Wrong livelihood

[Q]

When we talk about wrong livelihood, we are speaking about jobs that we choose which brings harm to many others, such as being a butcher, owning a beer factory, opening night clubs, etc.

What I heard about this is that it not only affects the person working in the job, but it affects the whole family. Especially if the breadwinner of the home engage in this type of job, he/she will be feeding the family with what the money he made from this unmeritorious job... but what I do wonder is why does the family have to suffer for the parent's job.

Does anyone have any stories or information about this situation where wrong livelihood has affected the whole family, and how the effect was? Or if anyone know the reason to this? I am really interested to know more about the effects it has on the people around those who engage in wrong livelihood.

[Big Uncle]

Being in Asia, I have heard very often the results of wrong livelihood. It could be as simple just opening a pub that encourages vice and non-virtuous actions. I have heard families are destroyed because of the accrued negative karma. Butchers are the most common form of wrong livelihood and the negative karma of killing animals on a continuous basis makes the butcher develop and hard, cold and calculating demeanor. It is very dangerous that one do not feel that there is anything wrong in engaging in the killing of animals.

I have heard that even highly attained masters can fall prey to the negative effects of killing. I heard of a very famous Lakar Rinpoche of Gaden monastery. His previous life was very famous to be a great Mahasiddha and he is extremely clairvoyant. In this life, his parents own a popular Chicken restaurant where they slaughter the chicken fresh in the kitchen. The parents also sponsor the young Rinpoche and are very proud of him. However, the little bright little rinpoche began develop severe epileptic fits, which proved to be disruptive of his monastic studies. Divination of the elders in the monastery says that it is because of wrong livelihood of the family has hindered the manifestation of this rinpoche's activities.

A long and continuous series of purification rituals called Chabtrul was prescribed but the rinpoche never managed to recover fully. The rinpoche today is crossed-eyed and fidgets all the time. However, in moments of coherents and silence, this Rinpoche still manages to deliver highly accurate predictions and advice. However, this is in between moments of fidgeting. This tale is a cautionary one and it shows that even highly attained masters are not immune to the forces of karma.

[buddhalovely]

In the context of the Buddha’s teachings, a fine line may separate “right” livelihood from “wrong” livelihood. Right livelihood is respectable, honorable and, most of all, harmless. Two people could be in the same position but if one performs the work honestly and in good faith and the other dishonestly, only the first is practicing right livelihood. The question of whether work is wholesome or unwholesome is not only intrinsic to the job itself, but is determined by all the outcomes, both for the worker and for everyone else affected.

There are any number of causes that can make your livelihood wholesome or not. A good general indicator is whether it feels wholesome to you or not. Moral discomfort can be harder to handle than physical fatigue. However, there is a limit with physical demands, too. Even if the work you do is beneficial and rewarding, it may not be wholesome for you if a four-hour daily commute is required, or if you are ruining your health.

Start a thorough consideration of the harmful and harmless aspects of your work. The reflection itself could prove helpful, whether you decide you need to make a change or not. The change could be towards a different career direction or something as simple as changing your daily work habits.

[jessicajameson]

My grandfather was a butcher. I don't know the extent of the number of animals he killed, and to be honest, I have actually never seen him make a living as a butcher - I was just told that he was.

He died at a very, very young age. In his early 50s. One of his daughters was born with a black birthmark on her face.

Thankfully none of his children became butchers too. I have read that in many European countries, they pride their families on continuing the family business of butchery.

Read this story about an Italian guy who wanted to pursue a degree in veterinary, but instead had to continue his family's business of butchery. He could have changed the fate of his family.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/06/world/europe/06iht-currents06.html?_r=0

[Benny]

I once know of a Traffic Policeman who was very corrupt and had always asked for bribes from accident victims in return for a favourable police reports to facilitate insurance claims .

After a few years of observing his illicit practices , one day whilst driving with his wife they were involved in a fatal accident , both were killed and their children orphaned.

I also know of a butcher whose two male grand children died one after the other of leukemia and later he died of cancer himself. Before they died , they sought all sorts of cure ,including the mystical. They went to seek help from a medium that can take trances of Taoist deities , whom advised that the causes of their illness was caused by the fathers butchery of animals both for sale as well as for their own consumption ! So they were advised to be vegetarians to repent for the fathers sins , this did prolonged their lives but in the end after 8 years they succumbed to the cancer. Both died as vegetarians. May they have a good rebirths , om mani padme hung.

