Preamble

Having seen that the Constitution of the United States of America recognizes and respects the rights of her citizens according to the principle of democracy and freedom of religion;
Having seen that the Constitution of the State of Rhode Island & Providence Plantations recognizes and respects the rights of her citizens according to the principle of democracy and freedom of religion;
Whereas the Cambodian people have resettled in the State of Rhode Island and now residing in this beautiful state for two decades or more;
Whereas the Cambodian people, who are themselves true believers of Buddhism of their native country, Cambodia, are desired to establish a Buddhist temple in this state;
Whereas this new millennium of the Christian era the year two thousand four, every citizen of the Cambodian-American community unite with resolute will to exist along side the other ethnic and religious communities;
We, the Khmer or Cambodian people, having origin in the Kingdom of Cambodia, from all walks of life throughout New England region, established the Wat Dhamagosnaram that is an independent corporation or wat and shall have no political affiliation. This Corporation or Wat shall represent the will of the Cambodians, Cambodian-Americans and members with missions inscribed in this Bylaws and carry its mission in conformity to local, state, and federal laws that all citizens are entitled;
With This Resolute Will, We, The Founders, inscribed the following as the Bylaws of the Wat Dhamagosnaram adopted by the special congress of February 1, 2004.

Bylaws of The Wat Dhamagosnaram

Chapter I - Declaration of Monastic Bylaws
Article 1: These Bylaws are a set of rules for the Wat Dhamagosnaram. It was adapted by Buddhist monks and founders on the 1st of February 2004, which is the 11th of an Old Moon Day, month of Meak, Year of the Ram, A.B. 2547 in Providence, State of Rhode Island, the United States of America.

Chapter II - Name of Temple
Article 2: The name of this corporation shall be called the Wat Dhamagosnaram. The
Corporation or Wat can be used interchangeably.
The meanings: - Wat is a Buddhist temple
- Dhamma is the law, teaching, guidance
- Gosnaram is widely publicize, universal

Chapter III - Headquarter
Article 3: The Wat Dhamagosnaram is temporarily situated at: House # 194 Waverly Street, 3rd Floor, Providence, Rhode Island 02909

Chapter IV - Goals and Principles
Article 4: The purposes of the Corporation are religious, educational, cultural and charitable:
- To bring up and maintain a stable solidarity among Buddhist monks and disciples.
- To preserve Cambodian culture and civilization throughout the world.
- To spread and stabilize Buddhism in every Buddhist institution worldwide.
- To facilitate communication among Buddhists inside and outside of Cambodia and United States.
- To facilitate communication between Buddhism and other world religions.
- To put in motion the assistance Dharma of Buddha in our human society.
- To enable Buddhist monks in publicizing and taking care of Buddhism.
- To maintain monastic property and make all temples legally belong to Buddhist monks.

Article 5: The Wat Dhamagosnaram, a non-profit organization, was formed by the Cambodian-American citizens living in the city of Providence, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New England states. Wat Dhamagosnaram seeks a proactive role to implement a multi-sector reform in the areas of religious, educational, financial revenue and expenditure, and a whole host of other critical issue facing today’s Cambodian-American community. Nonetheless, the immediate and foremost goal of Wat Dhamagosnaram is to promote a long-lasting relationship, and supporting role with other Buddhist institutions. Any membership to Wat Dhamagosnaram would be subject to review by its Board of Directors.

The Corporation or wat shall engage only in those activities as those terms are used in the Internal Revenue code of 1954. The Wat Dhamagosnaram has established a temple in Cranston, Rhode Island for the purpose of engaging in these activities, more specifically for the study and teaching of Buddhism, both the religious and the philosophy of Buddhism, and for the study and preservation of the Cambodian Buddhist culture and its impact on the world. In furtherance of these purposes, the Wat Dhamagosnaram shall:

a) hold meetings for those interested in Buddhism and its culture;
b) provide for expositions of the cultural heritage of Buddhism;c) maintain a Buddhist library;
d) provide facilities for the practice of meditation and other Buddhist disciplines;
e) collect and disseminate information on Buddhism and Buddhist culture;
f) helping the younger Cambodian-American generations to be aware and be appreciative of their heritage;
f) establish funds to provide humanitarian assistance to other non-profit or non-governmental organizations abroad for charitable and educational purposes.
h) perpetuating the Buddhist religion
i) raise funds to adequately cover annual budget expenditures by utilizing maximum resources, skills, and services from members to their full potential;
j) restore and promote Cambodian Buddhism and peace.

