Ethics of Work in Buddhism and Hinduism: From Karma Debt to Mindful Action Ethical approaches to work in Buddhism and Hinduism, despite their differences, are united by fundamental concepts of karma (the law of cause and effect) and dharma (duty, law, order). However, the accents and ultimate goals in these traditions differ, forming two philosophical models of attitude towards professional activity. Hinduism: Work as the Fulfillment of Dharma and Spiritual Evolution In Hinduism, the ethics of work is inseparable from varnasrama-dharma — a system of life styles and social duties prescribed depending on varna (caste) and ashrama (stage of life). Work as duty (dharma). The highest ethical virtue is the selfless fulfillment of one's duty prescribed by a higher power. In the "Bhagavad Gita" (Chapter 3), Krishna instructs the warrior Arjuna: "It is better to perform one's own duty imperfectly than to perform another's duty perfectly." For a brahmin (priest, scholar), dharma is education and the performance of rituals; for a kshatriya (warrior, ruler), it is protection and governance; for a vaishya (farmer, merchant), it is economic activity and commerce; for a shudra (servant, worker), it is service to the three higher varnas. Honest work within one's own varna purifies karma and leads to the soul's progress in future lives. The goal of work: from artha to moksha. Artha (benefit, profit, wealth) is one of the four goals of human life (puрушартха). Accumulating wealth through honest means (especially for vaishyas) is a legitimate and respected aspiration. The treatise "Arthashashtra" by Kautilya (4th century BCE) is a classic example of secular science of governance and economics, where labor and agriculture are rationalized. However, the ultimate goal is moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirths). Work, performed as dharma, but without attachment to its fruits (karma-yoga), becomes a spiritual practice, purifying the mind from egoism and preparing it for liberation. ... Read more