Category Archives: Volume 33 2026

Volume 33 2026

Theravāda Moral Dilemmas and the Micro-Dynamics of Mental Factors

Volume 33, 2026

Beyond “Mixed Motives”: Cetasika Micro-Dynamics and Theravāda Moral Dilemmas

Indrajith P. Karunanayaka
Independent Researcher

The act of compassionate lying, or causing harm to save a life, poses a deep ethical question. Although many Buddhists accept breaking a precept out of care, the Theravāda Abhidhamma is widely seen as a rigid system that denies this possibility. Previous scholarly debates on this issue have overlooked the crucial role of momentariness. This article examines the psychological mechanics of moral habituation to show how such acts are structurally possible. Drawing on the Dhammasaṅgaṇī, the Atthasālinī, and the Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha, the study demonstrates that compassion and the intention to deceive cannot blend into a single mixed state. Instead, they arise in a rapid, alternating karmically active phase of cognitive impulsion (javana) sequence. I argue that this process is driven by the strict rules governing mental factors (cetasikas) and the repetition condition (āsevana paccaya) that reinforce the ethical character of each moment. By highlighting the threshold of determining consciousness (voṭṭhapana), this momentary analysis resolves long-standing debates about mixed motives. The analysis clarifies how compassionate deception functions moment by moment and explains why training in moral conduct (sīla) must doctrinally precede concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (paññā).

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Volume 33 2026

A Radical Buddhist Critique of Labor

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Volume 33, 2026

Right Livelihood in an Age of Bullshit Jobs: A Radical Buddhist Critique of Labor

James Mark Shields
Bucknell University

This essay reexamines the Buddhist concept of Right Livelihood (sammā-ājīva) through a critical lens, situating it within contemporary global capitalism. Engaging both Buddhist philosophy and Marxian analysis, I argue that conventional interpretations—focused on ethical employment or meaningful work—overlook the systemic conditions of labor exploitation, environmental harm, and socially conditioned craving (taṇhā) that define late capitalism. Buddhism identifies suffering (dukkha) as rooted in craving, while Marx shows how capitalism institutionalizes endless accumulation, reducing human beings to interchangeable labor power. Both diagnose structural delusion rather than individual moral failure. The essay critiques corporate mindfulness and “conscious capitalism,” showing how these practices domesticate Buddhist ethics, enhancing resilience and productivity while leaving harmful systems intact. Similarly, socially engaged Buddhist frameworks risk complicity when compassion is framed in service of profit rather than structural change. I propose a radical Buddhist approach to labor centered on refusal, reduction of unnecessary work, and collective reorganization of economic life. Drawing on Buddhist sources, Marxian critique, and contemporary post-work proposals—including universal basic income, degrowth, and commons-based practices—I argue that Right Living today entails reclaiming time for ethical cultivation, community, and political participation. Liberation extends beyond mindfulness to the transformation of labor itself, challenging the structural imperatives that reproduce suffering and craving.

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