Samu: the Buddhist Work Ethic

The Japanese-Buddhist phrase samu (作務) is often associated with Zen, and refers to a kind of Buddhist work ethic, especially for monks. While monks in ancient India were expected to beg for alms and focus exclusively on practice, when Buddhism reached China the criticism from native Confucian scholars about “lazy monks” forced a change toward self-sufficiency.

Thus monasteries in China developed a work-ethic that emphasized monastic work, and work as a Buddhist practice, however this was not universally practiced. Buddhist communities that adopted this ethic tended to survive the Buddhist purge of 845, and passed on such monastic rules to future communities in Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

I was surprised to learn that this tradition of samu wasn’t limited to Zen, though. I found an article (Google Translate version) about samu in Tendai Buddhism:

また、仏道に励む僧侶の世界でも日頃の修行として、これも昔から、一、作務（さむ）　二、勤行（ごんぎょう）　三、学門（がくもん）と言われてきました。

“Thus, even in the world of monks endeavoring on the Buddhist path, as a daily training, it has been said since antiquity that ‘first samu, second practice, and third knowledge.'”

As the article says, it’s tempting to see Buddhism in terms of meditation and such, but these are only part of the story. The work we do each day, whether that be parenting, office work, etc., is just as important, if not more important, than meditation. This is because our day to day activities, done in a Buddhist light, help train us bit by bit. 

Once one sees daily work in this way, and makes it a foundation for their Buddhist path, then adding home practice (gongyō) within this is a healthy thing to do.

I mention this, because it’s tempting to see work, parenting and such as getting in the way of Buddhist practice, because we tend to hold an unrealistic view of how Buddhism is practiced. But this is a problem that past generations solved long ago by realigning daily obligations into a more Buddhist context.

The work we do benefits others, even if we are just doing it to pay bills, or out of obligation. Right livelihood is also one facet of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Instead of treating Buddhism as a way to escape our problems, we are encouraged to embrace our life as it is and make it a Buddhist one.

Namu Shakamuni Butsu
Namu Amida Butsu

¹ Even in the Buddha’s time, the monks were carefully instructed not to beg for alms after early morning, to reduce the burden on the lay community. Further whatever they received was meant to last them the whole day.