How does right livelihood affect one’s career and what is the relation between right livelihood and Buddhist ethics.

Right livelihood factor of the eightfold path entails that one’s means of livelihood should not be dishonest or cause suffering to other living beings. Wrong livelihood is trade in weapons, living beings, meat, alcoholic drinks or poison. Wrong livelihood is also seen as any mode of livelihood this is based on trickery or greed. To be able to see how to increase one’s wealth is fine but to be blind to moral considerations so as to do so with tricks fraud and lies: worldly purse proud is to be one eyed. While the early text only gives a short list of types of wrong livelihood in the modern context a Buddhist might add others to the list.

Doing experiment on animals, developing pesticides, working in the arms industry and perhaps even working in advertising to the extent that this is seen as encouraging greed, hatred and delusion. Mangala sutta hold that a great blessing is work which frees from upset which of course can often arise from conflict among employees and employer. Sigalovada sutta says that a person should look after servants and employees by arranging their work according to their strengths by supplying them with food and wages by looking after them when they are ill by sharing delicacies with them and by letting them off work at right time. In response they should be diligent and honest and uphold their employer’s reputation. If we don’t share with their wife, children, servant maids, our livelihood won’t be good because we are making their livelihood difficult. So life and ethics are always interconnected so the relationship with Buddhist ethics is morality.