Is owning a diner wrong livelihood?

[asahi]

Greetings asahi,

You meant buddhist can sell alcohol .
I dont quite understand the language perhaps . But i take it to mean either making or selling intoxicants are prohibit by the precept .

If you believe the Commentary, it seems to be equivalent to meat in terms of how it's regarded.

You can't make the meat and sell it, but if it's already been made by someone else, you can sell it.

Unless someone wants to suggest that the translation of the Commentary provided by Bhikkhu Pesala is in error.



Metta,
Paul.

For meat it means raising cattles etc and then sell the meats . So , it is both . Of course if people want to sell meats they will have to make the order from some party , in a way , that constitute indirectly asking someone to kill and sell it to you . If you are in business of selling meats , you want to get it cheap , so you will source the most economical or low-priced which means directly get it from butcher company .
Selling alcohol is somewhat unwholesome in my understanding .

[Ontheway]

Vaṇijjāsuttavaṇṇanā
(AA.iii.303)

Commentary on the Vaṇijjā Sutta
Business (vaṇijjā) means trading as a means of livelihood (vāṇijakammāni).¹ By a lay disciple (upāsakenā) means by one who has taken the three refuges (tisaraṇagatena). Business in weapons (satthavaṇijjā) means having made weapons (āvudhabhaṇḍaṃ kāretvā), he sells them (vikkayo). Business in living beings (sattavaṇijjā) ² means selling human beings (manussavikkayo). Business in flesh (maṃsavaṇijjā) means having raised pigs (sūkara), deer and so forth (migādayo), he sells them. Business in intoxicants (majjavaṇijjā) ³ means having made whatever kind (yaṃ kiñci) of intoxicants (majjaṃ), he sells them. Business in poisons (visavaṇijjā) ⁴ means having made poisons (visaṃ kāretvā), he sells them. Thus one should neither engage in any of these businesses oneself (neva attanā kātuṃ), nor urge others to engage in them (na pare samādapetvā kāretuṃ).⁵

Notes:
1. Making a livelihood by buying and selling, or by making and selling.
2. The Commentary specifies trading in human beings (for slavery, prostitution, or trafficking), so we can infer that trading in other living beings such as for work, e.g. horses, oxen, guard dogs, or as pets is not unsuitable. Trading living beings for their meat (or fur) is covered by trading in flesh.
3. Both fermented and distilled intoxicants are included. By the words “yaṃ kiñci” and by using the four great standards, recreational drugs are included.
4. Whatever toxins are designed to kill living beings, whether human beings, vermin, or insects.
5. Neither is it proper to condone it or speak in praise of it.

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

Thank you for the translation.

[seeker242]

Greetings,

The commentary shared above by Bhikkhu Pesala suggests that even selling alcohol is fine, so long as you didn't make it yourself... so keep the homebrew off the menu, and you're good to go!



Metta,
Paul.

So owning and operating a liquor store is not wrong livelihood? I find that hard to believe.

But he has commented on this before in another good thread here. viewtopic.php?p=237684#p237684

If you work for McDonalds you are not trading in flesh, you are serving customers. The owners are the one's who profit from trading in flesh. It would be the same if you worked in a small Fish and Chip shop, cooking or serving the customers. However, if you owned and ran the business yourself it would be a wrong livelihood.