{"id":4466,"date":"2015-01-27T05:50:15","date_gmt":"2015-01-27T05:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?p=4466"},"modified":"2015-01-27T05:50:52","modified_gmt":"2015-01-27T05:50:52","slug":"ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html","title":{"rendered":"Ethics in American Buddhist Groups: Free Webinars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Starting tomorrow, January 27, An Olive Branch <\/em><\/a>will offer free online seminars \u201cto increase awareness and adoption of ethics\u00a0statements within Buddhist<\/a> communities in the U.S.\u201d \u00a0They continue:<\/p>\n

The scope of the term \u201cethics\u201d includes all aspects\u00a0of ethical behavior such as student-teacher relationships, handling money, and power dynamics.\u00a0\u201cBuddhist communities\u201d includes all schools and traditions practicing in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Each webinar will be presented by a prominent teacher, practitioner, or expert on ethics and will be\u00a0facilitated by An Olive Branch<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"olive<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The need for such discussion and plans has been widely discussed in recent years including at this blog in relation to the death of Ian Thornson in a Buddhist retreat in a group headed by Michael Roach. Then, in May of 2012, I wrote<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The death is indeed a tragedy and it highlights again the need for some sort of\u00a0<\/span>oversight in Western Buddhist circles<\/strong>. For as small (numerically in adherents) as Buddhism<\/a> is in the West, it conveys enormous social influence and provides, for most, a safe and comprehensive alternative to dominant Western ideologies of consumerism and Christianity.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

An Olive Branch<\/em> was brought up in particular later that year when I wrote about\u00a0a misconduct grievance between Buddhist teacher Ken McCleod and one of his former students<\/a>. Through both of those posts and later discussions it became clear to many that some sort of oversight body, or at least a well-known focal point for discussions and resolutions (and information) for Buddhists across the country, was in order. The oversight body, far from being a Buddhist secret police, would act as a clearinghouse of information, helping sanghas create and enact\u00a0Codes of Conduct suited for the 21st century and as an objective party open to hearing and helping resolve disputes.\u00a0An Olive Branch<\/em>\u00a0has helped fill some of that role and could, with programs like this, become such an organization. As they write:<\/p>\n

Buddhist groups in the United States have been rocked in recent years by misconduct on the part of\u00a0honored teachers \u2013 misconduct which, in some cases, had been going on for many years but was kept\u00a0secret by teachers, boards, sanghas, and the victims themselves. Many Buddhist organizations appear to\u00a0lack ethics statements and grievance procedures. Teachers, students, and governing boards seem\u00a0unaware of their governance responsibilities and potential liability when misconduct occurs. Without\u00a0robust ethics statements and strong governance, misconduct usually results in chaos and long-lasting\u00a0damage to individuals and organizations.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And yet for others, the very draw of Buddhism has been\u00a0as an escape from such overarching hierarchies and institutions<\/strong>. Such concerns will need to be addressed; Americans are an individualistic people and American Buddhists all the more so.<\/p>\n

Tomorrow\u2019s talk will be led by Shinge Roshi, Abbot of the Zen Studies Society and will go from 2:00 \u2013 3:00 PM Eastern Time.<\/p>\n

Shinge Roshi will share her first-hand experience living through a\u00a0sangha\u2019s pain and confusion caused by misconduct and then leading the re-building of that sangha\u00a0and its board.<\/p>\n

Shinge Roshi is also the Abbot of the Zen Center of Syracuse, Hoen-ji. She was the first American\u00a0woman to receive transmission in the<\/p>\n

Rinzai School of Zen Buddhism<\/a>. The Zen Studies Society\u00a0(http:\/\/www.zenstudies.org\/) is based at Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji monastery near Livingston\u00a0Manor, NY and at the New York Zendo Shobo-ji in Manhattan.<\/p>\n