Chapter V - Buddhist Monks
Article 6 - The Buddhist monks of the Wat Dhamagosnaram shall compose of the following:
- Chief Abbott or Chief Buddhist Monk
- A Chief Abbott or Chief Buddhist Monk of the temple shall be automatically honored to sit in the position of an Honorary President of the temple’s Board of Directors.
- Has a right to appoint one (1) representative as a member of the Litigation Council.
- Attends the meetings of the members and at meetings of the Board of Directors.
- The Chief Abbott or Honorary President shall establish and maintain good working relations with Buddhist monks, Board of Directors, Buddhist and non-Buddhist institutions.
- Abides by these Bylaws, Internal Rules and Protocol of Cooperation.
- Assistant Abbot or Deputy Chief Buddhist Monk
- Assistant Abbott shall have such powers and perform such duties as may be assigned to him by the Chief Abbott. In an absence or incapacity or vacancy of the Chief Abbott, the Assistant Abbott shall become an interim Chief Abbott and shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Chief Abbott.
- Buddhist monks are regular Buddhist monks that belong to or reside within the Wat Dhamagosnaram.

Article 7: Roles of the Buddhist monks:
- Disciplinarian (in charge of solving conflicts among Buddhist monks and laymen)
- Dharmadhara (in charge of Dharma or preaching)
- Monastic restriction (regulation)
- Monastic announcement

Chapter VI - Membership
Article 8: The Wat Dhamagosnaram is an equal opportunity corporation. The citizens of both genders have rights to become members of the Buddhist temple without political or religious discrimination.

Article 9: Membership shall be defined as five types:
1. Founding Members
2. Honorary Members
3. Active Members
4. Supporting Members
5. Inactive Members

Article 10: Founding members are original members, who shared common ideas and forged those ideas to establish the Wat Dhamagosnaram.

Article 11: Honorary members are renowned individuals that established their reputation through national and international arenas or individuals that serve the interest of the Wat Dhamagosnaram.

Article 12: Active members are members that persevere to serve, in all forms, with courage and loyalty to the Wat Dhamagosnaram.

Article 13: Supporting members provide material forms or financial supports to the Wat Dhamagosnaram.

Article 14: Inactive members give strength, but are unable to actively participate in activities of Wat Chantaraingsey Chuon Nath.

Article 15: Each member has a right to alter or amend these Bylaws in conformity to Chapter XV.

Article 16: Each member shall be considered equal, and entitled to one vote only in person.

Article 17: Members of the Corporation, wat or temple shall be those who request to be entered in the membership list, voluntarily make regular monthly contributions to the Corporation, and abide by its Bylaws.

Article 18: Membership in the Corporation is neither transferable nor assignable.

Article 19: Any member may resign from membership in the Corporation by delivering a written letter of resignation to the Board of Directors.

Article 20: Any member may be removed from membership by any affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the Board of Directors present in person at any meeting of the Board, for conduct prejudicial to the Corporation, provided that such member shall have been given an opportunity to defend himself/herself at such meeting. All members of the Board and the member charged shall be notified by certified mail at least 15 days prior to the day of the meeting.

Article 21: All members of the Wat Dhamagosnaram shall have their membership terminated or revoked with the occurrence of:

1. Death
2. Submission of written resignation to the Executive Director.
3. Violation of these Bylaws as determined by the Board of Directors.

Article 22: Members shall pay twelve ($12) dollars per year or one dollar ($1.00) per month to the Treasurer General of the Corporation.

Chapter VII - Organizational Structure

Article 23 - The structure of the corporation or wat shall be composed of:

- The Congress or convention
- The Board of Directors
- Advisory Council
- Litigation Council

Article 24 - The Congress shall be defined as two types: Regular convention and Extraordinary convention

1. The regular convention shall convene every two (2) years or at end of two-year term at annual general meeting of temple. The schedule of this convention shall be charged to the Board of Directors. An invitation and notice, including meeting agenda, to attend this regular convention shall be notified in writing to all good standing members within thirty (30) days in advance.

