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What's your profession?

Just a fun thread - what's your profession, do you have fun in it, does it help or hinder in your mindfulness/precepts or other practices?

Just share freely. Thanks.
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Comments

  • misterCopemisterCope PA, USA Veteran
    I am a cook and also a writing tutor. Cooking is definitely an exercise in equanimity. I like cooking because I am both proud of the food I produce and humbly serving it to people.
    betaboyVastmindcvalue
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    Yesterday I was a Garden centre Outside Plants Team leader.

    Today?

    Not so much......

    Ah well.... it is what it is......
    Vastmindjae
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator
    God Emperor of NewBuddhist and part-time bagel peddler.
    VastmindcvalueDharmaMcBumKundo
  • Nek777Nek777 Explorer
    @matthewmartin There is a connection between Buddhism and the warrior class. IMO, Buddhism does not require absolute pacifism. In positions where life or death are involved, I am comforted that a Buddhist is involved.

    Any how for work, I am a lawyer, some days I like it, some I don't.

  • Jayantha said:

    Been employed by NJ child protective services for 7 years, as an investigator, as a social worker, and now as a foster/adoptive home recruiter.

    Small world... my cousin has been working for DYFS for eons.

  • I am a seat warmer and desk jockey who stares at a computer monitor all day waiting for one of the mainframes to puke so I can do something. I am a computer sys admin who has entirely too much time on his hands, yet whose co-workers (except for my boss whom I've know for >28 years and is complicit in my goldbricking) think I dig open pit mines single-handedly. Ah the life of a slacker! :lol:
    DharmaMcBum
  • ZenshinZenshin Veteran East Midlands UK Veteran
    @Jayanatha - are you going to become a monk.
  • BhikkhuJayasaraBhikkhuJayasara Bhikkhu Veteran

    Jayantha said:

    Been employed by NJ child protective services for 7 years, as an investigator, as a social worker, and now as a foster/adoptive home recruiter.

    Small world... my cousin has been working for DYFS for eons.


    Lucky them! Lol.. Out of ocean?

    @Jayanatha - are you going to become a monk.

    Yes, that is my plan. Going in this may
    ZenshinLoveWinswangchueyInvincible_summer
  • ZenshinZenshin Veteran East Midlands UK Veteran
    @Jayantha - that is awesome, good luck and may you reach the far shore.
  • Jayantha said:

    Jayantha said:

    Been employed by NJ child protective services for 7 years, as an investigator, as a social worker, and now as a foster/adoptive home recruiter.

    Small world... my cousin has been working for DYFS for eons.


    Lucky them! Lol.. Out of ocean?
    Essex or Bergen, I don't remember which.

  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    Vastmind said:

    I don't normally say this at parties...but...
    I'm a Tax Examining Clerk for the IRS...please don't
    hold it againest me guys... hahahaha
    Do I have fun in it?...Yeah, Congress is a hoot! hahaha

    Oh Score####
    I foresee a whole new level of respectful responses to any of your posts by our American friends
    and some grovelling from me if your influence extends north of the 49th parallel.
    VastmindKundo
  • jaejae Veteran
    I work for a ferry company, dealing with the public is something I have always enjoyed. Its nice to make bookings for people as they are happy they are going on holiday. Its also very rewarding when you can pacify an angry passenger when the boats are cancelled and they are frustrated and disappointed.

    Although I'm new to Buddhism I have to use compassion very often in my line of work and not rise to the ranting general public. I enjoy my job.

    @betaboy.. what do you do and how do you apply your practise?
    betaboyInvincible_summer
  • BhikkhuJayasaraBhikkhuJayasara Bhikkhu Veteran
    edited January 2014
    Vastmind said:

    I don't normally say this at parties...but...
    I'm a Tax Examining Clerk for the IRS...please don't
    hold it againest me guys... hahahaha
    Do I have fun in it?...Yeah, Congress is a hoot! hahaha

    While i feel the irs(and the Federal Reserve) should be abolished, ill never dislike a person just cause they work for the government.(especially since i do myself lol)

    @Jayantha - that is awesome, good luck and may you reach the far shore.

