9. Right or Wrong Livelihood in Buddhist Monastic Order

Buddhist monastic are called Bhikkhus (monks) and Bhikkhunīs (nuns), which literally means men and women who rely on alms for the necessities of life. That is, they depend solely on the generosity of lay supporters. However, some monks, dissatisfied with the amount and uncertainty of alms, have tried to secure a more comfortable lifestyle by practising various crafts or trades and expecting a fee. This is called wrong livelihood.

An exhaustive list of examples of wrong livelihood can be found in the discourse of the Buddha called “Brahmajāla Sutta’ which is in the section of the Tipiṭaka called “Dīgha Nikāya”. It includes such “priest craft” as: palmistry, fortune-telling, interpreting dreams, determining propitious dates or sites, exorcism, reciting protective charms, incanting malevolent spells, foretelling a person’s remaining lifespan, running errands for laypeople, casting astrological charts and so on.^[1] Even earning a living in, what would be for a layperson, a good way such as practising medicine is for a monk wrong livelihood. There is a story in the Dhammapada Commentary of such a monk who did very well out of practising as a doctor. One day, this monk received the most delicious alms-food from a man whom he had just successfully treated.

On the way back to the monastery, he met Ven. Sāriputta, one of the leading disciples of the Buddha, proudly told of his doctoring and offered some of his delicacies to him. Ven. Sāruputta was dismayed and walked away without saying a word. Ven. Sāriputta loved the simple tradition of depending on alms and he would not eat what was obtained by breaking the precepts, in this case through practising a craft for personal gain.

When he returned to the monastery and related this incident to the Buddha, the Buddha recited the following stanzas:

“Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu who is shameless is coarse in thought, word and deed. He is arrogant like unto a crow. He will secure a comfortable living through unlawful means. On the other hand, life for a monk who has a sense of moral shame is not easy.”^[2]

It is allowable for a monk skilled in medicine to treat people staying at the monastery, even to help those visiting—-but not to make a business out of it.

All Buddhist monks, be they Arahants, completely enlightened beings) or newly ordained monks, live their lives according to this same basic principle of a minimal amount of material possessions and an optimum of devotion to Dhamma practice.

To live happily without an abundance of material possession, monks rely on sīla, morality or good conduct. Note that each of the four types of good conduct mentioned below calls upon another spiritual quality to perfect it:^[3]

They are:—

(1) Restraint of Behaviour (Pāmokkha-saṃvara sīla);
(2) Restraint of the Senses (Indriya-saṃvara sīla);
(3) Purity of Livelihood (Ājīvapāri-suddhi sīla);
(4) Morality of Requisites (Paccaya-sannissita sīla);

These spiritual qualities are stated in the chapter five because they are concerned with Sīla. So here has not been mentioned in detail.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

D.I, P. 8-9. Pali Text Society I, P. 8-9.

[2]:

Dh. Verse 244, 245, P. 47. Pali Text Society, P. 34. Dh.A. II, P. 224. Pali Text Society III, P. 352.

[3]:

Vsim. I, P. 16.