2. The extraordinary convention shall convene at the request of two-third (2/3) majority of the Board of Directors or ten (10) members of temple (which included the Chief Abbot, Assistant Abbot, or Buddhist monks). An invitation and notice, including meeting agenda, to attend this extraordinary convention shall be notified in writing to all good standing members within two (2) weeks or fifteen (15) days in advance.

Article 25: The congress shall be the supreme command of the Wat Dhamagosnaram. The Congress or convention shall convene to elect the president of Board of Directors, the Secretary General and Treasurer General, with the following circumstances:

- First president
- Future presidents at end of two-year term
- When there is a vacancy of presidency position for 12-month or more, for examples:
- A president resigns in mid-term
- A president becomes physically and/or mentally challenged (An independent certified medical physician issues public statement)
- A president commits crime and a guilty verdict has pronounced by a local, state or federal legal system

Chapter VIII - The Board of Directors

Article 26: The Board of Directors shall be the second highest component of the Wat Chantaraingsey Chuon Nath. The Board of Directors shall execute the direction and plans of the Wat Chantaraingsey Chuon Nath as adopted following the convening of its officers and members. The Board of Directors is required to convene a regular monthly meeting and as necessary when emergency or circumstantial situations arise. The Board of Directors shall coordinate and manage the daily operations, activities and business of the Buddhist temple. The Board of Directors shall be composed of fifteen (15) members, which will be elected from the congress in conformity to Article 24, for a two (2) year term. The terms of the Board of Directors shall end and its successors shall commence.

Article 27: The followings are the compositions of the Board of Directors: The Board of Directors shall compose fifteen (15) members; nine (9) officers, and six (6) regular Board members.

- One (1) Honorary President
- One (1) President
- One (1) Vice President
- One (1) Secretary General
- One (1) Treasurer General
- Two (2) Assistant Secretaries
- Two (2) Assistant Treasurers
- Six (6) Additional Board members

Article 28: Honorary President (HP) : A Chief Abbott or Chief Buddhist Monk of the temple shall be automatically honored to sit in the position of an Honorary President of the temple’s Board of Directors.

Article 29: President (Pres.):
Qualifications for Candidacy: Potential candidates wishing to be considered for candidacy to the office of presidency must satisfy all of the following criteria:

1. Person must have reached the 25th birthday at the time of candidacy matriculation.
2. Both genders of sex, men and women, have a right to become a presidential candidate.
3. Have a minimum of two (2) full years or one-term of membership in good standing of Board of Director, except for an inaugural president.
4. Candidate must never have been involved in criminal activities that violated local, state and federal laws, except for minor traffic offenses and misdemeanors.
5. Possess knowledge in Khmer and United States histories, and Buddhism
6. Preferable, but not required. Successful completion as a minimum of any two-year program of study from an accredited institution in the United States that included a major field of study leading to any of the following majors: natural science, social science, physical science, business administration, management, criminal justice, computer science, engineering, arts.
7. Preferable, but not required. Having accumulated a minimum of two (2) consecutive years of professional experience beyond secondary school, preferably in Cambodian community assistance projects, non-profit charitable activities, and non-governmental community development efforts serving Cambodia and/or United States shall be adequate in lieu of the prescribed formal education. Other equivalents may directly substitute the above qualification but not on a prevailing basis. These include any experience gained while earning an income from operating a privately owned small business, working for a commercial or industrial outfit, serving a public entity such as local/Federal Government or a combination thereof.
8. At the request of the Elections Subcommittee (ES), potential candidates shall submit his/her resume outlining related skills and qualifications to include references information to the ES.

Preferable Characteristic Qualifications for Candidacy:

While this category does not establish a mandatory basis, preferred considerations are given to those who demonstrated to all, or any of the following attributes:

1. Person of high moral character, having demonstrated honesty, integrity and accountability without discrimination to social status, age, sex, disability, racial origin, religious belief, and political affiliation.
2. Possessing excellent communication and written skills in Khmer and/or English.
3. Ability to motivate others in a stressful situation while maintaining full composure and impartial view in resolving existing conflicts or dispute among members of temple.
4. Complete understanding of Buddhism its history, temple’s Bylaws, goals and objectives, and internal issues facing the temple.
5. Knowledge of Khmer and United States history, culture, religion and governments, particularly the more recent socio-economic and political developments and issues that related to them.

