Profiting from Selling Alcohol

Profiting from Selling Alcohol

Date Posted:
November 2005

A Chinese businessman asked for advice regarding whether it is bad to make money selling wine, caviar, and canned salmon. Rinpoche was concerned about the effect on him of mentioning the result of selling alcohol, which is to be reborn in the hell realms, and so began by speaking to him for some time about the lay vow of abstaining from alcohol.

An exception would be if a thousand people are dying of starvation and there is no other way to save them except by selling alcohol to them, then in that case it is better to sell it than to refuse them.

Selling alcohol, unless one has a great purpose and is doing it with strong compassion, is better to avoid.

It is explained in the Vinaya teachings, Dorwa Lung, that there are eight hot hells, called Black Line hot hell, and so on. A person who drinks alcohol gets born in the fifth hot hell, called Great Lamentation, and the person who sells wine gets reborn in the Great Crying Hell and also in the Iron House Hell, which is a house in a burning fire with no way to escape.

It is better to gradually change the nature of your business, and give the money that comes from these things to a good cause, such as charities. Psychologically, it feels better to do it this way, in the short term.