." The World Economic Forum,
based in Geneva, Switzerland, funded by the contributions of 1,000
of the world's foremost corporations, is impartial and not-for-profit,
and is tied to no political, partisan, or national interests. In 1995 the
Forum was awarded NGO consultative status with the Economic and
Social Council of the United Nations. No other institution brings
together the "world's leadership team" the way the Forum does. At
the Annual Meeting and at regional summits and meetings throughout
the year, the main players on the global stage are asked to articulate
the major problems facing the world and to find solutions. They are
brought together to form task forces, to organize projects, and to
launch initiatives. They are fully engaged in the process of defining and
advancing the global agenda.

For the first time in its history, the Annual Meeting moved from Davos,
Switzerland to New York City as a sign of solidarity with the city.
There were the usual diplomatic efforts on the sidelines to rekindle
Middle East peacemaking, stabilize the Balkans, repair Arab-American
relations, and work on economic rescue packages for Turkey and
Argentina. Geopolitics, alleviating poverty, and economic strategy
come to mind as the hot-button topics the World Economic Forum
sees as its raison d'etre. Newcomers, including 120 representatives
of civil society non-governmental organizations, 43 religious
leaders-Bishops, Buddhists, Rabbis, and Muslim and Hindu clerics
joined forces to preach tolerance and compassion in a response to
the violence of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden and his followers.

Master Sheng Yen was the only Buddhist religious leader invited to this
annual meeting. During a lunch session, World Economic Forum
President, Klaus Schwab, approached Master Sheng Yen. They shook
hands and Schwab spoke to the audience that he knew Master Sheng
Yen is a knowledgeable sage who traveled a great distance from
Taiwan. During his hectic two days of participation, Master Sheng
Yen actively participated in all sessions and his contributions were
very well received by members of the sessions. Shortly after the
conclusion of the 2002 World Economic Forum annual meeting, Mr.
Klaus Schwab sent a personally-signed letter expressing gratitude to
Master Sheng Yen for his participation in the annual meeting and
requesting for his counsel for the annual meeting in 2003.

Globalization: Accountability and the Growing Disparity between the Rich and the Poor

Global business leaders heard several blunt warnings throughout the
meeting that corporations and international organizations must
become more accountable or face mounting resentment from
ordinary people and poor nations, and some appeared to heed the
message. Business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum
face a key challenge-empowering the common citizen in the
globalization process. There is a need to move toward a more
ethical globalization and find a way to have civic democracy on an
international level. The ever-widening gulf between rich and poor
nations has emerged as a central theme of the five-day gathering. A
prominent entrepreneur warned in the meeting that the terms of
international trade were too favorable to the rich world, a disparity
that feeds resentment. "People who feel the world is tilted against
them will spawn the kind of hatred that is very dangerous for all of
us," he said.

At one of the discussion sessions, Master Sheng Yen spoke about how
religions contribute to addressing the priorities on the global agenda
by stressing that although the need to resolve material poverty is
important, the resolution of spiritual poverty is the pressing issue of
present times. The concerted efforts of all religious leaders are
necessary in order to resolve spiritual poverty through the
employment of ethics and spiritual cultivation. Master Sheng Yen also
mentioned that the best remedy to reduce the disparity between the
wealthy and the impoverished is through charity. Regardless of
one's station in life, the spirit of contribution and charity should be
cultivated. The wealthy should contribute in monetary terms to help
out the poor, while the poor should contribute compassion to all.
This way, both the wealthy and poor, through their deeds of merit
will be able to cultivate good conduct and honor.

Terrorism at its Roots: the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Several preeminent leaders of the Muslim faith rejected the
extremists who destroyed the World Trade Center in the name of Islm.
"We must firmly reject that humanity can be distorted in the name of
the one God, the Merciful, the Compassionate," they said. But the
world urgently needs to narrow the gap between rich and poor
nations to disarm the sense of grievance in the developing world. "
We have to go after poverty, we have to go after despair, we have
to go after hopelessness," Secretary of State Colin Powell told the
annual gathering of the world's business and power elite in the World
Economic Forum. Master Sheng Yen explained in his speech to a
World Economic Forum session on what is sacred in today's world
said that, "the supreme truth expounded by every religion should be
absolute and without flaws. It is definitely sacred. But once secular
elements and outside agendas are incorporated into the
interpretation, it becomes a subjective notion and thus diverse
notions arise¡K.¡KTherefore, in a pluralistic society, we need to relook
at our interpretations of the notion and value of "the sacred" in order
to herald in tolerance. We need to acknowledge that there is only
one supreme truth, but that when it is transmitted in verbal and
written form, converted into sacred canons, doctrines, and traditions,
it comes to express differing ideas and values as a result of its being
processed through the personal experiences of spiritual leaders from
different peoples and civilizations."

In his speech on fundamentalism, Master Sheng Yen stated, "We
should understand that poverty and ignorance are often interrelated.
Because of poverty, it becomes difficult to access modern,
pluralistic, and global information. This may then lead to the isolation
of culture and thinking, and result in discriminating against, belittling,
and rejecting whoever is different."