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about their 
recovery to show the features of a 
"true 
friend" of the boss; 
4. From time to time give 
delicacies: organize 
celebration for special occasions 
for the employees 
etc. — and this will give them the 
encouragement which will keep 
the boss-employee 
relationship an amicable one; 
5. Allow holidays on occasion: 
employees 
should be allowed holidays 
according to the 
usual working calendar and 
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national festivals 
Employers and bosses who take 
responsibility for 
their employees in these five ways 
will in such a 
way cultivate a mind of 
loving-kindness and compassion 
instead of simply thinking to take 
advantage 
of others. A boss with all the 
features of a true 
friend — but such an attitude 
doesn't occur by accident 
— it needs for the boss to have 
been instilled 
with such responsibility since an 
early age, whosoever 
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fulfil their duties to the "nadir" in 
these ways. 
D.2 Duties of an employee 
The Buddha also laid down five 
responsibilitiesan 
employee ought to have towards 
his employee: 
I. Start work before him; 
2. Finish work after him: If any 
employee who 
can practise both of these duties, it 
shows that 
they have a strong degree of 
responsibility 
towards their employer — a 
sincere respect, 
love and gratitude towards their 
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employer —
rather than having the hidden 
intention that 
their behaviour be conditional on 
their employer 
raising their salary; 
3. Taking only the things 
(expressly) given to 
them by the employer: an 
employee who can 
have the control of himself to 
avoid the defilements 
of action will not help themselves 
to the things `left lying around' in 
the 
workplace or steal the boss's 
belongings; 
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4. Doing their work better: Means 
giving their 
all to fulfil their duties for the 
greatest benefit 
— without having conditions to 
negotiate salary 
increases from their employer —
such 
behaviour shows that the employee 
really has 
the generosity befitting a "wise 
one". 
5. Maintaining and defending the 
boss's good 
reputation: employees with such 
behaviour 
do so because of their loyalty to 
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their employers 
— they see their boss as similar to 
the ways 
they would regard a kindly relative 
or parent. 
Blessing Eighteen: Blameless 
Work 219 
In general, it is the employer who 
controls the benefits 
and disadvantages coming to an 
employee. 
That an employee fulfils these five 
responsibilities 
towards an employer means that 
the employer must 
have treated the employee well in 
the first place — 
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to want to show these 
responsibilities to repay his 
debt of gratitude. 
D.3 Reciprocal Relationship 
between Boss & Employer 
If the boss does not fulfil his duties 
but the employee 
does, the boss does not deserve 
such a good employee 
— in the end harm will come to 
that 
workplace because seeing the 
boss's attitude, before 
long the employees will imitate his 
example. 
If the boss fulfils his duties, but the 
employee 
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doesn't — the employee does not 
deserve such a 
good employer — the workplace 
will not prosper 
because the boss cannot control the 
employees. 
If both boss and employees fail to 
fulfil their duties, 
the workplace will go bankrupt 
because it will 
become a den of thieves — having 
dire consequences 
for society at large. 
However if both boss and 
employee fulfil their 
responsibilities, the workplace will 
prosper — both 
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boss and employee will enjoy 
happiness and peace 
and society will benefit too. 
D.4 Possible Harm coming from 
unfulfilled 
duties between boss and employee 
1. When employees have no sense 
of responsibility 
for their own human dignity — if a 
boss or employer 
lacks the self-discipline according 
to the 
teaching of the Buddha, the first 
disaster coming 
to him is that his employees will 
have no 
sense of responsibility for their 
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own human dignity, 
producing at least the following 
three character 
traits: 
1. Chronic false view: Mostly 
employees come 
from an unwealthy and uneducated 
background 
and if they come into contact with 
an 
undisciplined boss who is a false 
friend, the 
employee will be discontent and 
will resist 
against the boss — an emotion 
which may 
exacerbate False View in the 
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employee's mind. 
