Golden Flower Abbey
White Lotus Society

Have Questions?

We're here to help you begin your ordination journey and find your place in our community.

Here are 10 frequently asked questions for Golden Flower Abbey:



1. Do I have to be Christian, Buddhist, or follow any specific religion to join or be ordained?

Absolutely not. Golden Flower Abbey is radically inclusive. Whether you come from a Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, Agnostic, or any other background — or no background at all — you are welcome exactly as you are. Our community is built on the conviction that every spiritual path has dignity and deserves respect.

2. How do I get ordained as a minister, and does it cost anything?

Ordination through Golden Flower Abbey is free, fully online, and open to everyone. We believe the capacity for spiritual leadership is not reserved for the credentialed or conventionally religious. If you feel called to serve, minister, or officiate ceremonies, we welcome you into that role without barriers.

3. Can my ordained minister status allow me to legally perform weddings?

Yes. Upon ordination, the Abbey provides guidance and instruction on how to legally officiate weddings in your state or jurisdiction. We walk you through the paperwork, ceremony structure, and legal requirements so you can confidently and joyfully celebrate the unions of those you love.

4. What is the Abbey's position on cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms, and other sacred plant medicines?

Golden Flower Abbey holds a sincere religious conviction that sacred plants and entheogens — including cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms — are gifts from the Creator, embedded in the natural world as vehicles for healing, revelation, and communion with the divine. This conviction is protected under the First Amendment as a matter of genuine religious belief and falls within the sacred relationship between an individual soul and God.

5. What does "Christian Zen Pure Land Buddhism" actually mean — aren't those contradictory?

Not at all. Christian Zen and Pure Land Buddhism share a beautiful common ground: both honor the ordinary moment as sacred, both embrace community as a form of spiritual practice, and both point toward something vast, loving, and luminous beyond the small self. At the Abbey, we see these traditions as complementary lenses rather than competing doctrines.

6. Does the Abbey teach meditation, and what styles are offered?

Yes. Meditation instruction is central to our community. We offer guidance in Zen sitting (zazen), Pure Land chanting and nembutsu practice, Christian contemplative prayer, breathwork, and mindfulness-based approaches. Whether you are a complete beginner or a seasoned practitioner, there is a path here for you.

7. What herbalism and naturopathy resources does the Abbey offer?

The Abbey recognizes the deep, ancient relationship between plant medicine and spiritual wellbeing. We provide access to herbalism education, naturopathic principles, and resources connecting traditional healing wisdom across cultures — including Indigenous plant traditions, Western herbalism, and Ayurvedic and East Asian approaches — as part of a holistic understanding of body, spirit, and community health.

8. Is there a physical location I need to visit, or is everything available online?

Everything the Abbey offers — ordination, instruction, community, ceremony guidance, and resources — is available online. We understand that sacred community can form across digital networks and continental distances just as authentically as it does in a physical building. Wherever you are, you belong here.

9. Is there a hierarchy within the Abbey — will some members have authority over others?

No. Golden Flower Abbey is deliberately and consciously non-hierarchical. There are no elders at the top, no gatekeepers, and no institutional structures that place one person's voice above another's. Every member stands on the same ground. This is not just a preference — it is a theological commitment rooted in our belief in the inherent dignity of every person.

10. How does the Abbey balance openness to all beliefs with having its own spiritual identity?

The Abbey's own identity rests on two simple principles: the Golden Rule, and the freedom of every person to practice their faith without interference. These aren't restrictions on what you believe — they're an invitation. Our shared ground isn't a creed but a recognition: that we are all children of the same universe, and that love is not merely an emotion but the very foundation of existence.