Unit II

Chapter 2: Belief Systems and the Conduct Business

A. Buddhism
 Originated from India
 The dominant religion in China

Buddhist beliefs:
 Karma
 refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an
individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect).
 Reincarnation
 the belief that the soul, upon death of the body, comes back to earth in another
body or form.
 Ultimate goal of attaining liberation
 Nirvana
 means "blown out", as in an oil lamp

Siddhartha Gautama (566-486 BCE)

 He is the founder of Buddhism
 He became Buddha which means “the Enlightened One”

Lord Krishna
 One of the Gods In the Hinduism
 One of the most widely revered and most popular of all Indian divinities

 Four Noble of Truths

1. First Noble of Truth:
 Everything in life is suffering and sorrow
2. Second Noble Truth:
 The cause of all pain is people’s self-centered cravings, and desires
3. Third Noble Truth:
 The way to end all pain is to end all desires
4. Fourth Noble Truth:
 People can overcome their desires and attain enlightenment by following the Eight
Fold Path

Eight Fold Path

1. Right View
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

B. Confucianism
 Is not a religion
 It is more of a body of philosophical teachings
 Dominated Chinese philosophical and religious thoughts

Confucius (551-479BCE)
 Is the Founder of Confucianism
 He is considered as one of the most influential thinkers in the history of humanity
  Western translation of the Chinese phrase K’ung Fu-tse

The analects of Confucius

o Deemed to be the most authoritative text of Confucianism

Central Virtue of Confucianism

1. REN
 Usually translated as “humaneness” “benevolence”
2. LI
 Usually translated as “propriety”

Two types of individual

1. Gentlemen
 Whose conduct is governed by moral principles and small men whose character is
driven by profit
2. Businessperson
 Develops his or her moral character as he or she works for success of his or her
business enterprise

Confucian ethics
 Reminds us that if the sole goal of business activities is profit making or wealth
accumulation, that would run afoul of Confucian doctrine.

C. Hinduism
 Is the oldest among the major religions of the world
 Is a unique religion

 Hindu
o Derived from the name Sindhu
 Western world
o Traditionally, see Hinduism as Polytheistics religion

Hindu Teachings
1. Vedas
 is a sanskrit word which literally means “knowledge”
2. Rig Veda
 Is the oldest among the Hindu sacred scriptures
3. Upanishad
 Is also the most influential in the formation of Hindu philosophy

Major Castes or Classes of People

1. Brahmins or Brahmanas (priest and scholars who exercise spiritual powers)
2. Kshatriyas (the administrators and the military who exercise secular powers)
3. Vaisyas (businesspeople and farmers whose role is to produce the material needs of the
society)
4. Sudras (the peasants and workers who are supposed to serve the higher caste)
5. Untouchables (the lowest members of the society designated to do the dirtiest and most
menial works)

Karishma Vaswani
 According to him, the caste system may become “an opportunity for those in positions of
power to exploit millions of lower caste Hindus who were brainwashed into thinking that
escaping from their station in life was impossible

D. Judaism
o Is the religion of the more than 14 million Jews throughout the world
 o Is the oldest of the world’s four biggest monotheistic religions
o Was the first major religion to teach the existence of only one God

Jewish Bible (Written Torah)

o Is the primary document of Judaism
o Which means “teaching”, is God’s revealed instructions to the Jewish people
o The ten commandments are considered the most important commandments of the
Torah

Five Prominent Themes in Jewish Ethics

1. Right Action
2. Free Choice
3. Balance
4. Covenant
5. Dialogue

E. Christianity
 Is the world’s largest religion
 The Philippine can only claim to be the largest Roman Catholic nation in the said
continent

Jesus Christ
o He is the center of Christian faith
o A Jewish man born more than 2000 years ago
o His story is mainly found in the New Testament of the Bible
o It came from the Greek word Christos which means “The Anointed One”

Messiah
o Is the “Anointed One” who is expected to liberate Israel, the hope of Israel

Bible
o Is one of the most important sources of guidance for the Christians in the conduct of
good business
o They also take the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue seriously
o The ongoing challenge for Christians is to address “the problem of the historical
gulf” between the biblical times and our present experiences

Three themes explored by the Biblical scholar Traugott Janichen

1. First, the commandment to love one’s neighbor is relevant for the Christian
businesspersons
2. Second, important biblical concept that Christian businessperson must take into
consideration is the value of human labor
3. Third, biblical concept that is relevant to the conduct of business is the notion of
private property