2. Breaks the Five Precepts: 
Those of False View 
also tend to break the Five 
Precepts. Employees 
might deteriorate into the Four 
Defilements 
of Action in order to fight back 
against 
the employer, without any fear of 
the legal 
consequences 
3. Brings disadvantage to the 
employer: in order 
to avoid breaking the law, 
employees band 
together to strike in order to claim 
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rights and 
benefits for themselves. Any form 
of strike 
will disadvantage the employer. 
2. When employees have no sense 
of responsibility 
for the human dignity of others 
if a boss or 
employer lacks the self-discipline 
according to 
the teaching of the Buddha, the 
second disaster 
coming to him is that his 
employees will have 
no sense of responsibility for the 
human dignity 
of others, producing at least the 
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following three 
character traits: 
I. Looking for ways to take 
advantage of the 
employer: When bias arises in the 
mind of the 
employee — they will want to put 
the employer 
at a disadvantage — something 
they 
can do in many ways, e.g. by 
"going slow" (if 
paid by the hour) or producing 
shoddy work 
(if paid for productivity). 
2. Mistreats employer: In order to 
get revenge 
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for the resentment they feel, they 
produce 
shoddy goods or feign quality; 
3. Ruin the employer: Sometimes 
the employee 
divulges trade secrets to competing 
companies 
etc. 
3. When employees have no sense 
of responsibility 
for the human dignity of economic 
fairness 
— if a boss or employer lacks the 
self-discipline 
according to the teaching of the 
Buddha, the third 
disaster coming to him is that his 
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employees will 
have no sense of responsibility for 
the human 
dignity for economic fairness, 
producing at least 
the following three character traits: 
I. Addiction to the `Six Roads to 
Ruin': because 
of working to express animosity 
towards the 
employer, they will feel insecurity 
about 
working in that enterprise and 
immerse themselves 
in `Roads to Ruin' to forget their 
woes 
by drinking alcohol or gambling; 
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2. Undisciplined in expenditure: 
When they are 
220 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
addicted to `roads to ruin', they 
will lose the 
intelligence to use their earnings 
beneficially; 
3. Consequent debt problems: The 
combination 
of addictions and lack of discipline 
in expenditure 
will lead them to indebtedness 
producing 
problems not only for themselves 
but 
eventually for the employer too! 
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E. ILLUSTRATIVE 
EXAMPLES 
E.1 Ex. The Father, the Son and 
the Donkey 
Once there were a father and a son 
who went to the 
market in a distant town and 
bought a donkey. They 
led the donkey back towards their 
home on a rope. 
On the way back from the market, 
they passed 
through the first village and all the 
villagers exclaimed, 
"What a stupid father and son, they 
have 
spent good money on a donkey and 
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now they lead 
it along the road instead of riding 
it". The father 
and son thought, "What they say is 
true," and so 
the father sat the son on the 
donkey and they went 
on their way. They passed through 
the second village 
and all the villagers exclaimed, 
"What an ungrateful 
son to ride the donkey and leave 
his poor 
father to walk — if the son were to 
walk and let his 
father ride, it would show that the 
son at least repays 
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his debt of gratitude to his father". 
The father 
and son thought, "What they say is 
true," and so 
the father sat on the donkey and 
the son walked 
and they went on their way. They 
passed through 
the third village and all the 
villagers exclaimed, 
"What a cruel father! He has 
hardly any more years 
of life in him, and he lets his poor 
son walk along 
the road in his place". The father 
and son consulted 
one another, "What they say is 
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true," and so both 
the son and the father sat on the 
donkey and they 
went on their way. They passed 
through the fourth 
village and all the villagers 
exclaimed, "What a cruel 
father and son! Both of them 
together weigh more 
than the donkey itself and they are 
both riding the 
donkey — they're not interested 
even if they break 
the donkey's back". The father and 
son consulted 
one another, "What they say is 
true," — if they ride 
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