General Information

Closed captioning will be available and this event will be recorded. If you have additional access needs, please let the event organizer know when prompted in the registration form, or contact info@szba.org with any questions or concerns.

Note about tickets: When you register for one date, you will receive a link to all four sessions. You do not need to register for each date individually.

Schedule

(Please note the registration pages may indicate incorrect time zones. All workshops will be at 3-4:30pm Eastern Time Zone (EDT) as listed here.

What You Think You Know About Ethics Might Be Wrong

with Dr. Joe Wiinikka-Lydon

June 12, 3-4:30 pm Eastern Time

As Soto Zen teachers, many of us feel that we understand what is and what is not ethics. This session will give us the chance to quiz ourselves and increase our understanding. We invite you to join us in a deeper dive into ethics as we explore the intersection between the Bodhisattva precepts as a guideline for living an ethical life and the way the discipline of ethics is understood in modern American society. Please bring your ideas, your questions, and your open-hearted curiosity.

Having a Clear Ethics Policy: Why the 16 Precepts are Not Enough

with Carol Merchasin, Esq.

June 26, 3-4:30 pm Eastern Time

In this session, we will explore the reasons why spiritual communities need a clear and comprehensive ethics policy and the questions that arise when we begin to put one into effect. What are the legal reasons to have a policy? What responsibilities do lay people have to hold teachers and leaders accountable for their actions? What are the legal problems that can arise when teachers cross ethical boundaries with students? What duties and responsibilities do boards of directors have to hold teachers accountable? And, what are the most effective ways to hold teachers accountable and also limit harm to all concerned?

The Ethics of Belonging Together

with Dr. Cedar Barstow

July 10, 3-4:30 pm Eastern Time

Right use of power is the heart of ethics. We often think of ethics as the discipline of right and wrong, with a focus on punishing “wrong,” but ethics is so much more complex! In this discussion, we will approach ethics as a set of interconnected values, attitudes, and skills intended to work together to help us be of benefit and not cause harm. As Soto Zen practitioners, we have some common understanding of shared moral values based on the Bodhisattva precepts. How can we complement the Precepts with the professional behavioral guidelines expected of us by the Zen communities we serve, as informed by the ever-evolving society in which we live? How can we approach the ethical decision-making process with a focus on compassion, accountability, and community?

For example, some SZBA members raised concerns about teachers and students shifting to an intimate partner relationship. Whose responsibility is it is to hold Zen teachers accountable? How open to interpretation should a Code of Ethics should be? We invite all SZBA members, as well as temple boards of directors and other leaders, to join this valuable conversation. As Br. David Steindl-Rast once said, “Ethics is how we behave when we decide we belong together.”

Grassroot Responses to Sexual Violation in American Buddhism

with Dr. Ann Gleig and Dr. Amy Langenberg

July 24, 3-4:30 pm Eastern Time

How have American Buddhist communities responded to reoccurring issues of sexual misconduct and abuse? In the absence of institutional accountability and a centralizing American Buddhist authority, efforts to respond to sexual violations have fallen largely to individual or collective grassroot efforts. In this presentation, we consider these efforts including community reform through revised grievance procedures and ethics statements, survivor advocacy through in person and online networks, preventative trainings, and legal interventions.

Understanding Ethics: Are the Bodhisattva Precepts Enough?