SuttaCentral
Namo Thassa Baghawatho Arahatho Samma Sambuddhassa, 
@sujato, @Brahmali
Dear Dhamma Friends,
I read the “singalowada sutta” and there it says,
“Who by habit sleeps by day, and keeps late hours, is ever intoxicated, and is licentious, is not fit to lead a household life.”
Does this mean that one cannot work by night ( as in night shifts)? or late night leads you to be licentious?
I’m not trying to contradict buddha by any means, May buddha forgive me for this question.
Buddha is in parinibbana, he cannot forgive or not forgive, and he’s not the God to judge and punish
Dear @charith,
What the Lord Buddha is warning about is not to be lazy. Being a lay person, we have to support ourselves. We can’t afford to be irresponsible to ourselves, our employers, and to our family. We have duties we must do. We must provide ourselves food, shelter, clothing, and medicine. Those are necessities for our existence and we must work for them. Otherwise, if we don’t have all those necessities, our suffering will increase.
What the Lord Buddha is saying is that as lay folks we must ensure our comfort so that we can continue to practice the teachings.
Jolly vassa to all. May all beings be free 
with añjali and mettā,
russ
Dear Clarith,
I don’t think this has anything to do with night-work. It just refers to bad habits.
When you read the suttas, I would recommend you to be careful not to over-interpret. Usually the most reasonable interpretation is the correct one. The Buddha was clearly trying to lead us towards happiness and a reduction in suffering, and he would have used language that was easy to understand. Remember these were ordinary people, and the Buddha would have had to use their language to be properly understood.
Once you get the knack of the right approach, you will enjoy reading the suttas even more.
With metta,
Ajahn Brahmali
Thank you for being kind to leave a reply Achan.
Lots of Meththa,
Charith.
Thank you very much every one for taking the time to answer.
Lots of Meththa,
Charith.