#right livelihood

[look-into-our-heart]

Walking the Noble Eightfold Path (part 6)

Right Livelihood (part 6)

Right Livelihood means choosing an occupation that is righteous, ethical, and beneficial to society. We all need to make a living, but the career or profession we pursue must be morally upright, as a slight deviation can, over time, cause us to accumulate great negative karma through our work.

Since we spend a significant portion of our lives working, our occupation has a profound impact on both ourselves and others. If we choose a profession that benefits people, then much of our life is spent creating good karma and contributing positively to society. However, if we choose a livelihood that harms others for the sake of profit, then we are continually generating negative karma. This is why choosing a proper, ethical profession is so important.

The Bodhisattva precepts point out some harmful livelihoods that people should avoid. These include occupations that involve killing, stealing or deception (such as scams and blackmail), gambling, prostitution and the sex industry, human trafficking, and the trade of weapons, drugs, or intoxicants. Such livelihoods cause suffering to others and create unwholesome karma.

Right Livelihood is about aligning our work with the Dharma. Countless occupations actively benefit society, such as teaching, healthcare, banking, and craftsmanship. In our occupation, we should strive to act with integrity, avoid causing harm whenever possible, and earn our living through honest and ethical means.

[essickmango]

Answer the pretender, fifth of December

So having been to a talk by Audrey Tang yesterday (look her up if you never heard about her), I'd like to share some interesting points:

Human-in-the-loop does sound like it could make us end up in a hamster wheel of ever faster turning (or churning) AI. What makes a lot more sense is AI-in-the-human-loop (where the AI is used to facilitate the human processes).

Do not delegate what you cannot delegate. It make as little sense for a robot to go to a gym as it does for AI to replace civic processes among humans, like for example care or government processes.

Prevent digital colonialism and nationalism. They promote polarisation and imprison you. Build bridges (between platforms and people) so we don't imprison ourselves. If necessary, force companies to comply by throtteling their connection (it's not censorship if it just becomes slow).

Find the uncommon ground. People agree on way more than you'd think, so figuring out where they (unexpectedly) agree can help a lot to build solutions that accept the lines of disagreement and still work.

In short:

The singularity may be near, but the plurality is here.

(Audrey Tang if it wasn't already clear)

[atsvensson]

Forensic Architecture - fick pris för brottsutredningsmetoder

Right Livelihood Award 2024 till Forensic Architecture. Det är en banbrytande forskargrupp som ägnar sig åt att avslöja och dokumentera sanningen om brott mot miljömässiga och mänskliga rättigheter. Det sker med hjälp av banbrytande tekniker med öppen källkod och digital modellering. Organisationen är baserad vid Goldsmiths, University of London. De använder avancerad teknik, vittnesmål och…

[protoslacker]

The MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, we work to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology is affecting children and society.

In the past I’ve been so delighted to puruse the stories of MacArthur Fellows when they are announced.  But this year I felt so tired, when I read the list I didn’t feel a burning curiosity about whe these people are and what they do.   I suspect many of us nowadays feel our skin is thin. I wondered why I felt the need to steel myself in order to find out more when when I’ve always enjoyed finding out more about the new class of MacArthur Fellows?

I’m not sure, it’s so hard to understand myself at times.I did eventually go to see. I took much joy in watching the short videos of the MacArthur Fellows introducing themselves and their work. The work is hard,  perhaps that’s what I was remembering in my hesitancy  and forgetting all the joy in creating good work.

[tylynnthe-internetkween]

Bell hooks said the elderly people in her family emphasized “Work that makes life sweet”. She then went onto say that if you are doing what you love then you will feel fulfilled and happy to work. Hell, you wouldn’t even see what you are doing as “work”.

I love that philosophy and I want that for me. I want to work a job that will bring me satisfaction and fulfillment …bell hooks says work stress can spill over into your life and I don’t want to be nasty or mean to my loved ones because I am unhappy at work.

My wish for everyone in this world is to find “work that makes life sweet”.

[jakeberabbit]

Zen Check 2022: Sila

Don't mind me, just doing a quick gut-check on whether I'm walking the walk when it comes to Buddhist principles....

Happy New Year, everyone! I thought I would start the blog this year by doing a gut check on a few fundamentals. I identify as a Zen Buddhist, meaning that I adhere to the principles of both Zen AND Buddhism. Especially in the United States, Zen has become its own discipline — a way of thinking about the world that doesn’t necessarily depend on the Four Noble Truths or the Eightfold Path. The…

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[suzilight]

There are increasing numbers of companies with mindfulness programs, but often these are geared towards helping employees manage stress rather than reorganizing the workplace so it is less stressful and more nurturing to begin with.

Right Livelihood in an Unjust Society

And it is rare that these programs extend to questioning the basic ethics of what the company does. 

Mindfulness matters, but make no mistake: Corporations are co-opting the idea to disguise the ways they kill us. 

[protoslacker]

The ancient peasant farmers who fashioned this forest garden system continued to hunt wild game and harvest wild foods, just as their descendants in Tuscany do today. The culture and cuisine of Tuscany - from truffle hunting to winemaking - is part of a 30,000-year-old unbroken tradition and relationship with the land. The elegance and near-perfection of these temperate forest gardens is shown in how they have thrived for millennia on some of the most contested land in Europe, surviving climate change, war, pestilence, drought, and economic upheaval.

Max Paschall at Shelterwood Forest Farm. The Lost Forest Gardens of Europe