“Right Livelihood” with Jean this Sunday at Minneapolis Insight

Dear Community,

Sunday 10am Community Practice & Discussion

Last week, the day before what is called Labor Day in this country, Alex made the choice to forgo his intended topic – Right Livelihood – in favor of making space for reflection and practice following the school shooting in Minneapolis. I think all of us who were present will agree that grieving together was healing.

This week we will circle back and explore Right Livelihood, the fifth factor in the Noble Eightfold Path and third devoted to sila or ethical conduct. Although the Buddha did name (when asked) specific trades that he considered wrong livelihood (trading in poison, trading in weapons, trading in intoxicants, trading in meat, and trading in human slaves), he was reluctant to go further in naming specific occupations. Rather, he asked us to reflect on whether our means of livelihood involves harming others, lying, or unskillful mental states – or what it means to work in a wise and loving way. And, as householders, whether or not we have acquired our wealth legally, peacefully, honestly, and in ways that do no harm.

Tuere Sala, in her September blog, takes Right Livelihood beyond how we earn a living to how we live our lives.

Livelihood doesn't just mean your job. It also involves what you give your time, energy and resources to. This is where our personal desires intersect with the wider world. This is where our wider views, beliefs, opinions, and assumptions impact how we move through life.

This is why I think practicing with right livelihood is a big deal. It is not a practice about fixing the outer world. It is a practice about whether you are keeping in right relationship with your own sila (ethical conduct). Is your relationship with the world congruent with your own practice? So often we spend our waking days looking outside of ourselves judging how the world is existing and imposing our views on the world. This practice is the flip side of that. This about imposing your views on yourself and making sure that you are moving in alignment with those views, regardless of whether the rest of the world is so moving.

This Sunday we’ll explore, through reflection and practice, Right Livelihood. Are we in alignment with our values at work and in the world? What does Right Livelihood mean to you? Please join us! Registration and Zoom information available here.

With mettā,
Minneapolis Insight