Can I Recite the Name While Working and Starting a Business? | Master Jingben
【Q&A Series】
Can I Recite the Name While Working and Starting a Business?
Master Jingben Answers: Namo Amitabha. Please set your heart at ease — of course you can; there is no problem at all.
That you work in the world and still think of reciting the Name is already most praiseworthy. And reciting the Name does not require abandoning one's life and livelihood. Especially as you are still young, needing a job to support yourself is only proper, and in no way conflicts with reciting the Name.
Know this: the Dharma-gate of reciting the Name is, by its very nature, a gate that blends into daily life — "reciting the Name within daily life, and living within the reciting of the Name." Scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants — each at peace in their own trade; fulfilling one's own duties well while reciting "Namo Amitabha" — this is precisely the normal state of one who recites the Name. We need not wait until we have put everything down and are free of all cares before we can recite; we need only bring this one Name, naturally, into our days of studying, working, and doing business.
Here let me share a few more points with you:
1. Running a Business in Accord with the Dharma Is "Right Livelihood"
In running a business, one should do so in a way that accords with reason and with the Dharma. As the saying goes, "A noble person loves wealth, but gains it by proper means." Any profession, any position, takes the seeking of benefit for all beings as its foremost premise — this is what Buddhism calls "Right Livelihood." When the community benefits, pure wealth naturally comes. In this way, the business itself can become a wholesome condition that benefits oneself and benefits others.
2. Do What Is Humanly Possible, and Heed the Buddha's Will
In your work, put your whole heart into the effort that is called for (doing what is humanly possible); as for success or failure, gain or loss, entrust it to Amitabha Buddha's arrangement (heeding the Buddha's will). With the Name to rely on in your heart, you will not be arrogant in favorable times nor disheartened in adverse ones — you will have a firm footing whether advancing or retreating. This is the greatest advantage of one who recites the Name in handling affairs.
3. Make Good Use of Scattered Moments to Recite
In the midst of busyness, make good use of scattered moments to recite the Name — while commuting, while waiting, in moments of rest, all can be used to recite — letting the Name go on unbroken throughout your life.
So please, with a peaceful heart, study well and work well, while single-heartedly reciting the Name and vowing to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Your worldly duties and the great matter beyond the world — neither need be neglected. This is the finest arrangement of all. Namo Amitabha
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