Tenure of President:

1. By the power vested in the simple majority vote of the Congress or General Election and together with the Honorary President (Chief Abbot) and outgoing President shall confer all duties, privileges, and honors to the incoming Board President of the Wat Chantaraingsey Chuon Nath, and shall conduct all due affairs on its behalf.
2. He/she is nominated and elected from among members by simple majority vote for a two-year term.
3. He/she shall not serve or be connected in any way with another organization of political or racial conflict with the Wat Dhamagosnaram’s missions, other than his profession.
4. President-elect shall begin a two-year term on January 1st following election year. If an election is held in the Summer, the President-elect shall form a transitional team, within two-week of post election, to prepare for smooth transition. The incumbent president continues to serve, during the period of transition until December 31st.

Responsibilities of President:

The President of Board of Directors of Wat Dhamagosnaram is tasked with but not necessary limited to the following responsibilities:

1. general management of the affairs and property of the Corporation or wat.
2. putting into effect all directives and resolutions of the Board of Directors.
3. presiding at meetings of the members and at meetings of the Board of Directors.
4. establish and maintain good working relation with Buddhist monks, Board of Directors, Buddhist and non-Buddhist institutions.
5. The president is the Chief Enforcement Officer such that his/her authority on matters of enforcement rules shall not be undermined.
6. The President is obligated at all time, to act on any Board’s approved resolution, final draft, and individual recommendation in a timely manner.
7. The President is obligated to give consideration to all requests (Board members submit requests or bills in written form) when formally introduced by one or more Board members, and may take the request to a full debate among Board of Directors.
8. The President shall formulate and presents proposed working agenda or plan to the Board of Directors for evaluation and execution.
9. He/she shall monitor the activities of the Board to chart progress and draft new course of action.
10. He/she shall submit regular comprehensive reports to the Board’s general meeting on issues relating to new development, change, irregularity, and prioritized course of action.
11. He/she shall communicate with individual Board members on the status of the organization to strengthen working relationship, receive feedback, and keeping them advised of any critical issues.
12. Candidates running for presidency may nominate one (1) vice presidential running mate. Should any two nominations coincide, candidacy by virtue of presidential candidate nomination shall prevail.

Article 30: Vice President (VP) - The Vice President shall have such powers and perform such duties as may be assigned to him/her by the President. In an absence or incapacity or vacancy of the President, the Vice President shall become an interim president, must be in conformity to Article 24, and shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of the President.

Article 31: Secretary General (SG): The Secretary General shall be in charge of:
1. the Secretariat of the Corporation or wat;
2. taking, recording and keeping the minutes of the meetings;
a. giving notice or causing notice to be given of all meetings;
b. keeping in safe the seal of the Corporation/Wat, affixing the same to any instrument requiring it and attesting to it by his signature when required;
c. keeping documents of the Corporation/Wat in safe custody;
d. maintaining lists of names addresses of all visitors and friends of Wat Dhamagosnaram; and
3. maintaining an up to date list of names, addresses, telephone numbers, and/or email addresses of all members of the

Corporation/Wat.

Article 32: Assistant Secretaries (A.S.): The Assistant Secretaries shall perform the duties assigned to him/her by the Secretary General. In an absence or incapacity of the Secretary General, the Assistant Secretary shall perform the duties and exercise the power of the Secretary

General.

Article 33: Treasurer General (TG): The Treasurer General shall be in charge of:
1. the custody of the Corporation or wat’s funds and assets of all kinds;
2. preparing and keeping accurate account of all receipts and disbursements;
3. depositing all money into the Corporation or wat accounts in such depositories as may be designated by the Board of Directors;
4. preparing financial reports of the Corporation or wat as required;
5. preparing an annual budget of the Corporation for approval by the Board of Directors;
6. maintaining an up-to-date inventory of the assets of the Corporation or wat;
7. if the Corporation or wat has adopted a requirement that its members shall pay dues periodically to the Corporation, the Treasurer General shall maintain an up-to-date list showing the status of the members’ contributions.

