Tricycle's Daily Dharma: August 23, 2007
The Path to Right Livelihood
Those of us who
start on the path to right livelihood find that our lives are more
balanced, simple, clear, and focused. We are no longer strung out in a
meaningless cycle of material consumption. The contemporary economy
focuses on this cycle of consumption. It doesn't really support our
efforts to find meaningful work. Today, work is a means to consume or to
pay debt for consumption already indulged in. How many people do you
know who really love the work they are doing? How many feel bored and
alienated? How many are simply earning the money to spend it on material
pleasures? Right livelihood demands that you take responsibility for
making your work more meaningful. Good work is dignified. It develops
your faculties and serves your community. It is a central human
activity. -- Roger Pritchard, in Claude Whitmyer's
Mindfulness and Meaningful Workfrom Everyday Mind,
edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle
