There is nothing more disheartening than endless futile labor or doing something you absolutely loathe or have a fundamental problem with. As you might recall, Sisyphus was condemned to an eternity of rolling a rock up a steep mountain incline only to have it roll back to the valley again once he got it to the top. On his way back down the mountain, he had to think about his existential position.

Looked at in another way, work is applied effort. It is what we put ourselves into…whatever we expend our energy on for the sake of accomplishing something. Work in this fundamental sense is not what we do for our living, but what we do with our living.

Happiness resides in activity, both physical and mental. It resides in doing things that one can take pride in doing well. Those who have missed the joy of work, of a job well done, have missed something very important.

All work can be done well or it can be done poorly. All work can be done cheerfully and with pride or grudgingly and with distaste. Whichever way we do it is really up to us. It is a matter of choice. There are no menial jobs. Only menial attitudes. In the theatre we say there are no small parts, only small actors. Our attitudes are up to us. A laborer is worthy of his hire.

As Sisyphus presses his face against the rock, each atom of the stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain itself forms a world. The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.

First there was Chaos, the vast immeasurable abyss, outrageous as a sea, dark, wasteful, wild.

– Milton

 

 

 

Great countries are those that can endure history’s convulsions without abandoning their  efforts to solve their problems at home.

 

-Albert Camus

 

According to Jane Hirshfield, in the “Art of Haiku,” a Haiku is a poem composed of 17 syllables or sound bites containing vivid imagery. The traditional Haiku poem should evoke a particular season, although western Haiku writers don’t always follow this proscription.

The original meaning of the Japanese word Haiku, according to Hirshfield, is “Playful verse.” The celebrated Japanese poet, Basho, raised Haiku to new levels of significance by adding a spiritual and emotional dimension.

Basho wasn’t too strict about the form. He advised that you can have an extra syllable or two as long as the poem sounded right. If the sound was off, then a re-write was in order. He also said it was important to see the world with new eyes and to write down the present moment.

Three Haikus

Here are three Haikus that I wrote that I would like to share with you.

The monk stumbles from
The Black Mountain Demon’s Cave
To find the world one bright pearl.

The sound of the dragon
Singing in the withered tree
Comes to my ear.

The empty boat returns
From its long Journey abroad
Full of moonlight.

“The Swerve: How the World Became Modern” by Stephen Greenblatt is a book that holds special significance for me. It is a book about a book hunter who lived in the 15th century, Poggio Bracciolini. It resonates with me because I too am book hunter.
I know how Poggio Bracciolini must have felt when he came across a dusty scroll hidden away in the library of the Benedictine Abbey of Fulda in Germany. This scroll was one of the few remaining copies extant in the world and the only copy that had surfaced to that point. It consisted of an important poem, “On the Nature of Things,” written by Lucretius in 50 BCE. This book would change the course of human events.
“On the Nature of Things” is a poem about the philosophy of Epicurus. Epicurus, a Greek philosopher living in Athens in the third century B.C.E, was a proponent of the theory of atomism. This theory rests on the idea that the basic building blocks of matter are tiny invisible particles called atoms. Epicurus was also a proponent of the pleasure principle. He believed one’s primary aim in life should be enhancing one’s pleasure and avoiding pain. The pursuit of happiness should be the goal of life. Liberated from superstition, you would be free to pursue pleasure. Peace of mind is the key to enduring pleasure. The Church of the 15th century however, thought otherwise. “On the Nature of Things” was considered to be a radical and dangerous document.
“The Swerve: How the World Became Modern,” is a book about books. Greenblatt goes into the history of writing books and bookmaking, libraries, and book storage. He discusses the readers of books and the owners of books from antiquity. He describes these readers to be few in number and usually the wealthy elite. They were a cultivated society of men and women whose homes had rooms designated solely for the purpose of reading books.
“The Swerve” is also a history of the times in which Poggio lived. He lived in Florence during the 15th century. He became secretary to Pope John XXIII. These were wild times for the Church. There were actually three Popes at the time all claiming legitimacy. Pope John XXIII (Baldassare Cossa) was eventually deposed after being accused of simony, sodomy, rape, incest, torture, and murder.
After the Pope was deposed and imprisoned, Poggio unemployed, considered himself to be free. Free to hunt books. Free to read and free from all cares and worries of worldly affairs. He withdrew into the quarters of his private library in his castle. Books delighted him. According to Poggio, time spent with books takes our minds away from our troubles.
The most important impact the book had for me was to answer two burning questions: Is the world determined? And, do we have free will?
Determinism conflicts with the doctrine of free will. Lucretius suggests that atoms tend to swerve randomly (Clinamen). When atoms fall straight down through space they deflect a bit here and there, at uncertain times and places, slightly changing their motion. This swerving action creates the free will that we all take advantage of in our daily lives and allows us to have purpose.
The other important legacy Lucretius leaves us with is the idea that the highest goal of life is the enhancement of pleasure and the reduction of pain. Life should be all about the pursuit of happiness.
We find the echoes of these ideas in our own Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776. In it he declared man’s right to life, freedom, and also to “the pursuit of happiness.” Jefferson owned many editions of “On the Nature of Things in various translations. It was one of his favorite books.

Right livelihood is one of the 14 mindfulness trainings as defined by Thich Nhat Hahn. They were formerly known as precepts, but Thay changed the titles to align more with what he saw as the true meaning of the terms which he believes are meant to be more like guiding principles.
The trainings requires the practitioner to undergo certain vows to live a life and work in an occupation that is not harmful to sentient beings, one that emphasizes understanding and compassion. Occupations to avoid would include arms dealing, drug dealing, and the slaughtering and butchery of animals. As concerned and responsible citizens we must be aware of out interrelationship to the environment and not despoil it.
Right livelihood is also one of the Noble Eightfold Paths, which is one of the earliest teachings of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni. According to Thich Nhat Hahn, writing in his book, “The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching,” the Buddha, as he lay dying, said to one of his adherents, “… it is not important whether you are fully enlightened. The question is whether you want to liberate yourself. If you do, then practice the Noble Eightfold Path.”
The term right livelihood implies a choice. The burden of freedom we carry as human beings requires us to make choices. I have heard some say that because of the economy, “I really didn’t have a choice, I had to work in the meat packing industry, I had to work in this industry or that industry.” While each individual should be viewed with non-judgmental kindness and compassion, we must understand that we actually do have choices.
I can tell you from personal experience that I have had to make some hard choices along the way regarding how I was going to make my living. When I was a young man I worked in a tobacco factory for about six months. I was given the opportunity to go into management. The job paid well and the opportunity was great. I knew then that I couldn’t work for an industry that was basically a merchant of death, dealing out misery, and destruction. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. A few years later, while living in Oklahoma and facing another life changing moment, I had the opportunity to go into hog raising business for the consumer market. Raising pigs for slaughter. I thought about that for about five minutes and said no. I knew it couldn’t be good for my karma. In both cases other opportunities became available to me and I thrived.
Our freedom as humans requires us to make hard choices and to be responsible for the choices we make. Choices lead to action, action creates karma. Life is propelled by the law of cause and effect. You make a good cause, you have a positive effect. You make a bad cause, you have a negative effect. This is how karma works.
By choosing the right livelihood, you follow the path that leads away from suffering, both for yourself and for others. The most important thing is if you can’t do good at least don’t do any harm.