To Register\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/attendee.gotowebinar.com\/register\/5978340851340523522<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Find out more at An Olive Branch<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Starting tomorrow, January 27, An Olive Branch will offer free online seminars \u201cto increase awareness and adoption of ethics\u00a0statements within Buddhist communities in the U.S.\u201d \u00a0They continue: The scope of the term \u201cethics\u201d includes all aspects\u00a0of ethical behavior such as student-teacher relationships, handling money, and power dynamics.\u00a0\u201cBuddhist communities\u201d includes all schools and traditions practicing in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":4467,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,73],"tags":[519,516,91],"class_list":["post-4466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-buddhism","category-buddhist-ethics","category-zen","tag-american-buddhism","tag-buddhist-ethics","tag-zen-2"],"yoast_head":"\nEthics in American Buddhist Groups: Free Webinars<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Starting tomorrow, January 27, An Olive Branch will offer free online seminars "to increase awareness and adoption of ethics\u00a0statements within Buddhist\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ethics in American Buddhist Groups: Free Webinars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Starting tomorrow, January 27, An Olive Branch will offer free online seminars "to increase awareness and adoption of ethics\u00a0statements within Buddhist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Buddhist Perspectives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-01-27T05:50:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-01-27T05:50:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/83\/2015\/01\/olive-branch-buddhist-ethics-webinar.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"574\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"172\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Justin Whitaker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Justin Whitaker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html\",\"name\":\"Ethics in American Buddhist Groups: Free Webinars\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-01-27T05:50:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-01-27T05:50:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/abfb8f851f671638c4c7536b963f9da9\"},\"description\":\"Starting tomorrow, January 27, An Olive Branch will offer free online seminars \\\"to increase awareness and adoption of ethics\u00a0statements within Buddhist\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ethics in American Buddhist Groups: Free Webinars\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/\",\"name\":\"American Buddhist Perspectives\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/abfb8f851f671638c4c7536b963f9da9\",\"name\":\"Justin Whitaker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/817b6fba8ae056aaff4f9bdc84347d72?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/817b6fba8ae056aaff4f9bdc84347d72?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Justin Whitaker\"},\"description\":\"I am an almost-life-long Montanan; a baptized Catholic; an ardent Atheist; a practicing Buddhist; a lover of Wisdom. I have a BA and almost an MA in (Western) Philosophy from the University of Montana-Missoula, an MA in Buddhist Studies from Bristol University, UK, and I am currently working on a Ph.D. in Buddhist Ethics at the U of London. My main academic foci are early Buddhist ethics and Kant (odd combination, I know). I also study Western ethics, Tibetan Buddhism, Theravada, Comparative philosophy, and Environmental ethics. I also like photography, running, drinking wine, and eating peanut butter (often in that order).\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/author\/justinwhitaker\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ethics in American Buddhist Groups: Free Webinars","description":"Starting tomorrow, January 27, An Olive Branch will offer free online seminars \"to increase awareness and adoption of ethics\u00a0statements within Buddhist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ethics in American Buddhist Groups: Free Webinars","og_description":"Starting tomorrow, January 27, An Olive Branch will offer free online seminars \"to increase awareness and adoption of ethics\u00a0statements within Buddhist","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html","og_site_name":"American Buddhist Perspectives","article_published_time":"2015-01-27T05:50:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-01-27T05:50:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":574,"height":172,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/83\/2015\/01\/olive-branch-buddhist-ethics-webinar.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Justin Whitaker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Justin Whitaker","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html","name":"Ethics in American Buddhist Groups: Free Webinars","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-01-27T05:50:15+00:00","dateModified":"2015-01-27T05:50:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/abfb8f851f671638c4c7536b963f9da9"},"description":"Starting tomorrow, January 27, An Olive Branch will offer free online seminars \"to increase awareness and adoption of ethics\u00a0statements within Buddhist","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2015\/01\/ethics-in-american-buddhist-groups-free-webinars.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ethics in American Buddhist Groups: Free Webinars"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/","name":"American Buddhist Perspectives","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/abfb8f851f671638c4c7536b963f9da9","name":"Justin Whitaker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/817b6fba8ae056aaff4f9bdc84347d72?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/817b6fba8ae056aaff4f9bdc84347d72?s=96&d=identicon&r=pg","caption":"Justin Whitaker"},"description":"I am an almost-life-long Montanan; a baptized Catholic; an ardent Atheist; a practicing Buddhist; a lover of Wisdom. I have a BA and almost an MA in (Western) Philosophy from the University of Montana-Missoula, an MA in Buddhist Studies from Bristol University, UK, and I am currently working on a Ph.D. in Buddhist Ethics at the U of London. My main academic foci are early Buddhist ethics and Kant (odd combination, I know). I also study Western ethics, Tibetan Buddhism, Theravada, Comparative philosophy, and Environmental ethics. I also like photography, running, drinking wine, and eating peanut butter (often in that order).","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/author\/justinwhitaker"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}