[Dorje Pakmo]

The 5-fold Definition of Right Livelihood:
1: Earning a living not involving any trading with Living Beings.
2: Earning a living not involving any selling of Meat, Fish or Flesh.
3: Earning a living not involving any selling of any form of Weapons.
4: Earning a living not involving any dealing with Alcohol or Drugs .
5: Earning a living not involving any selling of any form of Poison.
That is Right Livelihood!

I personally think it is not hard for one to understand what is RIGHT and what is WRONG livelihood. Often, knowing and understanding is easy but DOING it is a different thing. Sadly many CHOOSES to ignore what they know is RIGHT and do what is WRONG because it brings about quick profits or results.

While the "rewards" of earnings from wrong livelihood may satisfy much material wants of an individual and the individual's family temporarily, but the Karma from earning money by the means of wrong livelihood is likened to one borrowing money from loan sharks. It will be very painful when the negative Karma ripens. Most will not even understand why misfortunes befall them and simply blame it on bad luck.

Hence understanding the law of Karma is important for one to have the correct motivation and stand firm to make a living through the means of RIGHT livelihood.

   

[sonamdhargey]

A Discourse on the Sallekha Sutta
Wrong livelihood is to earn one’s living by obtaining money improperly.³ Some people commit unwholesome deeds such as killing to make their living. However, some commit unwholesome deeds not for economic reasons, but because of their greed or anger. Unwholesome deeds that have nothing to do with one’s living, but stem from anger or greed are not wrong livelihood, but wrong action or wrong speech. For example, the killing of mosquitoes, snakes, etc., or one’s enemy through anger is wrong action. However, the killing of chickens, pigs, fish, etc., for the market or for one’s own consumption is wrong livelihood. As for stealing or robbing, it is usually done for economic reason and so most of these acts are to be classified as wrong livelihood. Stealing out of malice or through ill-will, habit or propensity is, of course, wrong action. Illicit sexual intercourse has usually nothing to do with one’s living. To seduce a woman, however, for the sake of money or for one’s living is wrong livelihood.

Telling a lie in a business transaction is wrong livelihood; but if you lie for another reason, it is wrong speech. The same may be said of slander. Nowadays some kinds of propaganda are defamation that fall within the category of wrong livelihood. They are very harmful. Abusive language is not often used in business. However, there are many kinds of wrong livelihood in the form of idle chatter that we can find in fiction-writing, play acting, film-making and so forth.

All kinds of wrong livelihood involve violation of the moral code that prescribes abstinence from killing, etc. Those who observe the five precepts are free from the seven kinds of wrong livelihood that we have mentioned about. It is obvious that those who adhere to the eight precepts with right livelihood as the eighth are especially free from wrong livelihood. Right livelihood is to earn money lawfully with moral life untainted by any kind of wrong livelihood.

Source:http://www.aimwell.org/Books/Mahasi/Sallekha/WrongThought/wrongthought.html

[kris]

I have heard of many stories where corrupted police where they take evidence items and sell them. For example, after the police raided a drug dealer's hideout, the police took the drugs (which are supposed to be evidence items) home, and sell to other drug dealers. This has gone on for quite awhile, and eventually, because of all the drugs are easily available at home, the police's son become drug addicts.

I think this is a classic example of wrong livelihood causing the family members to suffer...

[DS Star]

"There are, monks, these four stains because of which the sun and moon glow not, shine not, blaze not. What are these four?

Rain clouds ... snow clouds ... smoke and dust ... and an eclipse. Even so, monks, there are these four stains because of which monks and nuns glow not, shine not, blaze not. What are these four? Drinking alcohol ... indulging in sexual intercourse ... accepting the use of gold or money ... and obtaining gifts through the wrong livelihood." (Anguttara Nikaya 2.53)

As for lay people, the following five businesses are to be avoided:

- Business in weapons
- Business in sale human being
- Business in sale animal for being killed
- Business in alcohol or intoxicants
- Business in poison

These five businesses are harmful to other lives, hence we should avoid earning our living on others' sufferings.

So, when we engaged in these kind of businesses, it means we commit wrong doing on daily basis!

