In this final post on practicing Right Livelihood, here’s one final word of advice: just do your best. There are so many reasons why practicing Right Livelihood is complicated. Some of us feel stuck in jobs we may not believe in or agree with, but we…
Though we begin by assessing our own work, Right Livelihood is a collective reality. We’re all in this together. And that makes it a little more complicated. But it also keeps us from feeling too high and mighty. Because there’s no way to shield ourselves from…
There’s a bravery to Right Livelihood. When we step into good work, we create space for others to step into good work, too. Lama Surya Das says we are “surrounded by men and women who want to do more for others, but don’t know what to…
Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Profiting from others’ superstitions is not Right Livelihood.” This caught my attention because it speaks to a broader principle of compassion: don’t aim for people’s weak spots. If someone is fearful, or anxious, we can find plenty of ways to make money…
What is the true definition of success? How do we know when we’ve made it? In a society like ours, this can be such a disorienting question. Because our view of success most readily comes from income and money, we find ourselves grappling with how this…
Right Livelihood helps us clarify whether the work we do is good for the world. But on another level, it’s also about finding YOUR right livelihood. What is your right work in the world? Because the truth is, many jobs provide necessary and helpful things for…
What does it mean to have a work ethic? When we talk about earning our living righteously, we begin by asking ourselves what kind of work we do, and whether it brings good things to the world. But there is a second, equally important aspect to…
The fifth step on the Eightfold Path is Right Livelihood. Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood go together as the ethical steps, focusing specifically on moral discipline. Quite simply, Right Livelihood means we try to earn our living righteously. Buddha teaches that we want to…