    Thank you. To use a line from the best arthurian movie ever(merlin 1998): "i dont know what ill do or what ill become, only what i am. "

    I have a good hunch that the monks life is for me, but the only way to find out is to take the jump.

    Jayantha said:

    Jayantha said:

    Been employed by NJ child protective services for 7 years, as an investigator, as a social worker, and now as a foster/adoptive home recruiter.

    Small world... my cousin has been working for DYFS for eons.


    Lucky them! Lol.. Out of ocean?
    Essex or Bergen, I don't remember which.

    Essex... *shudder*
    Vastmind
  • VastmindVastmind Memphis, TN Veteran
    Sorry...no influence. hahaha ...It's not the VRS...(vastmind revenue service)
    I can only help you with compliance ..... :D
  • TheEccentricTheEccentric Hampshire, UK Veteran
    I don't have one because I'm still in School (and can't wait to get out).
  • DaftChrisDaftChris Spiritually conflicted. Not of this world. Veteran
    I'm a college student who has one more year before grad school. That counts as a profession, right?

    My actual job is part-time retail and it's only for a small amount of disposable income. I don't plan to stay there forever. My career plan is to be a Chaplain or to work for religious/secular institutions as a social worker of sorts.
    Invincible_summer
  • NomaDBuddhaNomaDBuddha Scalpel wielder :) Bucharest Veteran
    betaboy said:

    Just a fun thread - what's your profession, do you have fun in it, does it help or hinder in your mindfulness/precepts or other practices?

    Just share freely. Thanks.

    Vet embryo here. Still three more years to go, and so far, my practice has not lacked any fun, nor did it lack sorrow, anger, depression, fatigue. I saw all kinds of human 'patients' and their pets , some that need more treatment than their pet, some that made my days a little bright with each visit/consult, some that are the cause of their pet's disease.
    Does it help in my mindfulness and ( spiritual ) practice ? Yes it does !
    JeffreyInvincible_summer
  • DharmaMcBumDharmaMcBum Spacebus Wheelman York, UK Veteran
    edited January 2014
    I'm a Space Bus Pilot! Soaring to near stars, distant galaxies and express runs to wispy nebulae....
    Not really, I'm just a normal service bus driver in North Yorkshire but I do really enjoy it apart from the lack of Space Buses and routes to drive that are in Space.
    I like the regular passengers (especially the space ones) and meeting all the new ones. Much patience is required and often a little compassion (but not space compassion because it's all the same wherever you are) when dealing with the public. Sometimes I add a little dharma in there when one of those chats with passengers suddenly takes an unhappy turn and they start telling me far more than I expected when I said "Where are you off to today?"
    Really though, I do want to be a Spacebus Pilot...
    BeejbetaboyInvincible_summer
  • NeleNele Veteran
    Database programmer for a company whose clients are Big Pharma. The nature of the data I deal with (chemotherapy) isn't uplifting, but the job has many positive aspects (work at home, flexibility, mental challenge) so I would say it is a net plus in terms of my practice. More absorbing than fun.
  • @Jayanatha - are you going to become a monk.

    Yes, that is my plan. Going in this may

    @jayantha I hope you can find time to come around once a while and tell us how things are going. It would be fascinating to hear your story.
    LoveWins
  • BhikkhuJayasaraBhikkhuJayasara Bhikkhu Veteran
    edited January 2014
    ThaiLotus said:

    @Jayanatha - are you going to become a monk.

    Yes, that is my plan. Going in this may

    @jayantha I hope you can find time to come around once a while and tell us how things are going. It would be fascinating to hear your story.
    I have mixed feelings when it comes to that stuff.. While I want to be away from technology, Bhavana Society is in the middle of a technological dhamma revolution with young monastics coming(one 27 year old became a novice last may, and now I am coming in). They are going high tech with a interactive website and all. I definitely plan to come on all the buddhist websites that I frequent(and continue my current dhamma blog and youtube channel).

