CHAPTER 11
RIGHT LIVELIHOOD
(Samma-ajiva)
THE third and the last member of the morality group is right livelihood which entails not dealing in arms and lethal weapons, animals for slaughter, human beings, intoxicating drinks, and poison. Though the Buddha mentioned only these five, there are, as we know, many other wrong ways of earning a living. We must bear in mind that the Buddha was addressing Indian society in the sixth century B.C., which consisted for the most part, even as it does today, of farmers, herdsmen and traders. It is interesting to note that there are, in the Buddhist Canon, sections which graphically depict the life of the farmer and the herdsman. The second and fourth discourses of the Sutta-nipata (Discourse Collection. The Harvard Oriental Series, vol. 37) bear ample testimony to this fact. India was an agricultural land and its government was not 'democratic'. Most of the states were feudal being under a raja as in the case of the Buddha's own clan, the Sakyas, but there were also republics such as that of the Licchavis which were governed by a senate of elders and leading men. In the kingdoms, the raja was the ruler to whom all were subservient and owed their allegiance. Life seems to have been quiet compared with that in many lands today. Since the ways of earning a living were limited, the Buddha only warned against five of them.
We must not think that the Buddha spoke only to the common people on the evil consequences of wrong and the advantages of right living. In the Nikayas, notably in the Digha and Anguttara, we find sermons on the life that the ruler or administrator ought to lead. It is stated categorically that the king should rule righteously (dhhammena) and not unrighteously (a-dhammena). Rulers in addition to keeping the same precepts as their subjects were expected to possess all the wholesome qualities that go to make a good head of the state. The Buddhist books mention Ten Duties or Principles of a king (dasa-raja-dhamma) : Generosity in giving, morality, self-sacrifice or unselfishness, honesty, gentleness, not being given to luxurious living, self-restraint, no anger, no violence, patience and agreeability. 1 As the Buddha points out, it is the ruler who should first establish himself in dhamma, in piety and righteousness, avoiding the vices, and so give the lead to his subjects. He says: 'If he who is reckoned best among men does not live righteously, need we speak of the others? They will follow suit. If the raja is unrighteous the whole realm lives in woe.... If he lives aright, the others emulate him and the whole realm lives in happiness.' 2
Never resting on his laurels, the king or ruler is expected to be kind and dutiful to his subjects: 'like a benevolent father to his children'. 3 The king given to self-indulgence, and intoxicated with the thought of authority (issariyamadamatta), is not praised, but looked down upon. 4 In order to be just, honest and upright to all, without partiality or favouritism, the ruler is expected to avoid the four wrong ways of treating people: that is with desire, anger, fear and delusion. 5
In this respect, Asoka the Great of India, who, because of his exemplary life, later became known as Dhammasoka, or Asoka the Righteous, may be regarded as one of the most just, wise and benevolent rulers of all time. This is shown by his edicts:
'All men are my children.'
'Just as I want my own children to enjoy all prosperity and happiness in this life and the next, so I want the same for all men.'
'The world should be comforted by me. From me the world should receive happiness not sorrow.'6
'There is no duty higher than to promote the happiness of the whole world.'
'Work I must for the good of the whole world.' 7
It can be said without a trace of doubt that King Asoka, who followed the advice of the Buddha for the righteous administration of a country, was a model ruler and, as H. G. Wells wrote: 'amidst the tens of thousands of monarchs ... that crowd the columns of history the name of Asoka shines, and shines almost alone, a star'. 8
That was twenty-three centuries ago. Since then things seem to have changed for the worse and people to care less and less for the welfare of their fellows. They do not hesitate to use any means to grab the things they crave for even to the extent of depriving others of life itself.
'In this modern world right livelihood can be one of the most difficult rules to obey. So many kinds of work are harmful to society and are unworthy of a true Buddhist. There are the arms and nuclear warfare industries; the drink trade; occupations involving the slaughter or vivisection of animals; yellow journalism; dishonest advertising and publicity; and business that includes usury. Buddhism is not a narrow-minded religion. It regards human frailties with understanding and sympathy. Yet the sincere Buddhist cannot profess one code of morality and earn his livelihood in an occupation with another, debased code.' 9
The precept about right livelihood was designed to bring true happiness to the individual and society and to promote unity and proper relations among people. Unjust and wrong ways of living apply to individuals, families and nations. A wrong and unrighteous way of life brings in its train much unhappiness, disharmony and trouble to the whole society. When a person or community succumbs to the evil of exploiting others, it interferes with the peace and harmony of society. It is sheer selfishness and greed that prompt a man to adopt wrong and unlawful ways of life. Such folk are utterly indifferent to loss and pain caused to their neighbours and to society. Therefore says the Buddha: 'Neither for one's own nor for others' sake should one do any evil. One should not covet a son, wealth or a kingdom, nor wish to succeed by unjust means. Such a man is indeed virtuous, wise and righteous.' 10
The Buddha was not unaware of the burdens borne by a layman with a wife and children, hence he did not expect from him the same ethical conduct as he did from the monks. But he emphatically stressed that the layman should strive hard to observe at least the five training precepts, the minimum moral obligation of the ordinary person, and that he should try to earn a living by right means, by right conduct (dhamma-cariya) and thereby support his wife and children. What is earned by unjust and unrighteous means--by killing, stealing, cheating, through dishonesty and deceit, cannot be regarded as right living. Ethically it is unrighteous living (a-dhamma-cariya), an uneven life, a life of disharmony (visama-cariya).
