General Buddhism Points by Chuc Thanh to the group:

-       Our destiny belongs to us.  What we do today, impacts our future.

-      Take care of yourself.  Only by being healthy yourself can you care for someone else.

-       Not only should one stop from doing bad things, one should also do good things. 

-      We show others through our example in dealing with life’s issues.  We can not change others. 

The 5 duties of employers to employees:

            1)  Assigning them work according to their ability.

            2)  Supplying them with food and with wages.

            3)  Tending them in sickness.

            4)  Sharing with them any delicacies.

            5)  Granting them leave at times.

Class discussion points with Chuc Thanh:

1)  What should employers provide?

            Discussion included the following attributes of a good employer:  good listening

            skills, compassion, safe work environment, care for employee, be a “parent” for

            employee.

Buddha teaches that the employer should provide work within the employee’s ability.  Chuc Thanh indicated that in Asia, employers build a family atmosphere so that all employees work together and support each other like family.  Class discussion noted how this is changing today. 

2)  Supply food and wages.

            Discussion by the class touched on how in today’s American work force, many

            wages are below what it takes to live above the poverty line. 

3)  Tend to sickness.

            Class discussion and Chuc Thanh’s points stressed the need for taking care of

            one’s own health first so that a person then, in turn, can help others.  Today,

            many but not all employers provide sick leave and health benefits to their

            employees to address this.

The class ran out of time before discussing the 4^th and 5^th items.  These will be discussed in the next class.

Mark Palamara

6-10-10