    The one thing I'm not sure I will be able to do is be on staff at the buddha center in second life anymore. That remains to be seen. Either way I'm excited to start this next part of my life and to see if I can hack it in the life.
    VastmindThaiLotus
  • I am a hairstylist and also in nursing school. I was thinking about a career change and when deciding, I thought about doing something that was less of providing a service and more being of service.
    Invincible_summer
  • HamsakaHamsaka goosewhisperer Polishing the 'just so' Veteran
    I've been a registered nurse for 22 years, but have worked in several areas; visiting nurse, psychiatric nurse, chemical dependency (drug rehab) and lately oncology (cancer nursing).
    VastmindInvincible_summer
  • BhikkhuJayasaraBhikkhuJayasara Bhikkhu Veteran

    I'm an anagarka at a monastery, doing my one year of service and trying it out before I ordain as a monk in October.
    It's not really "fun"... But I'm learning lots, being around monks all the time is great, and I do lots of meditation and help people out a lot.
    Roll on October!!

    Sadu sadu dhamma friend :-), which monastery is this?
  • BarraBarra soto zennie wandering in a cloud in beautiful, bucolic Victoria BC, on the wacky left coast of Canada Veteran
    I'm a former government policy wonk, now retired. Now I do a lot of volunteering. I sit on four Boards of Directors - a non profit that provides housing to youth at risk of homelessness, my condominium board, a fundraising group at our public art gallery, and I'm the International Diector on the Board of my Rotary club. It can be confusing being a Bhuddist and a Rotarian, because we have Four Noble Truths, and Rotary has the Four Way Test.

    @Jae - which ferry service do you work for? Is it B.C. Ferries? :-)
    Invincible_summer
  • jaejae Veteran
    @Barra.... hello, how are you?...I like the sound of your job it must be very rewarding...I work for Condor Ferries they provide a service from the UK to the Channel Islands and France.
  • I work as a musician and as a sound engineer. I also teach music and recording techniques and would like to become a dharma teacher.

    I enjoy my work very much. In fact, I do not see it as work but as a vocation.
    jaeInvincible_summer
  • BhanteLuckyBhanteLucky Alternative lifestyle person in the South Island of New Zealand New Zealand Veteran
    Jayantha said:


    Sadu sadu dhamma friend :-), which monastery is this?

    Ajahn Brahm's, Bodhinyana, near Perth.
    Great place, 6 anagarikas currently, I'm number three.
    You're off to Wat Metta?
    BhikkhuJayasaraInvincible_summer
  • BhanteLuckyBhanteLucky Alternative lifestyle person in the South Island of New Zealand New Zealand Veteran
    Ah, Bhavana Society, awesome. It will be interesting for you to be a monastic with internet access. We have access here but we must walk 2 kilometers to use it, and it's not encouraged.
  • BhanteLuckyBhanteLucky Alternative lifestyle person in the South Island of New Zealand New Zealand Veteran
    Ah, Bhavana Society, awesome. It will be interesting for you to be a monastic with internet access. We have access here but we must walk 2 kilometers to use it, and it's not encouraged.
  • jaejae Veteran
    @LoveWins ... sorry I'm confused, did you change career and become a stylist and nursery worker? Its just personally I think being a hairdresser is a wonderful job you must meet so many people and listen to their worries, life stories, lots of room to apply compassion there... also it must be very rewarding when they leave looking and feeling better...as for child care it must be one of the most important jobs in the world in my humble opinion ...mettha
  • AllbuddhaBoundAllbuddhaBound Veteran
    edited January 2014
    I'm a mental health therapist. Social worker by training. This background brought me to Buddhism. It helps to know what makes us suffer.
    HamsakaInvincible_summer
  • BarraBarra soto zennie wandering in a cloud in beautiful, bucolic Victoria BC, on the wacky left coast of Canada Veteran
    jae said:

    @Barra.... hello, how are you?...I like the sound of your job it must be very rewarding...I work for Condor Ferries they provide a service from the UK to the Channel Islands and France.

