Living in Harmony-the Six Rules of Sangha Harmony

The Six harmony rules are universally accepted by all Sangha ordained in the Dharmagupta lineage.  In the USA the Chinese Sangha has set forth the standards by their very numbers and years.

Guided by the Dharma, the Sangha community practices the “Six Points of Reverent Harmony” in communal living.  They are: 
(1) doctrinal unity in views and explanations to ensure common views and understanding; 
(2) moral unity in observing the precepts to achieve equality for all under the rules, 
(3) economic unity in community of goods to effect fair distribution of economic interests, 
(4) mental unity in belief to provide mutual support in spiritual cultivation, 
(5) oral unity in speech to nurture com-passion and love, 
(6) bodily unity in behavior to assure nonviolence and harmonious living. 

There is a very nicely written article from where this exact wording came from, and it reflects nicely how a Chinese Buddhist monastery is managed. I wish I had this booklet when I was training as a novice. It would have been handy.

http://www.blia.org/english/publications/booklet/pages/35.htm