(August 2025 – Approved by KCC Board)
KCC’s Code of Conduct (PDF) sets forth ethical guidelines and expectations for teachers, employees, volunteers, board members, members of the Sangha, visiting teachers, visitors, guests, contractors, subcontractors, vendors, and others who participate in activities at KCC or act on KCC’s behalf. The last section in this Code describes a process for making complaints.
Buddhist ethics informed much of the KCC Community Code of Conduct. To help us see how we can engage with our community as a training ground for ethics, Lama Eric wrote the following:
by Lama Eric Triebelhorn (PDF)
Ethics is a cornerstone of all traditions of Buddhism. It is the first of the Three Trainings—ethics, meditation, and insight or wisdom—which encapsulate the entirety of the Buddhist path. They are, to a certain extent, sequential, and therefore ethics serves as the foundation for the subsequent trainings and qualities that arise from them. A being refined through ethics creates an ambiance of openness and ease. This aids the development of meditation, and through meditation we come to insight into the nature of reality or wisdom.
Ethics in the Mahayana tradition has three components: the ethics of restraint (refraining from harmful actions); the ethics of virtuous actions (engaging in positive actions); and the ethics of benefitting beings (working for the welfare of others). Often we first think of refraining from harmful actions, and there are many lists of such: the ten non-virtuous actions, the five or eight precepts, the vows of individual liberation of the Foundational Vehicle, the components of the bodhisattva vow, and the tantric samayas.
Of course the end goal of the Buddhist path is awakening, realizing the nature of our being, the nature of reality. Awakened mind possesses three indivisible aspects: the wisdom of clear-seeing, a compassion that embraces all, and the power or ability to skillfully interrelate with or for others. From one perspective, ethics serves to prepare our being for this wisdom to arise at a later time. But from another perspective, we could view ethics as a fruition practice where we are modeling our behavior on the effortless and natural conduct of an awakened being.
The Sanskrit and Tibetan words for ethics shed poetic light onto a meaning that is difficult to capture with one English word. In Sanskrit, the word is śila (shee-la) which has the sense of coolness or calm as there is an inner tranquility or composure that is a natural result of ethics.
When rendering this term in Tibetan, they did not translate the literal meaning but chose to convey another aspect of the meaning. They chose tsultrim. Tsul can be understood as “the way things are” and trim meaning “bound to or inline with that.” A superficial understanding of ethics could feel like a list rules are being imposed on us from the outside, but training in ethics can also be seen as an invitation to be in harmony with the way things are. So instead of relating to ethics as a list of “thou shalt nots”, we could embrace these teachings as means to alleviate our confusion and suffering and thus bring us closer to the nature of reality.
As aspirants seeking this wisdom, we can begin by abstaining, as best we can, from the ten nonvirtuous actions and cultivating their virtuous counterparts. There are three related to physical conduct: taking life, taking what is not given, and engaging in sexual misconduct. There are four related to speech: lying; engaging in slanderous, divisive speech; speaking harshly; and participating in idle gossip. And there are three connected with mind: harboring covetous thoughts; harboring ill will; and holding wrong views.
In general, our training ground in ethics is the world at large, but we also have a special opportunity in being part of a Buddhist community. We will all err from time to time, and when we do, we can do our best to acknowledge it and rouse some determination to not repeat such actions. When we are on the receiving end of such missteps that are relatively minor (great harm is a different matter and is covered in other parts of our ethics policy), we can be gracious and forgiving, doing our part to heal and resolve the situation. There will always be some friction in any community. The question is whether we will use these opportunities for spiritual growth or for proliferation of the afflictions. All of the stones that we find in an old riverbed are round and smooth. Of course they were not always this way. It is precisely because they have been rubbing up against each other for so long that they have lost their sharp and brittle edges. Embracing this metaphor, may we skillfully use our interactions for mutual growth and refinement of our beings.
We aspire to hold this view as we communicate in the KCC community:
We are grateful for the opportunity to offer service to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and to sentient beings. While working with others, differences in ideas and ways of doing things will arise. These are natural and are a source of creative exchange. Our minds don’t need to make them into conflicts.
We will endeavor to listen deeply and communicate wisely and kindly as we work together for our common goal. By using our body, speech and mind to support our practices of generosity, kindness, ethical conduct, patience, love and compassion, we will create great merit which we dedicate for the awakening of all beings.