    @Jae - I'll never forget when I was in the Netherlands and wanted to book a spot on the (Dutch) ferry that runs from the Hoek of Holland to Great Britain. I was booking it on my cousin's computer in the Netherlands. Their website gave you a choice of using the English language or Dutch. Since my English is better, I chose that. But the system assumed that because I wanted to speak English, I must be wanting to go from Britain to the Netherlands, so it only gave me information and schedules for travel in that direction. If I wanted to go the other way, I would have to do it in Dutch! My cousin helped me out and on the appointed day I took three trains to get to the station. I had left in plenty of time, and good thing, because the website didn't say that it was posting its departure time in the British time zone, which was one hour ahead! When I got there they told me to run because the gates were closing! I got there it time, but I'll never forget that experience of weird customer service and wrong assumptions.
    jae
  • @jae.... Yes I love being a hairstylist, and yes it is rewarding. I've been likened to a therapist,friend,mentor and also making folks feel beautiful. It is definetly a career that gives you many opportunities to practice compassion. However; after doing it for almost 10 years I am ready for a career change. The industry is changing, the money is changing and I'm sick of all the chemicals in the environment. While deciding what my next career should be, I wanted to choose something that I could continue being of benefit to others and practice compassion. This is why I decided to become a nurse (I think you thought I meant nursery/child care). I had to take a year of pre reqs (whew, not easy at 40 years old) and I will start the nursing program in the fall of this year. Yaaaay!
    Hamsaka
  • jaejae Veteran
    @Lovewins.... there can never be too many nurses in this world, and one with true compassion will be one of the best.... good luck and go for it. I'm 46 this year and if there was something out there that I wanted to try (and it paid the mortgage etc etc) I'd do it without hesitation x
  • BhikkhuJayasaraBhikkhuJayasara Bhikkhu Veteran
    edited January 2014

    Jayantha said:


    Sadu sadu dhamma friend :-), which monastery is this?

    Ajahn Brahm's, Bodhinyana, near Perth.
    Great place, 6 anagarikas currently, I'm number three.
    You're off to Wat Metta?

    Ah, Bhavana Society, awesome. It will be interesting for you to be a monastic with internet access. We have access here but we must walk 2 kilometers to use it, and it's not encouraged.

    They have a computer in the main grounds with internet, and I'm not 100% sure but I think they may have limited wireless connections as well. They don't even ban people from having their cell phones on them during retreats, although its highly discouraged. Whenever I go there I turn off my phone in the car and leave it there, it's SUCH a great feeling.

    like with everything, from guns to computers, there is no inherent bad quality to having internet connection, it's how you use it that determines if it is beneficial or a detriment.
  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    @Jayantha
    like with everything, from guns to computers, there is no inherent bad quality to having internet connection, it's how you use it that determines if it is beneficial or a detriment.

    So your meditation center has guns then?????
  • BhikkhuJayasaraBhikkhuJayasara Bhikkhu Veteran
    edited January 2014
    how said:

    @Jayantha
    like with everything, from guns to computers, there is no inherent bad quality to having internet connection, it's how you use it that determines if it is beneficial or a detriment.

    So your meditation center has guns then?????

    They dont, but ive owned guns for years, and they are only 10 feet from where i meditate.. Oh no!
  • Cellphones, guns, computers . . .
    Which of these is not like the others?
  • BhikkhuJayasaraBhikkhuJayasara Bhikkhu Veteran
    Steve_B said:

    Cellphones, guns, computers . . .
    Which of these is not like the others?

    exactly, each are merely parts of metal and plastic put together.
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