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The AZTA wishes to maintain itself as a peer group, so it can provide an opportunity for expanded peer contacts and exchanges. Therefore, the group seeks to insure that the backgrounds and activities of prospective members are similar to those of current members. To insure these aims, the AZTA has instituted the following procedure for determining membership eligibility.
Prospective members are either recommended by current members or hear about the organization and apply on their own. The membership committee, a standing committee created and empowered by decision of the AZTA membership as a whole, then evaluates the suitability of the prospective member according to nine criteria.
These criteria are:
1. Has the prospective member received substantial training and been authorized to teach by an authorized teacher in a recognized Zen lineage?
2. Does the prospective member teach independently and are they responsible for leading an independent group able to make its own decisions regarding finances and other administrative issues? (In those cases where the prospective member is a senior teacher in a very large group, the group itself chooses which of its qualified teachers to recommend for membership.)
3. Does the prospective member have their own students and are they authorized to guide them independently?
4. Does the prospective member lead a program with formal zazen on a regular schedule?
5. Does the prospective member lead sesshins or intensive retreats?
6. Does the prospective member maintain forms and rituals congruent with the spirit of the Zen tradition?
7. Does the prospective member consider himself or herself a Buddhist?
8. Does the prospective member devote a significant percentage of his or her time teaching Zen?
9. Has the prospective member been recommended by and AZTA member?
If the membership committee determines that the prospective member satisfies a significant number of the criteria, the person is invited to join the
AZTA.
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