“Right Livelihood” is a traditional Buddhist teaching and one of the limbs of the eight-fold path

taught by the Buddha. For laypeople, Buddha’s teaching of right livelihood meant ethical

livelihood. In the book The Buddha’s Teaching on Prosperity by Bhikku Basnagoda Rahula

there is this quote from the scripture “Numerical Discourses”: “The layperson’s objective [is

to] live a long and dignified life with the wealth obtained through rightful means.” As Buddhism

has taken hold in the West, meditation practice and general ethical teachings have been

extensively taught and written about, but the details of “right livelihood” have, I think, received

comparatively less attention.

Clearly, the Buddha saw prosperity and financial security as a good and appropriate activity

for laypeople; “rightful means” meant any occupation that did not cause unnecessary harm to

other living things. In the simple economy of 500 B.C. this meant avoiding occupations such as

butcher, tanner, or soldier — if possible. It also meant to be honest and ethical in business

dealings — not to cheat, steal or lie, and in general make one’s living in an upstanding way. I

daresay that all religions have ethical principles of this sort regarding making one’s living —

certainly the Judeo-Christian tradition does.

What Is Right Livelihood?

Along with Right Speech and Right Action, Right Livelihood is part of the "moral conduct"
section of the Path. These three folds of the Path are connected to the Five Precepts. These
are:

1. Not killing
2. Not stealing

3. Not misusing sex

4. Not lying
 5. Not abusing intoxicants

Right Livelihood is, first, a way to earn a living without compromising the Precepts. It is a way
of making a living that does no harm to others. In the Vanijja Sutta (this is from the Sutra-
pitaka of the Tripitaka), the Buddha said, "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."

Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh wrote,

"To practice Right Livelihood (samyag ajiva), you have to find a way to earn your living without
transgressing your ideals of love and compassion. The way you support yourself can be an
expression of your deepest self, or it can be a source of suffering for you and others. " ... Our
vocation can nourish our understanding and compassion, or erode them. We should be awake
to the consequences, far and near, of the way we earn our living." ( The Heart of the Buddha's
Teaching[Parallax Press, 1998], p. 104)

QUESTIONS

1. What do born again christians belive?

2. What it means to be Christian?

3. What is a born again Christian?

4. How do you become born again?