ABRIDGED STATEMENT OF VALUES AND ETHICS

Recognizing interdependence as a fundamental truth of existence, IMT affirms its commitment to the Buddha’s teachings of wisdom, compassion in action, and loving kindness, excluding none. Consistent with these teachings, we strive to create an environment for dharma practice that is welcoming to everyone who sincerely seeks to learn and practice.

We endeavor for our actions and interactions to be rooted in a commitment to non-harming. We regard the Buddha’s teachings of Sīla (ethical conduct), expressed in the Five Precept Trainings, as guardrails for IMT leadership and community members. The Five Precepts are traditionally expressed in the negative, or what to refrain from doing. They may also be expressed in terms of what to do. The Precepts adopted by IMT include both expressions: 

  1. We undertake the training to refrain from killing, and to value all life.

  2. We undertake the training to refrain from stealing, and to take only that which is freely offered.

  3. We undertake the training to refrain from sexual misconduct, and to take care with our sexual energies.

  4. We undertake the training to refrain from false speech, and to speak only what is true, kind, harmonious, and timely.

  5. We undertake the training to refrain from intoxicants that lead to heedlessness, and to cultivate a clear mind.

 May all beings be free, and may our actions contribute wholeheartedly to that freedom.