[Barzin]

I use to have this question in my head.  If my parents are butchers and they killed for a living, but I am a newfreshly born baby, why would the sin they created carried upon me because of their livelihood?  In Buddhism I think the closest explanation is that I have the karma link this parent and the karma to be born in an environment like this.  So it can only be explained why am i born into this family.  Must be the bad negative actions that I have done in previous lives...

[apprenticehealer]

The 5-fold Definition of Right Livelihood:
1: Earning a living not involving any trading with Living Beings.
2: Earning a living not involving any selling of Meat, Fish or Flesh.
3: Earning a living not involving any selling of any form of Weapons.
4: Earning a living not involving any dealing with Alcohol or Drugs .
5: Earning a living not involving any selling of any form of Poison.
That is Right Livelihood!

Thank you Dorje Pakmo for the above definition of the 5 Right Livelihood.

All the above mentioned Right Livelihoods are jobs that does not harm sentient beings. These are jobs that does not cause sufferings to anyone, including the suppliers, their families and  to the people who buys from them and also the purchaser's families.

The extent of harm and sufferings caused is very devastating to all involved and concerned. Example is nos. 3, 4 and 5. Think of the anguish of the loved ones whose family member is killed by weapons, drugs or poison.  Consider that negative karma that the supplier carries with him for causing all this pain to so many many people.

Then there are also people who, though do not have the 5 wrong livelihood, but cheat and scam others , committing crimes out of greed through their work , these people also initiate negative karma upon themselves and on their own families.
I know of one family whose father cheated many business associates and even his own family out of millions, then his only daughter died in a car accident. The people who were affected most were this man's wife (who suffered a nervous breakdown and has not recovered since) and this man's aged parents (who have since disowned him) . I cannot imagine the anguish and sufferings that the wife and parents are still going through. This man is still unrepentant and still continues cheating others.

It is not just being in the wrong livelihood, it is also how one conducts himself and whether he has a conscious in him.



 

[Q]

"There are, monks, these four stains because of which the sun and moon glow not, shine not, blaze not. What are these four?

Rain clouds ... snow clouds ... smoke and dust ... and an eclipse. Even so, monks, there are these four stains because of which monks and nuns glow not, shine not, blaze not. What are these four? Drinking alcohol ... indulging in sexual intercourse ... accepting the use of gold or money ... and obtaining gifts through the wrong livelihood." (Anguttara Nikaya 2.53)

As for lay people, the following five businesses are to be avoided:

- Business in weapons
- Business in sale human being
- Business in sale animal for being killed
- Business in alcohol or intoxicants
- Business in poison

These five businesses are harmful to other lives, hence we should avoid earning our living on others' sufferings.

So, when we engaged in these kind of businesses, it means we commit wrong doing on daily basis!

I find your post particularly interesting.

The five businesses that is to be avoided, one of it is within my scope of career which is Business in poison.

I work for an independent pharmacy as a pharmacist, and obviously the line of our job scope is providing medicine to others. Ironically, medicine borderlines with poison, when used wrongly, it can be very poisonous and kill a person.

Of course the drug laws does as much to prevent this, however there are times when people either mistakenly or intentionally exceed their drug usage and fall into a coma or die from poisoning. In the light of this... I do wonder if my job is detrimental for my spirituality as although I may take all precautions provided within human made laws, karma is absolute and no human laws can override it.

It sure worries me after reading this comment.

What is your advice? I feel like I'm playing with a double edge sword here...

[Positive Change]

When we talk about wrong livelihood, we are speaking about jobs that we choose which brings harm to many others, such as being a butcher, owning a beer factory, opening night clubs, etc.

What I heard about this is that it not only affects the person working in the job, but it affects the whole family. Especially if the breadwinner of the home engage in this type of job, he/she will be feeding the family with what the money he made from this unmeritorious job... but what I do wonder is why does the family have to suffer for the parent's job.

Does anyone have any stories or information about this situation where wrong livelihood has affected the whole family, and how the effect was? Or if anyone know the reason to this? I am really interested to know more about the effects it has on the people around those who engage in wrong livelihood.

Adding to this, wrong livelihood does not only effect our own lives per se but also the so called 'ill-gotten' wealth has also some negative karmic repercussions too! In that if the money is used to offer up to monks apparently is bad too I am told.

A friend told me of an instance that a reincarnation of a renowned Rinpoche is currently incapacitated because his Labrang had used money from wrong livelihood to feed and sustain him while he was growing up. Imagine a highly attained being can even manifest this to show his own Labrang them the err of their ways.

