The Noble Eightfold Path – Right Livelihood

Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh wrote,"To practice Right Livelihood (samyag ajiva), you have to find a way to earn your living without transgressing your ideals of love and compassion. The way you support yourself can be an expression of your deepest self, or it can be a source of suffering for you and others. " ... Our vocation can nourish our understanding and compassion, or erode them. We should be awake to the consequences, far and near, of the way we earn our living.”

The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching [Parallax Press, 1998], p. 10.

Right livelihood has held great significance in my life. I learned many years ago that working in a position that does express my deepest self can lead to dissatisfaction, depression, and loss of attunement with who I really am.

My first job at sixteen was working in the laundry at a nursing home.  My inability to fold fitted sheets soon led to a promotion to nursing assistant.  My grandmother and mother had both worked as nursing assistants in the same facility and were well-liked and considered to be caring and compassionate workers.  I like to think that I followed in that family tradition.  I enjoyed that job and had hoped to eventually go forward and earn my nursing degree.  My father, in a rare departure from his view of traditional roles for women, insisted that I go to a four year college and pursue something other than a two year nursing license.  There was no discussion and I rebelled by going to school for a year and then getting married.  I showed him!

It took many years for me to get back onto a career path that allowed me to express my desire to be of service to others. From 1981 to 1994, I worked for an outdoor power equipment company, first as an export clerk, then moving my way to executive secretary (major fail!), and then onto my ten year position as a production control specialist, scheduling assembly lines and support operations.  It was a bad fit that led to risky and unfulfilling relationships and addiction.  I was also aware that the products sold by this company were being used in ways that harmed the environment (loss of significant amounts of the Amazon rainforest) and production workers were being treated poorly.  I was often taken to task when I raised the issue of the impact that long periods of overtime would have on families and was told that I was not to worry about individuals but about numbers. 

I was able, however, to take advantage of the tuition reimbursement program offered by the company to finish my undergraduate degree and eventually use my retirement fund to finance my graduate studies in counseling.  When I finally was able to move from a job that only fed, clothed, and housed me to a career that fulfilled me, I was able to access that deeper part of myself that finds great satisfaction in being of service.  I knew when I left that job that I wanted to dedicate my life to helping other women through significant transitions in their lives, be it recovering from addiction or finding safety.   I find that I am at my best when I am in a role that allows me to support others in a way that encourages their growth and healing. 

At times, when someone asks if what I do is too traumatic or stressful, or if the possibility of funding cuts could impact my employment, and if I should find something else, I know that right now this is where I belong, that what I do is the right livelihood for me.