Ethics
Teachers in the White Plum lineage respect the responsibilities of leadership and of being teachers within our sanghas. We acknowledge our role necessarily gives rise to a power differential in our relationships with students and other sangha members, and for that reason alone, our words and actions can carry great weight. With awareness of this fact, we agree to strive to adhere to this Code of Ethical Conduct as teachers within the White Plum Asanga, a code based on principles of trust, integrity, justice, respect and accountability, in order to nurture an atmosphere supportive of the practice of the Dharma.
We also agree as teachers that we will take steps to assure that individual sanghas promulgate codes of ethical conduct and grievance procedures that are grounded in the principles set forth in this Code of Ethical Conduct and WPA Grievance and Reconciliation Procedures. Those individual codes should govern the conduct of the teachers and sangha members subject to them. We affirm that as teachers, both we and the individuals who constitute our individual sanghas have primary responsibility to assure that sound ethical principles inform all aspects of practice life. In the event that an individual sangha does not have such a code, this Code shall be the applicable standard governing the teacher and members of that sangha.