The False Duality Between "Job" And "Service"

I agree with many points made in this article and disagree with many others.  I agree that living to serve will take many forms and self righteousness is a big obstacle and that even if one is a monk or a nun living through begging one is dependent on working people and society.  But that does not mean that all jobs are helpful.  The Buddha taught that there are jobs that harm life, he listed five trades as wrong livelihoods that should not be followed - weapons, poisons, living beings (trading in humand or animals), meat, and intoxicants.  Butchers who kill living beings to make a living do not abide by the dao.  One is not more humble simply because one serves from within the system.  According to many teachers in many different traditions stepping away from society for a while usually to nature can be an important part of personal development.  Usually this is followed by a process of integrating oneself (now hopefully more kind and compassionate) back into society through service. Wherever we are now is where we choose to be.  Our work should be aligned with values of truthfulness, compassion, generosity, non-violence, etc.

I relate to this so much! As a Cause-Focused Storyteller who chose to quit her job, sell her home and possessions to create/facilitate a volunteer literacy project in Belize in 2005 and then re-renter life in the US as a freelance Storyteller/Speaker/Trainer and Coach who currently serves as a Storytelling Consultant at the World Bank in Washington DC, I was told by some that I was "selling out." Perhaps I was learning that "wherever you go, there you are." Meaning that wherever we choose the serve, there we are if indeed we are serving with mindfulness and intention to the task, it matters not where we do it. <3 I have experienced deep sacred moments serving while I teach presentation skills at the World Bank: when I have connected heart to heart with staff reminding us all to listen, learn and value those whom we serve. Recently, 3 staff who had taken my online monthlong intensive course, then attended a face to face with me. When I asked why given it was the same content, all 3 separately replied, "So we could be in your energy in person and hug you to thank you." This is transformation and to me sacred. <3 
To avoid "service fundamentalism" I remind myself to "serve where I am" I hope this is helpful. Hugs from my heart to yours, Kristin

But when we are in the "paid in dollars" service economy, I ask that we use that "status" to bring awareness to the fact that (for far too long now) we have been pretending to ourselves that this is the only work force that matters--that worth is equatable with the size of a paycheck and the commercial prestige of a job title.  Consequently, we have come to hold MBA's in higher esteem than social workers, and (if they're lucky enough to be employed) social workers as more prestigious than unpaid parents or caregivers to the elderly.  Thanks to unfettered capitalism, the market economy has been usurping the values of human community--and wreaking havoc on our relationships with each other and with the planet.   The contributions that are Truly made when we recognize that caring and nurturing have been vastly undervalued (especially in the last couple decades) and now need deep & sincere recognition  are perhaps beyond our wildest dreams.  But as Charles Eisenstein says, this is the coming world that our hearts know is  possible.  If you haven't read his recent book , "The More Beautiful Wirld Thst Our Hearts Know is Possible", please do.🙏🏼

 Namaste,
I began reading with assumption that it will be proclaiming more on service and how typical job mindset works. As i read along, I found i was also holding an assumption "to serve fully, one has to quit his job". Life always seemed difficult working in a system. There was a constant attempt to quit the system, move out of it and say all the worse about the system. Somewhere from last one year there was slow shift towards working in system. Not fitting in the system was motive but doing work without getting attached.
Article came up at a time when all those questions had started again crawling inside head. One can be in or out, most important point is to grow and progress. Progress towards the light, the truth.
Zilong Wang has beautifully summed this us in his last line: Ultimately, the practice is to serve from wherever we are. No one form of service is superior and holier than another. We are all placed in the grand scheme for a reason.

Lots of gratitude !

 Many actions can be of service.  I define service fundamentalism as service done by obligation or rule, that is, it is based on should, have to, can't, must, and got to, all of which are positions or attitudes of obligation and are ways of telling ourselves that we are powerless and victims, which is likely to result in feeling resentment and depression.  What makes service virtuous is it being done freely, done out of choice.  Obligation is toxic.  The setting doesn't matter.  That is, it doesn't matter whether a person is on the job or unemployed or what kind of job a person has.  What matters is where the service is coming from.  Service out of obligation or rule lacks virtue and may even be toxic, and service out of free choice is virtuous and healthy.  For me, sacredness is wholeness, and wholeness involves freedom, so service that is in harmony with wholeness and done freely, is sacred service.  Knowing this helps me to avoid the trap of service fundamentalism.

 Work is worship-no matter what kind of work we do.There are many faces of work. No one face is better than the other face.The face that looks down on other faces is not a service face. Humility is an integral part of service. Service done from the heart induces inner joy, inner reward and a deep sense of fulfillment. Recognition or admiration for the service we do is like frosting on the cake. We cook the food for serving with no expectation in return.

We are a part of the system-social, financial and political. When a system serves the need of a privileged group of people by excluding others, it needs to be changed. Such self-serving systems need radical change to survive and flourish. I have witnessed the great service work done by Mahatma Gandhi for untouchables in India. He blazed a new trial which slowly became a high way.

Work does not have to be against service. This is my personal experience. I have been working as a teacher and counselor all my life. It has been my inward call. It has brought great joy, happiness and fulfillment in my life. Many lives have been gracefully touched by the work I l love do and my life has also been graciously been touched by many hands.

It is the spirit of the work that makes it service. Work and service join hands making living blissful.

May we make our work worship by doing greater good!

Namaste.

Jagdish P Dave