Membership

USA Sangha Council 

*USASC is a regulatory Sangha council for the United States.  

It's primary role is assisting residing Sangha in the USA.  Members must be part of the 2-part Dharmagupta lineage because it's the only extent 2-part (Bhikshuni and Bhikshu) lineage unbroken since it's inception in Ancient India.  

Regulations only concern the Vinaya and ordinations, verification after ordinations are performed, and assistance as requested regarding Vinaya and our USA laws. 

Some Buddhist interests are:  Education, programs, retention, recruitment (non-coercive), training, management, etc. of the residing Sangha (all traditions in the USA).

Only Dharmagupta 2-part Sangha will be full members of this council.  This is to honor our founding ancestors in the USA, the Chinese Buddhist Sangha in 1852 sponsored by a private Chinese company in San Francisco California. 

Membership fees are $10 per year per monastic.

Registration is $50 plus $10 membership fee = $60 for first year.

Only monastics who are residing in recognized hermitages, temples and monasteries in the United States of America are allowed to be members.  No overseas memberships.

Annual meetings will be open only to individual members.

   In lieu of in person meetings we will use public venues like Google + Hangouts or Skype or even Facebook chat where there is video feed, no members may just use audio.  We will make use of online media connections as much as possible.  No laity.

Watch for updates on Advertising fees, there will be a separate tab in the future.

There is a more open membership association for properly ordained in other lineages and Buddhist traditions in the USA Sangha Association.

USA Sangha Association 

*USASA is an association of various Buddhist traditions monastics who are celibate all the time no matter what sexual orientation.

This is the subsidiary non-voting membership open to non-Dharmagupta lineages and non-Vinaya monastics in various recognized traditions to join. 

Due to the contentious nature of political forwardness this category includes those claiming dual ordinations in both Theravada and Mahayana, Theravada Bhikkhu, 10 Vinaya precept holders, Tibetan Bhikshu, Ani and only monastic Japanese monks and nuns. New orders recently founded need to contact the council before application direct inquiries to Vinaya Master via email:  usasanghacouncil@gmail.com.

Membership fees are $10 per year per monastic.

Registration is $50 plus $10 membership fee = $60 for first year.

Only monastics who are residing in recognized hermitages, temples and monasteries in the United States of America are allowed to be members.  No overseas memberships.

All Members:

Terms are inclusive of both Theravada and Mahayana to save having to type genders twice in Pali and Sanskrit only Sanskrit will be used. This is also in deference to the historical fact that Chinese Buddhism is the oldest form of Buddhism in the USA who translations were based on Sanskrit Tripitaka.

Acknowledgement in support of the Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese ethnic Buddhists who contributed to the founding of Buddhism in the United States.

Refusal to participate in hate speech or racism, nationalism, political ire against protective upright Buddhists online or in person, in recordings, in print, and no blaming them for their government system or political actions whether they be US citizens or of overseas origin.  

Support life.  Agreement in public or online against self-immolation, or other suicide of any one in robes engaged in political protest because Sangha must live on and in dignity while in robes.                                                  

It is a parajika, a defeat against you if you support self-immolation or suicide particularly disheartening if the person you encouraged to self-immolate or suicide by other means is Sangha.

 Uphold all the laws in the United States of America, support virtuous wise leadership.  

Pay all USA taxes due and encourage your supporters to do as well.  

Promote organizational clarity in their own groups and associations. Publish annual returns or be verified on Guidestar as 501 3(c) religious organization, ascribe to national charity guidelines in being transparent.

Be properly ordained in their tradition with verifiable elders, temples or monasteries.

Particularly important is the 2-part Sangha ordination of a proper number of Bhikshu and Bhikshuni present for candidates for Bhikshuni ordination in any tradition.  Proof will be requested along with the ordination temple address and phone number or a website with their information already present.

Annual membership fees for Temple non-voting Buddhist organization member:

Buddhist temples and monasteries that have resident Sangha the fee is $200 annually. 

Registration fee is $300, total first year = $500 at the time of application.

 
Temples and monasteries are listed as non-voting organization members in a Temple member category.  They do not attend our meetings but will receive council information.   They allowed as Temple member non-voting, a single unit.  They will be invited to key events and allowed to display their Temple banners, brochures, and other materials as this council deems appropriate.  They will receive substantial discounts on council events that are open to the public or restricted to sangha.  Recruitment, Retention, and Community Education are important concerns and favored events by this council.

Paid Listings:

Supporting Organizations Paid Listing non-members 
$600 annually with $450 registration fee the first year = $1,050.

We offer supporting organization paid listings and they subject to council approval.  This category will not be attending any USASC meetings nor any USASA meetings.  Supporting organizations paid listings allowed are traditional Buddhist groups, Nonprofits related to Buddhism, Catholic monasteries or nunneries, secular Health, Mental Health, Social Welfare, Community, Hospitals, Psychiatric Facilities, Senior and Disability.

General advertisers are advised to pursue a heavily compassionate approach in content with no politics, no violence, and no extremes.

The five precepts are a good guideline as they exist in many non Buddhist moral codes:
No killing, no lying, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no intoxicants.  
This is one place that money cannot buy a spot if it's in opposition to these.

Any event sponsored by both memberships listed as public will also be open to supporting organizations to attend.  For commercial temples or non-residential temples, centers, associations there is supporting organization category of a paid listing.

There is no lay nor academic membership.

Laity maybe be listed as individual donors and supporters of the USA Sangha Council, not for specific temples or monasteries.  Academics may choose to be supporters by donating.
Donations to USA Sangha Council via the supporting organization:
Bhikshuni via paypal  bhikshuni@live.com