I recently read Thich Naht Hanh’s Zen tome, Peace Is Every Step. It is a soothing read on how to exist peacefully in the modern world. Overall, it reaffirmed my love for his work.
But in the last chapter, he steps outside his usual parabolic style of writing to offer a set of guidelines on how to live an ethical, mindful life: “the fourteen precepts of the Order of Interbeing”. Although that’s a little more Old Testament than I usually like my Buddhism, I did appreciate the chance to distil what I learned into a list.
Most of them rang true: “don’t force others to adopt your views”, “do not avoid contact with suffering”, etc, until I got to number 5:
“Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry. Do not take as the aim of your life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure. Live simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.”
I didn’t love that one. I’m going to explore why.
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I’m spiritually aware enough to agree with the initial premise: the goal of wealth accumulation is not a path towards a fulfilling life. This seems self-evident.
However, the corollary can be interpreted like this:
“The accumulation of wealth is contradictory to Interbeing. If you accumulate wealth, you have weakened your ability to live an ethical, mindful life.”
This is what I disagree with. I actually think the accumulation of wealth can be, at times, necessary to living an ethical, mindful life.
I base this on a couple of assumptions:
- To live an ethical, mindful life, you must also live a fulfilling life.
- To live a fulfilling life, you must do things you’re passionate about.
What if one’s passion necessitates the accumulation of wealth?
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My sister always liked drawing. She drew when she was a little kid, then she drew in art school, then she kept on drawing.
After art school, she had a struggled to find a job in her field, and found herself lamenting:
“I wish it wasn’t so obvious to me what I should do with my life. I know I want to be an illustrator and not do anything else. But that really limits my job options.”
I argued that this feeling was a blessing. Not many people are lucky enough to know exactly what they want to do with their working life.
Soon after, she got a job as an illustrator. She draws the characters that go in mobile video games, an undeniably cool job for a lifelong artist (even if their characters seem to have vaguely sexual overtones.
For my sister, she finds fulfilment in her work through the opportunity for creative expression. Although she’s paid fairly, she would likely take no issue with Thich Naht Hanh’s 5th precept.
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In my 7th grade yearbook, I wrote that I wanted to be one of two things when I grow up: an NBA player or a businessman.
Like my sister, I knew where my passions laid from a very young age. When I turned 17 and still couldn’t dunk, I gave up on the NBA. But I stuck with business.
Like my sister, I continue to find my chosen path highly fulfilling. I love how it requires multiple modes of thinking, how its puzzle only grows as you put the pieces together, and how its constraints catalyze creativity.
However, one of those constraints is profit. The creative act of business requires seeking profit. If you think it doesn’t, then you’re not passionate about business, you’re passionate about non-profits.
Another one of those constraints is scale. Any business requires an element of scale, even small businesses. That’s because the game of business is about creating systems so you’re not personally executing all its operations.
This means adding people, processes, and assets, all of which add up to scale. If you want a business where you personally execute all its operations, you’re not passionate about business, you’re passionate about freelancing.
If you succeed in both profit and scale, the accumulation of wealth follows.
In sum, the practice of business (as I’ve defined it) can be a fulfilling path in life, not different at its core from being an illustrator. But unlike other paths, it necessitates the accumulation of wealth.
Sure, you can certainly redirect that wealth away from you as an individual towards those in need. And I believe people should. But you can only do it to an extent that keeps your business healthy, and by the time you’re donating your wealth, you’ve already broken the 5th precept.
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So that’s my issue. These five statements cannot all be true:
- If you accumulate wealth, you have weakened your ability to live an ethical, mindful life.
- To live an ethical, mindful life, you must also live a fulfilling life.
- To live a fulfilling life, you must do things you’re passionate about.
- The practice of business can be a passion-driven, fulfilling path in life.
- A fulfilling practice of business necessitates the accumulation of wealth.
There is probably a case to be made against any of these points. And if I’m being earnest, I enjoy the material trappings of business, and it’s possible I’m creating a justification for my lifestyle choices through reductive reasoning. To a certain extent, I (and many others) could lessen our pursuit of the accumulation of wealth without hurting our love for the craft itself.
So my issue with the precept is as pedantic as it is spiritual. But if I had to pick which statement above wasn’t entirely true, I’d still go with the first.
I propose a humble addendum to the 5th precept:
“Be mindful of accumulating wealth while millions are hungry. Do not take as the primary aim of your life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure. Live simply through your passions and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.”
I know how much Buddhists love business people, so I’m sure they’ll have no problem adding that in.