Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, give yourself to it.

- Buddha

Right Livelihood is a Buddhist term and is part of the practice of Buddhism. It is the fifth factor of the Eightfold Path. Recently, I began taking an introductory course on Buddhism and I came across this term, which I had heard and used before, but, as it turns out, had not used it correctly.

I had always thought that Right Livelihood meant that one did that work which s/he was "born to do". This would be the equivalent of what Gregg Levoy (author of the book Callings) would term one's "Calling". But in Buddhism, this term means something different.

In ancient Buddhist texts, Right Livelihood is described as being the opposite of "wrong livelihood". Wrong Livelihood is described in this excerpt from one of these texts:

"A lay follower should not engage in five types of business. Which five? Business in weapons, business in human beings, business in meat, business in intoxicants, and business in poison."

- AN 5.177

Right Livelihood is discussed and defined in much more detail in the ancient texts, and for our modern world we would need to extrapolate out from these teachings to make them even more relevant to our times.To delve into this more deeply, you could begin by following the link at the bottom of this article.

However, the key point is this: In Buddhist terms, when one is engaged in supporting oneself through one's Right Livelihood, one is engaged in work that is beneficial to both self and others, or at least is doing no harm to self or others.

Another aspect of Right Livelihood is about living a balanced and ethical life. For example, Right Livelihood does not discourage one from earning a good living, financially, but does caution against excess, greed, dishonesty, and the like. In terms of balance, one text reads:

"Just as the goldsmith, or an apprentice of his, knows, on holding up a balance, that by so much it has dipped down, by so much it has tilted up; even so a householder, knowing his income and expenses, leads a balanced life, neither extravagant nor miserly, knowing that thus his income will stand in excess of his expenses, but not his expenses in excess of his income."

- AN 8.54

One of the ways to look at your job, career, business, or volunteer work is through the lens of Right Livelihood and to ask yourself the question, "Does what I do for a living harm myself or other living beings in any way?"

Some answers would be obvious, but there are more subtle things to consider. For example, are you working long hours at work, which results in harming your body, your health, or your relationships with your family? Do you gossip at work or allow others to share gossip with you? Do you treat your boss, employees, or co-workers fairly and kindly? Are you honest and compassionate in all your dealings? Do you want the best for all those you work with and for?

The question of Right Livelihood involves not only what you do for a living, but how you do it. How might Right Livelihood fit or not fit with what you are currently doing for a living?

Excerpts from Blog:

From the beginning, the Experiment was intended not only to apply to material things but also to non- material things, such as thoughts, beliefs, habits, behaviors, and the like. It also covers things in the realm between material and non-material, such as body weight and subscriptions of various kinds.

In the non-material realm, I am happy to report that I have released 26 pounds of body weight (so far), 3 subscriptions, and some non-productive thoughts and behaviors.

Of the 464 "things" I have released beginning June 10, 2006, approximately 90% fall in the material realm. This means that I have released from my possession approximately 418 items. Why then, do my rooms, drawers, cupboards, and closets seem as full, and sometimes as cluttered, as they did when I began the experiment? [And the answer is NOT that I replaced them with other things, because for the most part, I did not.]

The answer came to me recently ...

LifeWork Letter is a complimentary monthly e-Newsletter from Connie Komack and LifeWork Enterprises, with tips, quotes, and short articles designed to enrich, empower, and forward the growth of your life, career, or business.

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