Five Mountain Order Governance

Five Mountains of Practice

1. Bowing—tipping the scales of our karma
   
2. Chanting or Mantra Practice—connecting our hearts to wider compassion
   
3. Meditation—creating deep Samadhi and focus
   
4. Interviews, Dharma Studies and Dharma Talks—opening our innate wisdom
   
5. Retreats—deepening practice and discipline
   

Our Aspiration

Our Dedication is alignment with the Four Great Vows

• Sentient beings are numberless; we vow to save them all
• Delusions are endless; we vow to cut through them all
• The teachings are infinite; we vow to learn them all
• The Buddha Way is inconceivable; we vow to attain it

Our Direction

• Zen is the great work of life and death. 
  
• What is life? What is death? When we attain this then everything is clear, everything is complete, and everything is freedom. We must awaken to our true selves in this very moment - not some future time or some future life. The immediacy of our practice is very simple: How do we keep our minds, moment after moment after moment.
  
• To put it another way, our aspiration is to wake up to our true nature, so that from a boundless wellspring of compassion, we may ask, "How may I help you?"

Our Non-Discrimination Policy

• We accept all who genuinely embrace the Buddhadharma as their direction and choose to manifest its aspirations in their daily lives. 
• There are no other qualifications or restrictions from engaging the practice of the Buddhadharma, nor of transmitting it, or teaching it.
• We welcome all sincere students of Zen Buddhism into the Five Mountain Zen Order. 

Our Path

Since the 12th century, Zen practice has been described. in the Ten Ox Herding Pictures, as defined by Chinese Chán (Zen) master Kuòān Shīyuǎn (廓庵師遠). 

The Ten Ox Herding Pictures follow the path from engagement to execution, in this manner:

1. In Search of the Ox (aimless searching)
2. Discovery of the Footprints (discovering a path to follow)
3. Perceiving the Ox (only its rear, not its head)
4. Catching the Ox (a great struggle, the Ox repeatedly escapes, discipline required)
5. Taming the Ox (less straying, less discipline, Ox becomes gentle and obedient)
6. Riding the Ox Home (great joy)
7. The Ox Transcended (once home, the Ox is forgotten, discipline’s whip is idle; stillness)
8. Both Ox and Self Transcended (all forgotten and empty)
9. Reaching the Source (unconcerned with or without)
10. Return to the Source (in the marketplace with helping hands)

Our Beliefs

We believe in the mystery that is our life. The Buddhadharma teaches us that our lives function within questions and not inside of ideas, constructs, metaphors or philosophies. Following our path which leads from some of the greatest teachers of Zen Buddhism - which include Seung Sahn Dae Jong Sa and Ji Bong Soen Sa as well as The Venerable Dr. Thich Thien-An and The Venerable Dr. Suhita Dharma - we engage our lives in this moment, without dependence upon the past, the present, or the future. We engage our lives with the constant unfolding of each and every moment, while radiating the true love and compassion of the Buddha Way.

Ven. Mahaghosananda, Ven. Dakchun, Abp. Wonji Dharma at Yunmen Sí, China 1996