On another note, I had thought that if one were to offer ill-gotten wealth or in this case, wealth from wrong livelihood to the three jewels it is actually good to purify if the intent was good. Can someone help clarify and elaborate on this please?

[Q]

Being in Asia, I have heard very often the results of wrong livelihood. It could be as simple just opening a pub that encourages vice and non-virtuous actions. I have heard families are destroyed because of the accrued negative karma. Butchers are the most common form of wrong livelihood and the negative karma of killing animals on a continuous basis makes the butcher develop and hard, cold and calculating demeanor. It is very dangerous that one do not feel that there is anything wrong in engaging in the killing of animals.

I have heard that even highly attained masters can fall prey to the negative effects of killing. I heard of a very famous Lakar Rinpoche of Gaden monastery. His previous life was very famous to be a great Mahasiddha and he is extremely clairvoyant. In this life, his parents own a popular Chicken restaurant where they slaughter the chicken fresh in the kitchen. The parents also sponsor the young Rinpoche and are very proud of him. However, the little bright little rinpoche began develop severe epileptic fits, which proved to be disruptive of his monastic studies. Divination of the elders in the monastery says that it is because of wrong livelihood of the family has hindered the manifestation of this rinpoche's activities.

A long and continuous series of purification rituals called Chabtrul was prescribed but the rinpoche never managed to recover fully. The rinpoche today is crossed-eyed and fidgets all the time. However, in moments of coherents and silence, this Rinpoche still manages to deliver highly accurate predictions and advice. However, this is in between moments of fidgeting. This tale is a cautionary one and it shows that even highly attained masters are not immune to the forces of karma.

Thank you for sharing this story. I have heard of Lakar Rinpoche and his epileptic illness, but I never knew why such a great Mahasiddha had the karma for such a terrible illness.

Now I know, since you mentioned here about his family's lively hood of slaughtering chickens and using that money to fund Lakar Rinpoche's ladrang. Imagine, how heavy the karma is for slaughtering animals that in this very life, Lakar Rinpoche is already experiencing this unfortunate karma for his family... and He is a great Mahasiddha AND extensive purification pujas are done to purify the karma His family created, and yet it can't be cancelled out completely... as a Great Mahasiddha, without a doubt I believe He is absorbing all the negativity from his family.

How disappointing that Lakar Rinpoche's family refuse to stop this lively hood, causing this excellent incarnation of a Mahasiddha to experience this epileptic illness... if He did not have such illness, imagine the amount of people He would have given the Dharma to...

But I do wonder, if his family stops the business now, would Lakar Rinpoche recover within this lifetime?

[fruven]

When we talk about wrong livelihood, we are speaking about jobs that we choose which brings harm to many others, such as being a butcher, owning a beer factory, opening night clubs, etc.

What I heard about this is that it not only affects the person working in the job, but it affects the whole family. Especially if the breadwinner of the home engage in this type of job, he/she will be feeding the family with what the money he made from this unmeritorious job... but what I do wonder is why does the family have to suffer for the parent's job.

Does anyone have any stories or information about this situation where wrong livelihood has affected the whole family, and how the effect was? Or if anyone know the reason to this? I am really interested to know more about the effects it has on the people around those who engage in wrong livelihood.

Adding to this, wrong livelihood does not only effect our own lives per se but also the so called 'ill-gotten' wealth has also some negative karmic repercussions too! In that if the money is used to offer up to monks apparently is bad too I am told.

A friend told me of an instance that a reincarnation of a renowned Rinpoche is currently incapacitated because his Labrang had used money from wrong livelihood to feed and sustain him while he was growing up. Imagine a highly attained being can even manifest this to show his own Labrang them the err of their ways.

On another note, I had thought that if one were to offer ill-gotten wealth or in this case, wealth from wrong livelihood to the three jewels it is actually good to purify if the intent was good. Can someone help clarify and elaborate on this please?

The money acquired from wrong livelihood should never ever be used. The reason being it was acquired through wrong means, profiting from sentient beings suffering. It must be abandon immediately and not given to others otherwise whoever use it will suffer the heavy consequences from the negative karma as mentioned by others. Stop doing the wrong livelihood immediately, seek protection from the 3 Jewels and look for other jobs although one may need to downgrade because of skill level.