Buddhism
The Dalai Lama advised that we should concentrate on living as "sincere human beings"--a Buddhist description of success that I find unaccountably touching.
The rush to secularize and commodify mindfulness into a marketable technique may be leading to an unfortunate denaturing of this ancient practice, which was intended for far more than helping executives become better focused and more productive.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Not all monks who attempted self-mummification were successful. When the tombs were finally opened, some bodies were found to have rotted. These monks were resealed in their tombs.
They destroy it. Why? Because the underlying message of the mandala ceremony is that nothing is permanent. Nothing. All things are in flux, it says, beautiful but ephemeral, moving but temporary, a plateau but not a summit
In the past, Afghanistan has been home to Zoroastrian, Hindu, Buddhist, as well as Muslim communities. All these traditions flourished in harmony -- until the 20th century.
It's foolish (and counter-productive) to constantly pursue pleasure as an end in itself. Happiness, they say, is a by-product of satisfying work.