Eightfold Path: Wise Livelihood

How we make a living has many effects that ripple out to the larger community as well as inward to our deepest hearts. As with the other steps on this path there are levels to this step that become more subtle the deeper we go into thinking about it.

At the most basic level, it is recommended that we avoid any form of making a living which causes direct harm without any extenuation. Thus, being a contract killer or torturer are undoubtedly unskillful occupations. But it doesn't require much in the way of digging deeper to realize that if one is a thief or cheats people for a living and then an attempt is made to sit down to meditate or practice lovingkindness it would be very difficult to do so, no matter how one tried to justify those unskillful actions. Of course, we can split hairs and find a moral justification for many things. The great novel Les Miserables is predicated on the notion that some forms of theft (in that case, a loaf of bread for Jean Valjean's starving family) are permissible; in fact that illegal act is more skillful than not taking that action would be. But those situations are very rare and most of us do not have to face them in our lifetimes, nor do we have to practice them as our primary profession. So it is safe to say that for the vast majority of us in the vast majority of situations things like stealing and cheating for a living would be unwise.

The manufacture or sale of illicit drugs would generally be considered unskillful. There is some argument to made for the idea that adults making conscious decisions about what they put into their own bodies ought not be the purview of government or morality, but most if not all illicit substances cloud the mind, create confusion, lead to addiction, promote crime and violence and lead to other forms of illegal and unskillful behavior. So, even from the point of view of wise livelihood, since anything that leads another person away from the path of light is by its very nature unskillful, these actions cannot be otherwise than unwise.

But when we go down further, into layers of ambiguity, where the light of what is wise does not shine as clearly, we must trust our hearts to tell us if what we are doing is right. Is it wise livelihood to use legal loopholes to help free someone we know to be a violent criminal? On the other hand, doesn't that person deserve the most rigorous defense that can be afforded to him or her? Is it ethical to provide good medical care to one group of people when we are aware that most others cannot afford it? Would it be ethical not to? When are the practices of financial speculation playing the game by the rules as established and when do they become manipulative or deceptive? Is serving a drink to someone we know to be dying from the effects of alcohol a skillful act?

In my own profession of nursing, though I have chosen to work with needy populations I often find myself wondering if the care we give and the way we give it are not less than entirely right. Do we empower people to make their own choices? Do we enable some people to make unwise choices and not suffer any consequences? Is it wise to give medication to those we know will not take it properly, thereby creating the potential for serious consequences? Would it do more harm to withhold the medication? Do our judgments of their harmful behaviors (drug use or sexual activity, for instance) prejudice us toward them in subtle ways we do not understand? Does our acquiescence in bureaucratic meddling lead to poor outcomes? Not that I am trying to say our work is not wise livelihood, but how could we make it more so?

I have pondered this idea of wise livelihood and the only profession I can think of that has no taint of moral ambiguity is that of being a firefighter. I mean, what could be ambiguous about putting out fires? Not that I am implying that all firefighters are entirely moral or skillful, but it seems to me that the profession itself is without question inherently moral, though I am sure that some of those who read this may come up with examples of how that is not the case. My point is, though, that the rest of us are faced with questioning what we do for a living through the lens of wise livelihood, with the aim of making it the best and most skillful work we can.

Wise livelihood must not only ensure that we are as spiritually attuned in our work as possible, but that others are not led to place others in a position of carrying out an unwise livelihood. It may be that it is perfectly moral for us to accept a ridiculously low price on something we purchase, even if we have no idea where it came from, but if we suspect that the item was stolen or there was trickery in how it was obtained, then we may be encouraging a livelihood that is unskillful.

It can also be significant to ask the question: is what I do to make money truly a reflection of who I am? Or is it just...well...what I do to make money? And is there anything wrong with that? I have recently had to face the fact that, while I consider my work good work, I really am doing it primarily for money, benefits, and pension. The fact that it is good work makes it less painful to go there, but if I didn't need these things, I would be doing something else. The typical response to such an admission is the advice to go do that other thing. But I have yet to find anyone who will give me a decent salary and benefit package for writing this blog or reading books and commenting on them. Perhaps it is wise livelihood to know that in order to do the things I love most I must work hard at something I love less well.

I would be remiss if I did not mention in the context of Wise Livelihood the wonderful book Work As A Spiritual Practice by Lewis Richmond. This is probably not the right time or place to go into a detailed description of this work, but it is well worth a read for anyone who is trying to incorporate spiritual principles in to day-to-day work life.

The next step on the path is here.