Can lay people be involved in the weapons business?

The Boddhisattva vows, which were both a monastic and lay code had a prohibition on keeping weapons:

"10. On Storing Deadly Weapons A disciple of the Buddha should not store weapons such as knives, clubs, bows, arrows, spears, axes or any other weapons, nor may he keep nets, traps or any such devices used in destroying life. (53)

As a disciple of the Buddha, he must not even avenge the death of his parents -- let alone kill sentient beings! (54) He should not store any weapons or devices that can be used to kill sentient beings. If he deliberately does so, he commits a secondary offense."

ref: http://www.ic.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/bns/bnstext.htm

Other specific Buddhist leaders at time to time have been coopted by their governments to say things in favor of the war of the moment which would sometimes be fought by lay Buddhists. Despite this, it's hard to not say that Buddhism has a huge pacifist streak.

These questions require deep thought about the wider implications. At first blush armor seems like a good thing, but while it is a defense against weapons it can also make a soldier/weapon stronger and therefore an even more efficient killer.

Of course someone can use a hammer to kill, and I seriously doubt the maker of the hammer is responsible.

Let's take some of the natural forms as an example:

A tree is not a weapon.

Metals are not.

A horse feeds on grass, loves to run and stay within the herd.

The black powder burns when in contact with heat and fire.

The dolphin swims.

A sense arises, an attachment forms, the desire thus forms, the intention / purpose (thought) merges.

A tree can then be chopped down and the wood is attached to the barrel of a rifle.

The metals can be refined and mixed and processed and become the case the holds the gun power in a bullet.

The horse is "trained" / forced to take the soldier to the front, who stabs the enemy.

The black powder can be either used as entertainment - firework - or become the force the drives a bullet in weapons.

The dolphin is attached bombs and is trained to swim towards the bottom of a ship and then the bomb It carries is triggered to explode (because It has been conditioned to do so, so that It will receive food as reward).

So, this is what knowledge between the one we are so used to and the one mentioned in Buddhism:

Knowledge means, as we are so conditioned / taught since birth, to "create" and "invent". By - observing nature and beings.

The knowledge, on the other hand, mentioned in Buddhism, means otherwise:

The knowledge we gain by "un-shelling" ourselves and then being able to see things and beings around the way they are.

Then: through practice and patience, we foster our compassion over time, with which we benefit beings and things without the "self" and by doing so, the compassion, received by the one who benefits from you, can be further shared and spread. A cycle that wheels through compassion, hopefully, indefinitely onward.

Back to someone who is skilled in weapons/war etc:

There is a saying:

"The very instant when one decides to drop the butcher knife, is the instant he can become to be a Buddha"

So it is not that his skills are "bad". It is the "sense" (intention) and creates the cause (weapons and war).

How about applying his "war" skill in learning chess or becoming a farmer, who knows exactly when famine comes and how to prepare before one occurs, so that beings would have enough to eat. And he is so skilled in planning (formation / tactics) that he would be able to foresee weather and move herds to an area where there is enough water and grass to feed on?

Weapons:

How about applying his skills - being safe, being able to know exactly the "tools" he has in his hand how they function and how they might fail in certain situation - to let's say simple house tools, the equipments that can alleviate the hard work of some animals (such as cow farming, etc), etc etc?

As we could see here, all these skills can take another form that benefits others and other beings.

But would one make as much? But as far as cultivating compassion goes, one can "earn" so much that the compassion he invests in other beings and others with his skills would never depreciate - it keeps on and on. It benefits not just himself.

And going back to how much "involved" would he be counted as "not involved":

If this is some thing to think of, I think he knows the answer already. But it is good he does so, because he shows that his does have compassion and he is just standing in a crossroad.

I hope he makes the choice that could turn his marvelous skills into something that benefits beings and others and alleviate their sufferings.

I can state several Suttas and Jatakas which are nonpacifist (Taccha Sukara Jataka, Dipi Jataka).

Buddha clearly also states that farming leads to the death and killing of millions of sentient beings (see Lakkhana Miga Jataka where deer are killed to protect crops), yet I always see them not mentioning the real contradiction.

So the human situation is quite different than a crane's in Kulavaka Jataka. Human societies are more complex. Humans are "the precious birth". Here humans are allowed to develop ANY skill under close watch of the government.

A Buddhist can be a soldier, butcher, farmer as long as he is a representitive of the government. You will not be held karmically liable since you are a mere instrument as long as you do your job honestly and well. If you have corrupt rulers, you have a duty to speak up.

The Vanijja Sutta is not for the average lay person. The Vyagpajja Sutta is addressed directly to lay people and it states lay people should learn to shoot, hmmm, how can I learn to shoot if there's no one to sell me weapons? So Vanijja Sutta is strangely addressed to a monk NOT lay people - this is meant as advice for rulers. You obviously want governements to keep a close eye on these industries. Evidence of this is found in Jatakas such as Varuni Dusaka Jataka where the tavern is under close watch of the governor.

Simply stated, the Buddhist rulers (ideal ruler is Buddhist King Pasenadi who went to war, had slaughterhouses, farming, etc.) are authorized to do whatever it takes for a good functioning government this includes farming, providing blameless fish and meat for the entire population, hiring and training soldiers, funding weapons, being watchful of taverns and bars, etc. rulers will be judged in their skillfulness that these tasks were accomplished and how much human skill they developed. For slaughterhouses, Buddha states several times they should close slaughterhouses on new and full moon days (Mahaummaga Jataka, Mahasutosoma Jataka, Vinaya story of Suppeya who could not find meat since the slaughterhouse of King Passenadi (a good Buddhist King) was closed for the Uposaths. So this is the set up for lay Buddhists.

Monks and nuns can't hurt a fly though. They are our merit producers and we too later can become monks and nuns. So this is how Buddhists lay people and monastics work together.

Under the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, the first precept reads

Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I vow to cultivate compassion and learn ways to protect the lives of all sentient beings. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life.

The Right Livelihood component of the Noble Eightfold Path says not to work in a job that violates the precepts. I think that's a pretty clear answer. No work in the weapons business or the killing business.