The Buddha does not disparage the layman, but sympathizes with his frailties and shortcomings. Society after all consists not only of ascetics and recluses who have left home to be homeless, but of lay men and women who form the bulk of society, which ultimately is an assemblage of `sociological units' so that the welfare or ill-fare of society depends on the individuals. If the individuals are good and lead a decent life, society naturally cannot be bad.
Some of the discourses like Sigala-sutta 11 which is rightly called the layman's code of discipline (gihi-vinaya), Vyagghapajja-sutta, 12 etc. given by the Buddha especially for the laity, clearly show the Master's concern for both the material welfare and spiritual development of his lay disciples. In the discourse to young Sigala the Master explains in plain language the full duties of a layman to all with whom he has relations: The reciprocal duties of parents and children; teacher and pupil; husband and wife; friends and relatives; master and servant; and duty to the religious, that is to recluses and brahmins. In this way the Buddha encourages the layman to live a righteous life, doing his duty to the best of his ability and leaving nothing undone.
Mrs. C. A. F. Rhys Davids, commenting on the Sigala-sutta says:
`The Buddha's doctrine of love and good-will between man and man is here set forth in a domestic and social ethics with more comprehensive detail than elsewhere.... And truly we may say even now of this Vinaya, or code of discipline, so fundamental are the human interests involved, so sane and wide is the wisdom that envisages them, that the utterances are as fresh and practically as binding today and here as they were then at Rajagaha. "Happy would have been the village or the clan on the banks of the Ganges, where the people were full of the kindly spirit of fellow-feeling, the noble spirit of justice which breathes through these naive and simple sayings." 13 Not less happy would be the village or the family on the banks of the Thames today; of which this could be said.’ 14
As we well know, after attaining full enlightenment the Buddha did not all the time confine himself to a cell, but wandered from town to town and village to village through the highways and byways of India. He moved more with the commoner than with the aristocrat. Kings and princes came to him for guidance and instruction, but the Master went to the poor, lowly and lost to help them. He knew the people, from the lowliest walks of life to the highest, and was well aware of the political, social and economic conditions of India during his time. That being so he did not restrict his sermons and discussions to matters of high philosophy and advanced psychology. As a practical teacher of infinite compassion and understanding he was mindful of the social and economic well-being of the masses and always wished by his advice to alleviate the misery of people, and see that they lived without too much unhappiness. It is true that real happiness is derived from a life of purity and peace; but it is obvious that without a certain degree of material and economic security no moral and spiritual progress can be achieved.
So far as a monk is concerned there are four requisites (catu paccaya) for progress on the path to purity and freedom. They are robes, food, a lodging and medicine. These are the bare necessities without which no human being can live. Basically they are also the fundamental needs of a layman.
It was the Buddha's custom to ask the monks on meeting them `How is it with you; how are you faring? I trust you are well, and that you are not short of food.’ 15 There is the touching tale 16 of a herdsman who in looking for a lost ox, missed his midday meal. On his way back, fatigued and hungry, he went to the Buddha to listen to him preaching. The Blessed One however, knowing that the man had not eaten all day, inquired from the people if he could first be fed. The Buddha knew that it was profitless to preach to any man without first satisfying his hunger. It was on that occasion that the Master said:
'Hunger is the greatest malady,
The aggregates are the greatest ill,
Knowing this as it is (the wise know)
Nibbana, the bliss supreme.’ 17
Although the Buddha did not attach much importance to material progress in the modern sense, nor to mundane welfare, he did not entirely ignore it, because it is the basis for man's mental or spiritual progress as pointed out above. So the Buddha was very outspoken with regard to certain aspects of material conditions and social welfare.
It is an admitted fact that poverty is the main cause of crime. If people are deprived of the four requisites mentioned above, the bare necessities, or if these are scarce, especially food, people's minds are not at rest. They cannot and do not think of moral behaviour, or give a thought to righteous living. Necessity has no law, and they stoop to unjust and unrighteous ways of gaining a subsistence. Owing to lack of economic security, and of money, people are led to commit theft and other crimes. The Kutadanta-sutta 18 states how in order to raise the social and economic conditions of a country, the farmers and traders should be given the necessary facilities to carry on their farming and business, and that people should be paid adequate wages. Thus when they have enough for their subsistence and are economically secure, crime is lessened and peace and harmony prevail.
