How Right Action and Right Livelihood Work Together

Thai Forest Tradition teacher Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo (1907–1961) defines right action—how it manifests, within and without us, and informs our aspiration to engage in right livelihood. Introduced and translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

—Thanissaro Bhikkhu

ONE OF THE MOST distinctive teachings of the Thai Forest Tradition is its insistence that the three parts of Buddhist training—virtue, concentration, and discernment—are intimately interconnected and have to be developed together. What this means in practical terms is, (1) you don’t have to wait for your virtue to be perfect before practicing concentration, or for your concentration to be fully mastered before developing discernment. All three have to inform one another continually for any of them to grow in the right direction. (2) When you’re practicing the higher levels of concentration and discernment, you haven’t outgrown the need to stick with the precepts. The higher levels of the path need continual grounding in virtue in order to maintain their integrity. Ajaan Lee, writing in The Path to Peace and Freedom…

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Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly (Digital) - 1 Issue, Summer 2024

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