Blessing Eighteen:
Blameless Work
Blameless Work
C. AVOIDING WRONG LIVELIHOOD
The Buddha taught that we should earn our living by working for it and by working honestly too — otherwise the economy and society cannot truly prosper. Of course earning your living by thieving, shop-lifting or pick-pocketing is not supported by Buddhism — these forms of work have already been ruled out in our consideration of the ethical value of work above. But there is a grey area of what constitutes a fair profit, which the Buddha charted for us with the concept of Right and Wrong Livelihood. Those who make a success out of Right Livelihood in business will have a positive effect on the economic situation of their country too — but those involved in Wrong Livelihood enterprises, whether directly or indirectly are undermining the well-being of their country by so doing. The Buddha said that a person who earns their living by Wrong Livelihood is like someone who intentionally advises a traveler to take a dangerous road, saying that it is safe, but when traveling themselves, will always take another (safer) route. The main ways people earn a living are in either in the public or in the private sector — and we will look at the specific considerations of Right and Wrong Livelihood for each in turn:
C.1 Private Enterprise
Most work in private enterprise can be simplified down to trading a product or a service. For Right Livelihood in the trading scenario the Buddha taught us to avoid five specific types of Wrong Livelihood:
1. Dealing in slaves [sattavaṇijjā]: This means buying people at a low price and selling them at a higher price and supporting oneself from the profit made — or running a brothel where you are making a profit out of the loss of another person’s dignity. Taking on such an occupation will change the quality of your mind — it will cause you to see people as something inanimate. You will eventually lose your sense of humanity because you will no longer be able to appreciate others’ human dignity.
2. Dealing in weapons [satthavaṇijjā]: This means weapons for killing animals or people and supporting oneself from the profit made — selling weapons will make you see the world in a strange way. The quality of the wares you are selling all depend on the efficiency with which the weapons can kill men or animals — eventually it will cause your own Precepts to suffer.
3. Dealing in flesh [maṃsavaṇijjā]: This means rearing live animals (like buffalos, pigs, ducks and chickens) to slaughter oneself or have someone else slaughter for us and supporting oneself from the profit made — most people see animals with compassion, but if you kill them or trade with those in the abattoir, instead of seeing the nice side of animals, you will see animals as nothing more than a walking meat counter. Even though you might not be directly involved in such a trade, your appreciation of the preciousness of life will disappear. If ever you lose your temper there will be an increased intention for you to threaten people with the same murderous intentions that belong inside the abattoir.
4. Dealing in alcohol [majjavaṇijjā]: This means selling alcohol (or any other sort of substance causing heedlessness) and supporting oneself from the profit made — it doesn’t break the law or customs — but it does break with Right Livelihood. If you sell alcohol you know that it will lead to the drunkenness of the customer — it will destroy their reputation, their wealth, their health etc. etc. — however, you don’t feel any compassion for such a person or responsibility for their human dignity. You know all the damaging consequences of buying our alcohol for the customer, but you look beyond these in your search for profit. Loving kindness becomes a stranger to your heart. The more evil of this sort you collect for yourself, in this lifetime or in future lifetimes, if ever you find yourself in difficulties yourself, your evil will prevent others from having any compassion for you — even those you have helped before — even your own children. The karma will block out the reality and you won’t be able to blame them.
5. Dealing in poisons [visavaṇijjā]: This means selling poisons for killing animals (e.g. insecticide) and supporting oneself from the profit made. In many places where mosquitoes are not even the vectors of malaria (like in Bangkok) people are dying not of malaria, but of self-poisoning from the DDT they spray on the mosquitoes. People think that insecticide will become benign again within a few hours but actually it takes about fifteen to twenty years to break down. If a bottle of such poison smashes on the floor, even if you clean up thoroughly, the smell still remains for two or three weeks. If you work in the poison trade, there are broken bottles and spillages nearly every day. Even if you never use the poison, you are inhaling it every day. Those in the trade die of respiratory disease and blood cancer almost without exception.
Those who do any of these trades will find themselves increasingly unable to cultivate an ‘Emotional Bank Account’ [saṅgahavatthu] with anyone else.
Furthermore, those who work in commerce but who are dishonest (by for example fixing their weights and measures) also fall into the category of Wrong Livelihood. Another variety of Wrong Livelihood are the forms of deception used by forgers — for example, they provide the first batch of their work all in solid gold — however, as soon as the order is placed, the remainder of their work will be in gold-plated brass.
C.2 Public Sector
It would be impossible for Wrong Livelihood enterprises to exist, whether on the large or small scale, without some form of cooperation from a corrupt Public Sector — whether it be the “soft drug” industry, gun running, casinos, forgery, prostitution, or assassination. Any such involvement shows that those implicated are devoid of any sense of responsibility for human dignity in the fairness of the economy of their own country. Usually the enemy of Right Livelihood in the Public Sector is bribery or corruption — for example surveyors in charge of measuring land for a buyer, if they are dishonest or corrupt and don’t get paid protection money, will over-measure the land. However, if they are bribed, they will under-measure it. Judges who can be bribed to come to a verdict are no better. All come under the heading of Wrong Livelihood.
C.3 Special Occupations
C.3.1 Military
In addition to the work categories already explained, special mention should be given to the work of the professional soldier which comes into strong disagreement with any form of Buddhist practice. In the time of the Buddha there was a soldier who thought that soldiers who fought bravely for their king and country would have heaven as their afterlife destination. However, the Buddha explained that:
‘those who kill will be killed in return’
Dutiya Kāmavatthu Sutta (S.i.83)
And that there are only two possible afterlife destinations even for those who (only) consider killing others — and those are hell and the animal realms — whether they be soldiers, cavaliers or soldiers mounted on elephants. [Yodhājīva Sutta (S.iv.308), Assāroha Sutta (S.iv.310), Hatthāroha Sutta (S.iv.310)]
C.3.2 Doctors and Nurses
On the contrary, to be a doctor or a nurse can be a profession which can bring great merit if it is done well. If it is done badly, it can bring serious demerit. It was therefore for this reason that the Buddha gave guidelines on the abilities of those prerequisite for making a good doctor or nurse (in his particular context to look after sick monks):
1. Must have the ability to prescribe the appropriate medicine;
2. Must know the difference between what is for the comfort and discomfort of patients, being able to increase the comfort and decrease the discomfort of the patient by his or her actions;
3. Not just interested in the payment received from the treatment — healing should be done out of the prime motivation of compassion
4. Does not object to the removal/excretion of the patient’s excrement, urine, vomit and saliva;
5. Able to cheer up the patient with timely Dhamma teachings
Dutiya Upaṭṭhāka Sutta (A.iii.144)
C.3.3 Devious Customers
Even customers can do it! Supposing a butcher has two deer for sale, a big one and a small one. He asks $20 for the big one and $10 for the little one. A devious customer comes up and buys the little one for $10. Some time later he comes back and says he changed his mind and he wants the big one. The butcher asks $20 for the big deer, but the customer says that he already gave the hunter $10 and that the small deer he is returning is also worth $10. Together they are worth $20, the price of the big deer. The customer therefore exchanges the big deer for the small one. Meanwhile the butcher is not smart enough to keep up with the customer’s trick and is thereby cheated. On this occasion, the customer is guilty of Wrong Livelihood even though he might say the butcher deserved it.
Therefore, if you aim to be a pillar of society who is beyond criticism by any reasonable person in the world, measure your work carefully by the standard of Right Livelihood. Apart from avoiding criticism, all tasks which you do will be done to the best of your ability. Others will regard you as an elder in society not only because of your advancing age, but also because of your wisdom and example to upcoming generations.
Desktop Version
