In this context it is very appropriate to inquire into the Buddhist attitude towards work as it is work which liberates the poor from the plight of poverty. Regarding the attitude of the modern employer and employees towards work Schumacher (22) has the following observations to make: "Now, the modern economist has been brought up to consider ‘labour’ or work as little more than a necessary evil. From the point of view of the employer, it is in any case simply an item of cost, to be reduced to a minimum if it cannot be eliminated altogether, say, by automation. From the point of view of the workman it is a ‘disutility’; to work is to make a sacrifice of one’s leisure and comfort, and the wages are a kind of compensation for the sacrifice. Hence the ideal from the point of view of the employer is to have output without employees, and the ideal from the point of view of the employees is to have income without employment". According to Buddhism this is a grossly mistaken attitude. Buddhist texts speak highly of honest labour,and the money one earns with the sweat of one’s brow, toiling hard with grit and determination, is termed righteous money, earned in a righteous manner (23). Such hard work and honest labour has not only dignity but also spiritual value. Schumacher quotes Kumarappa and that quotation sums up the Buddhist appreciation of work as well: "If the nature of the work is properly appreciated and applied, it will stand in the same relation to the higher faculties as food is to the physical body. It nourishes and enlivens the higher man and urges him to produce the best he is capable of. It directs his free will along the proper course and disciplines the animal in him into progressive channels. It furnishes an excellent background for man to display his scale of values and develop his personality (24). If the poor realise the function and value of work from the Buddhist point of view it will go a long way in liberating them from poverty.