What is Right Livelihood?
Right Livelihood (Pali: sammā-ājīva; Sanskrit: samyag-ājīva) is the fifth component of the Noble Eightfold Path in Buddhist teaching. It is the fifth of the eight path factors and belongs to the virtue division of the path, alongside Right Speech and Right Action. At its core, Right Livelihood addresses both the means by which one earns a living and one’s relationship to consumption and material possessions. It calls for avoiding a wrong way of living and maintaining one’s livelihood through right means.
The Buddha’s explicit guidance on forbidden occupations appears in the Anguttara Nikaya. There is only one passage in the Canon where the Buddha clearly condemns certain trades as wrong livelihood, listing five: trading in poison, trading in weapons, trading in intoxicants, trading in meat, and trading in human beings. Beyond these prohibitions, Right Livelihood emphasizes honest work free from deceit, treachery, or exploitation. The concept extends beyond mere occupation to encompass one’s entire relationship with work, consumption, and material needs.
Origins & Lineage
The Noble Eightfold Path is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana. The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Setting the Dharma Wheel in Motion), the first sermon by the Buddha at Deer Park, Sarnath, is the discourse on Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path. This sermon, delivered around 528 BCE following the Buddha’s enlightenment, established Right Livelihood as part of the path to liberation.
In the Majjhima-Nikaya, No. 117, it is said: ‘To practise deceit, treachery, soothsaying, trickery, usury: this is wrong livelihood.’ And in the Anguttara-Nikaya, V.177, it is said: ‘Five trades should be avoided by a disciple: trading in arms, in living beings, in flesh, in intoxicating drinks, and in poison’. The Pali Canon also contains guidance on balanced living for householders, particularly in discussions with the wealthy banker Anāthapiṇḍika.
Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa wrote the Visuddhimagga (a treatise on the whole of the Pali Canon) in the fifth century in Sri Lanka, and the Visuddhimagga is described as one of the most influential Pali texts, a compendium of Buddhist doctrine and metaphysics. Buddhaghosa’s commentary further elaborated the distinction between ordinary moral conduct and conduct specifically related to livelihood.
How It’s Practiced
For laypeople, Right Livelihood means to avoid any livelihood that causes suffering to others by cheating, harming, or killing them. For monastics, Right Livelihood means to live from the donations of others and never take more than one needs.
For lay practitioners, the practice involves several dimensions. First, the occupation itself must avoid the five explicitly forbidden trades. Trade in weapons, trade in living beings, trade in meat, trade in intoxicants, and trade in poison are prohibited. Trade in living beings covers not only buying and selling common animals, but also buying and selling human beings.
Second, practitioners cultivate ethical conduct in their work by avoiding dishonesty, deception, manipulation, or exploitation. A householder should know his income and expenses and lead a balanced life, neither extravagant nor miserly, knowing that thus his income will stand in excess of his expenses. This reflects the principle of contentment with material possessions.
Third, Right Livelihood involves examining one’s attitude toward consumption and material needs. One of the important principles is contentment with material possessions. When you think in these ways, you find that you’re buying less, using less, because you’re looking elsewhere for your happiness.
The Buddha’s reticence in discussing the issue of livelihood for lay people is suggested by passages indicating that if he criticized those who followed a particular occupation, he risked setting himself up as a busybody. If people were to react unfavorably when told that their occupation was inherently unskillful and conducive to a bad rebirth, they might close their minds to learning the Dhamma.
Right Livelihood Today
Contemporary Buddhist teachers have adapted Right Livelihood teachings to address modern economic complexity. Thich Nhat Hanh writes: “To practice Right Livelihood, 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”.
Practitioners encounter Right Livelihood teachings at meditation centers like Spirit Rock, Plum Village, and Insight Meditation Society, where dharma talks and workshops address work ethics. Many Buddhist communities offer retreats focused specifically on livelihood questions, and teachers like S.N. Goenka and Jack Kornfield have developed guidance for laypeople navigating modern careers.
In 1980, Swedish-German philanthropist Jakob von Uexküll established the Right Livelihood Award—sometimes called the “Alternative Nobel Prize”—after selling his stamp collection worth US$1 million to provide initial funding. Before establishing the award in 1980, von Uexkull had tried to persuade the Nobel Foundation to establish new prizes in ecology and development. The award recognizes individuals offering practical solutions to global challenges, bringing Buddhist ethical principles into secular humanitarian work.
Common Misconceptions
Right Livelihood is not a demand for perfection or complete purity. Ming Zhen Shakya suggests finding a “pure” livelihood is impossible, arguing that any work that is honest and legal can be Right Livelihood. However, if we remember that all beings are interconnected, we realize that trying to separate ourselves from anything “impure” is impossible, and not really the point.
It is not limited to “spiritual” professions. S.N. Goenka said, “If the intention is to play a useful role in society in order to support oneself and to help others, then the work one does is right livelihood”. Teachers, janitors, accountants, and farmers can all practice Right Livelihood.
Right Livelihood is not solely about the job itself. It deals not only with the ramifications of how you acquire the requisites of life—food, clothing, shelter, and medicine—but also with the attitude you take toward consuming them. The practice encompasses one’s entire relationship to work and consumption.
It is not separate from the other path factors. In understanding wrong livelihood as wrong, and right livelihood as right, one practises Right Understanding; and in making efforts to overcome wrong livelihood, one practises Right Effort; and in overcoming wrong livelihood with attentive mind, one practises Right Mindfulness. Hence, there are three things that accompany and follow upon Right Livelihood.
Finally, it does not require abandoning one’s current job immediately if one discovers ethical problems. If you realize your means of livelihood is unskillful, it may take time to disentangle yourself. This may have been one of the reasons why the Buddha observed his etiquette, because a lot of people are stuck in their occupation.
How to Begin
Begin with self-examination. Reflect on whether your current work requires you to lie, harm others, or cultivate unwholesome mental states. Consider whether your consumption patterns are driven by genuine need or by craving.
Study the traditional texts. The Vanijja Sutta (Anguttara Nikaya 5.177) and the Majjhima Nikaya 117 contain the Buddha’s core teachings. “The Word of the Buddha” compiled by Bhikkhu Nyanatiloka offers accessible translations of passages on Right Livelihood from the Pali Canon.
Consult contemporary teachers. Thich Nhat Hanh’s “The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching” provides extensive reflection on Right Livelihood for modern practitioners. Jack Kornfield’s writings on lay practice and S.N. Goenka’s vipassana teachings address workplace ethics.
Join a sangha or meditation community where these questions can be explored with others. Many communities offer discussion groups specifically on ethical livelihood.
If you find your work incompatible with Buddhist ethics, begin planning a transition rather than making impulsive changes that might create additional suffering for yourself or dependents. Practice Right Livelihood where you are by cultivating mindfulness, honesty, and compassion in your current role while exploring alternatives.