2. Why were you born?

"To organise work in such a manner that it becomes meaningless, boring, stultifying, or nerve-racking for the worker would be little short of criminal; it would indicate a greater concern with goods than with people, an evil lack of compassion and a soul-destroying degree of attachment to the most primitive side of this worldly existence."
(Schumacher 1999, 38)

Work in all Asoke centres is organised on voluntarily basis. Nobody is forced to work in a work base which does not please him or her. There are practically no skill requirements to any work, as all work is carried out as a team-work.

As mentioned earlier, a high priority is given to certain professions such as being a farmer, gardener, fertilizer and garbage collector. There are, however, dozens of work-bases in every centre. The monks are not allowed to work in gardening, as working with the soil, might involve unintentionally destroying life of some insects. Monks as well as the nuns, therefore usually work in the offices, schools, printing houses in editing, translating, typing, teaching, writing, preaching and counselling the lay people.

For the lay people, there are several alternatives: all Asoke centres have primary or secondary schools, some even vocational schools. People with any teaching background tend to work in the schools. However, quite a few Asoke people feel that they have done their share as teachers in the outside schools already, and prefer to work somewhere else after joining Asoke. Permission is granted, and people are free to move as they wish.

Nearly all Asoke centres have shops, which require several persons as shop assistants and cashiers. Several centres have vegetarian restaurants which need work force for preparing the food, serving and selling it, washing the dishes, cleaning the tables and as cashiers.

Printing and publishing houses and companies require a large number of various type labour force: young people handy with the computers, elderly for manually folding the publications.

Majority of all labour force in Asoke centres is constituted of volunteers. When there is need of ad hoc assistance in some work bases, then all people available rush to help that particular base. Labour is hence very freely structured. People switch bases regularly, there is no systematic rotation organised by the supervisors, rotation is rather spontaneous. Everyone is free to choose his or her work base and equally free to change it into another work base.

This, in practical terms, means that the job is not always chosen according to the qualifications the person has from outside. Qualifications are simply not the main criteria here, because work is used just as a tool for spiritual practice.

2.1 Practice by working

"The Buddhist point of view takes the function of work to be at least threefold: to give a man a chance to utilise and develop his faculties; to enable him to overcome his ego-centredness by joining with other people in a common task; and to bring forth the goods and services needed for a becoming existence."
(Schumacher 1999, 38)

The Asoke people do not meditate in the traditional way by sitting or walking. This is regarded by the Asoke people as a waste of time, and a way of escaping the reality of the world. Instead, they practise with open eyes, engaging energetically in any type of work. The main point with work, is hence nor the result neither the gain, but the process itself. To work in a team, requires compassion to your fellow workers, it requires concentration to carry out the work despite the possible disturbance and noise of the surroundings.

Working also teaches selflessness, as ad hoc assistance to any other work base is encouraged. Instead of criticising that work base for laziness and inertia, the Asoke person is expected to join his fellow workers joyfully without wasting time and energy in criticism.

Equally, engaging in work where the person does not necessarily have his or her training, reduces the ego and the feeling of pride and superiority towards the co-workers.

3. Bunniyom as moral economics next