Restaurants/Bars as Wrong Livelihood?

Buddhist ethical conduct including the Five Precepts (Pañcasikkhāpada), and Eightfold Ethical Conduct (Aṭṭhasīla).
User avatar
Dhammakid
Posts: 375
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:09 am
Location: Santa Fe, NM USA
Contact:

Re: Restaurants/Bars as Wrong Livelihood?

Post by Dhammakid »

AlaskanDhamma wrote:I found and interesting documents about jobs/careers in sociology. I see a lot in this list that could have entry-level potential if you use your time right to search.

colfa.utsa.edu/Sociology/Jobs.doc
Thanks for the link AD! I'll be sure to check it out and get back to you.

:namaste:
Dhammakid

EDIT: I looked at the list and a lot of them do seem to have some entry-level/low experience potential. It seems they are more along the lines of an assistant or transcriptionist or something like that, which I don't mind doing at all. Heck, I'll fetch coffee for staff members if it pays well. I'll see which of these can be found in my area. Thanks again.
User avatar
GrahamR
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:13 pm
Location: Surat Thani, Thailand

Restaurants/Bars as Wrong Livelihood?

Post by GrahamR »

I recall working in hotels, bars and restaurants as a student too.
I remember seeing one client make himself so ill with alcohol after his wife left him that he lost his job and later died, all within a year. That was the most extreme case, but I saw others become ill and have marital and financial problems due to alcohol consumption too.
I’m very glad I don’t drink any more!
If you can’t get a better job, you do have to survive, but I would try not to work in the sleazy end of the market!
With metta :bow:
Graham
User avatar
AlaskanDhamma
Posts: 52
Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2009 8:28 pm
Location: Alaska, USA

Re: Restaurants/Bars as Wrong Livelihood?

Post by AlaskanDhamma »

Glad to be of help. I hope you find something in your area. Don't let other people's personal choices get in the way of yours though. Good luck with everything!

:namaste:
"Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace." -Buddha
User avatar
GrahamR
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:13 pm
Location: Surat Thani, Thailand

Restaurants/Bars as Wrong Livelihood?

Post by GrahamR »

Peter wrote:I would not personally worry about being a waitperson as far as Right Livelihood. Your job is to basically bring something from point A to point B. Sometimes it's a salad, sometimes it's a beer.

You could get a job waiting in a restaurant with a BYOB policy, meaning they don't serve alcohol but customers bring their own.
I thought about the concept of just bringing something from A to B, but then you could use the same argument for trafficking drugs or running guns, to make an extreme comparison.
With metta :bow:
Graham
User avatar
kc2dpt
Posts: 957
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2009 3:48 pm

Re: Restaurants/Bars as Wrong Livelihood?

Post by kc2dpt »

GrahamR wrote:I thought about the concept of just bringing something from A to B, but then you could use the same argument for trafficking drugs or running guns, to make an extreme comparison.
So?
- Peter

Be heedful and you will accomplish your goal.
User avatar
GrahamR
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:13 pm
Location: Surat Thani, Thailand

Restaurants/Bars as Wrong Livelihood?

Post by GrahamR »

Peter wrote: So?
I would suggest a drug mule or gun runner has about as valid a defence in that they are just moving something from A to B
With metta :bow:
Graham
User avatar
DNS
Site Admin
Posts: 17194
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 4:15 am
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, Estados Unidos de América
Contact:

Re: Restaurants/Bars as Wrong Livelihood?

Post by DNS »

GrahamR wrote: I would suggest a drug mule or gun runner has about as valid a defence in that they are just moving something from A to B
Perhaps a good point. But a waiter is taking orders and does not usually recommend items to be ordered. A customer at a restaurant has a choice to not choose meat items, a choice not to choose alcohol. Even restaurants with a full bar always have soft drinks, water, tea, and coffee that can be ordered. It is up to the customer to choose what to order, not the waiter.
User avatar
Ceisiwr
Posts: 22441
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 2:36 am
Location: Wales

Re: Restaurants/Bars as Wrong Livelihood?

Post by Ceisiwr »

Perhaps a good point. But a waiter is taking orders and does not usually recommend items to be ordered. A customer at a restaurant has a choice to not choose meat items, a choice not to choose alcohol. Even restaurants with a full bar always have soft drinks, water, tea, and coffee that can be ordered. It is up to the customer to choose what to order, not the waiter.
True, but dealing in arms is wrong livelihood and its still the customers choice to buy the weapons, you help provide it
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
User avatar
DNS
Site Admin
Posts: 17194
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 4:15 am
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, Estados Unidos de América
Contact:

Re: Restaurants/Bars as Wrong Livelihood?

Post by DNS »

clw_uk wrote: True, but dealing in arms is wrong livelihood and its still the customers choice to buy the weapons, you help provide it
Yes, but an arms dealers is only providing arms, a liquor store is only providing alcohol, a gun runner is only providing weapons. But a waiter is an employee offering all kinds of choices, some wholesome, some not so much.
User avatar
kc2dpt
Posts: 957
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2009 3:48 pm

Re: Restaurants/Bars as Wrong Livelihood?

Post by kc2dpt »

GrahamR wrote:
Peter wrote:So?
I would suggest a drug mule or gun runner has about as valid a defence in that they are just moving something from A to B
So?
True, but dealing in arms is wrong livelihood
Is the gun-runner in your question dealing or is he merely transporting?

Does a waiter buy the food from the kitchen and then sell it to the diners at the table?
- Peter

Be heedful and you will accomplish your goal.
User avatar
GrahamR
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:13 pm
Location: Surat Thani, Thailand

Restaurants/Bars as Wrong Livelihood?

Post by GrahamR »

Does a waiter buy the food from the kitchen and then sell it to the diners at the table?
To me a gun runner transports the weapons, it's a trader or dealer who buys and sells them. Likewise a drugs mule simply transports them. It's maybe just semantics we disagree about.
With metta :bow:
Graham
Post Reply