In another discourse the Buddha explains to Anathapindika, the banker, who founded for him the Jetavana monastery, the four kinds of happiness a layman ought to enjoy. The first is ownership, or economic security, so that he has sufficient means (atthi-sukha) acquired lawfully by his own efforts, without resorting to the five trades detailed above; the second is the joy of wealth (bogha-sukha) or happiness gained by the judicious expenditure of lawful wealth; the third is the bliss of not being in debt (anana-sukha), the joy and satisfaction that comes with the thought: 'I owe nothing to anyone'; the fourth is the bliss of being without blame (anavajja-sukha), which is the satisfaction derived from the thought: 'I am blessed with blameless acts of body, speech and mind.' 19
All these discussions and sermons in Buddhism go to show that the layman as a member of society should work hard to earn a living and strengthen his economic and social position lest he becomes a burden to himself and others, but at the same time he should avoid wrong and unrighteous ways of living and not deviate from the path of duty and rectitude.
The Buddha's instructions and advice on right livelihood are addressed both to the layman and to the members of the Sangha. He has clearly explained to his disciples that the monk's life should be absolutely pure and free from fraud. The Master is indeed very emphatic on this matter, for he says:
`Monks, whatsoever monks are cheats, stubborn, babblers, cunning, passionate, proud, uncalmed--such monks are no followers of mine. They have fallen away from this Dhamma-vinaya (Doctrine and Discipline), nor do they grow, increase and prosper in this Dhamma-vinaya.’ 20 Further says the Master: 'Monks, this holy life (brahmacariyam) is lived neither to cheat people nor for scheming nor for profit and favour, nor for the sake of honour. It is not for gossiping and prattling, nor with the intention: "let people know me as so-and-so." But, monks, this holy life is lived for the sake of restraint, for abandoning, for dispassion for cessation.’ 21
As the discourse on 'Going Forth’ 22 points out, the Buddha himself gives the lead and example to his disciples when he says:
'Leaving home I gave up
All evil words and acts,
Pure was my livelihood.'
The question of abstention from the five kinds of wrong trades does not arise in the case of the monk, for he should not be in business, and he has not the responsibility and care of a family life. He has left home and is simple in his ways, with few wants. As the Buddha says, it is the duty of the devout layman to provide him with the four requisites: Robes, food, lodging and medicine 23
The monk, as one who has entered upon the holy life, should avoid all wrong means of living, for if he is not clean and pure in this he cannot follow the path of purification with any degree of confidence and satisfaction. Hence the Buddha says:
'Verily one path is for gain, but that which leads to Nibbana is quite another. Let the monks, the disciples of the Buddha, having understood it thus, not delight in worldly favours and honours, but cultivate detachment.’ 24
With this chapter we close the discussion on the Morality (sila) Group of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the two immediately preceding chapters we dealt with Right Speech and Right Action which with Right Livelihood form the Buddhist Moral Code or Ethics. This fact is again made clear in a succinct statement of the Buddha in the seventy-eighth discourse of the Majjhima Nikaya:
`Which, householder, are the wholesome moral habits (kusalasilam)? Wholesome deeds of body; wholesome deeds of speech; and, I declare that included in moral habits, is complete purity of livelihood. These are called wholesome moral courses. And what is the origin of these courses?... It is in the mind (thought, citta).. . . Which mind? For there are many different minds (thoughts). That mind (thought) which is free from attachment, anger and delusion. From this are the wholesome Moral Courses derived....'
Words and acts are thoughts manifested. In Buddhism both motive and effect should be taken into consideration. However good the motive may be, if the effect is not going to be healthy, we should refrain from such misguided words and deeds.
1. Dana, sila, pariccaga, ajjava, maddava, tapa, akkodha, avihimsa, khanti, avirodha. Jat. I, 260.
2. A. ii. 74.
3. D. ii. 178.
4. S. i. 100.
5. Chanda, dosa, bhaya, moha. These four are called agati or wrong ways of treating people.
6. Edict I.
7. Edict II.
8. The Outline of History (Cassel & Co., London, 1934), p. 402.
9. Mind Unshaken, John Walters (Rider and Company, 1961), p. 47.
10. Dhp. 84.
1l. D. 31.
12. A. ii.
13. T. W. Rhys Davids, Buddhism (London, 1907), p. 148.
14. Dialogues of the Buddha, part iii, P. 168.
15. M. 31, A. i. 70 and passim. See chapter 8.
16. Dhp. Com.
17. Dhp. 203.
18. D. 5.
19. A. ii. 69, sutta 62.
20. A. ii. 26, sutra 25.
21. A. ii. 26, sutta 26.
22. Pabbajja-sutta, sn. v. 407
23. A. ii. 65, sutta 60.
24. Dhp. 75.
