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Expert: - 12/30/2007


Question

Dear Sir

This is personal question if you can please answer.

I am Buddhist and trying follow damma and practice damma.
I got a job as a sales assistant in a shop where I have to sell alcohol,beer,wine and
Cigarettes. I feel guilty about this as I have heard about the right livelihood.
Again I think its OK because I just work there as an employee.

I really appreciate if you can  help me to take a decision about the job.  

Bless of Triple Jem.

Jagath.  

Answer
Dear Jagath,
You say that you "feel guilty" about this, so you know that it is not an ideal job for a Buddhist. On the other hand, we have to make a living somehow, and if we insist that our livelihood is *totally* harmless we become almost paralyzed - people can take it to an extreme, something that the Buddha warned us against. Almost any action causes some harm to something - we should try to reduce it, but we can't eliminate it altogether.
So I think it is OK for you to take the responsibility of earning your livelihood, as long as you don't just relax and say "Oh, that's all right then". Can you carry on working there for now, but keep looking out for a job that is less harmful? That would seem to be a sensible middle way.
All the best
Alex Wilding

Buddhists

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Alex Wilding

Expertise

I have practiced and studied Tibetan Buddhism in the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions since the early 1970s, and have a good knowledge of theory, history and of the struggles of trying to practice the teachings, including meditation, while leading a normal, modern life. I am also available to provide background information for journalists.

Experience

I have been a practitioner since the early 1970s; have run a small Buddhist centre in the English Midlands and was vice-president of Kagyu Benchen Ling e.V. in Germany, for whom I managed three large Buddhist summer-camps. More importantly, I maintain a habit of personal practice. I am the "owner" of the Kagyu list at Yahoo.

Education/Credentials
My first degree was an M.A. from Oxford. I later obtained a Master of Philosophy degree for a research thesis in "Initiation in Tibetan Buddhism" from Leicester University. I also have engineering and educational qualifications.

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