Article 34: Assistant Treasurers (A.T.): The Assistant Treasurers shall perform the duties assigned to him by the Treasurer General. In an absence or incapacity of the Treasurer General, the Assistant Treasurer shall perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Treasurer General.

Article 35: Regular and special meetings and decision-making: A quorum is required for the Board of Directors shall be two-third (2/3) of its composition to conduct legal business and arrive at decision-making.

Chapter IX - Office of Treasury
Article 36: Objective: The Office of Treasury, through Board of Directors and its appointed members performs any and all tasks of financial bearing, whose variety encompassing but not limited to management of the association budget, accurate and complete financial records keeping, and balancing the budget for the temple.

Article 37: Revenue
a) Proactively initiate fundraising ideas, identify funding sources and promote activities of financial gain for the temple.
b) Receive all monies paid or donated to the Corporation or Wat and promptly deposit same into the Corporation’s account.

Article 38: Expense
a) Co-signing expended or allocated bills as finalized by the president.
b) Reimburse the properly approved expenses with a receipt.
c) Two (2) signatures are required for any expenses in the amounts below five hundred dollars $500.00
d) Three (3) signatures are required for any expenses in the amounts starting at or above five hundred dollars $500.00.

Article 39: Financial statements
a) Maintain all financial books and records of the temple.
b) Prepare quarterly or three (3) months financial statements in order to keep the Board of Directors informed.
c) Prepare yearly financial statements for annual general meeting.
d) Assist in formulation of the budget with Board of Directors.
e) All financial statements must be timely prepared and complied with the financial accounting standards issued by Financial

Accounting Standards Board.
Article 40: Auditing

The accounts of the corporation or wat or temple shall be audited at least once a year by a certified public accountant that shall be recommended by the Board of Directors and approved by the Board. Within sixty days following the completion of an audit, the treasurer shall furnish Board of Directors, Board members, and all members of the temple with financial statements for the fiscal year just concluded.

Chapter X - The Budget
Article 41: Sources of Wat’s revenues shall derive from:
- Contributions from members
- Membership dues
- Donors and philanthropists, national and international foundations
- Fundraising activities through legal means.

Chapter XI - Litigation Council

Article 42: The Wat Dhamagosnaram promotes the philosophy that conflict is natural and when it is responded to in a constructive manner, conflict can be a productive opportunity for personal growth and understanding. However, when avoided or left unresolved, conflict can be destructive. Therefore, the temple encourages its members to make a personal commitment to resolve disputes and differences among members as they arise, and to make a priority of promoting peace among members.

Article 43: Objective: Has the dual capacities of an investigating body and a jury whose independent ruling carries exclusively on internal disputes of the temple.

Article 44: A minimum of 3 (three) but not to exceed 5 (five) standing members shall compose the council at any one term. Composition of council: One (1) Buddhist monk, two (2) laypersons or members (Buddhists and non-Buddhists) from community at large.

Article 45: This Council shall rule with a unanimity; the other two compositions are required to reach a verdict with at lease 5 votes, otherwise hung jury will result followed by another deliberation. One or more members shall be added by presidential appointment to the Council following a second hung jury.

Article 46: All activities undertaken by the Council shall have complete independence and immune from influence of the executive elements including the Office of the President. Should there be reasonable doubt of interference, the President or the non-dispute person next in chain of authority (higher or lower) shall order a complete overhaul of the activity.

Article 47: In the event a Council member is a defendant, plaintiff or an accessory to a case, his/her membership shall be forfeited and presidential appointment shall determine his/her replacement. If the President is a disputing party, the next person in the chain of authority (higher or lower) namely Vice President shall appoint the substitute and the additional members.

Article 48: The Council shall take the mediating role if every disputing party is a group, in resolving a case by seeking a common ground agreeable to all disputing parties, otherwise the Committee shall render a verdict and issue a sentence at its discretion in accordance to the admitted prima-facie evidence together with the provisions of the law.

Article 49: The Council’s Chairperson, elected from among appointed members, shall oversee and reinforce proper conducts on all activities including Committee's own investigations, gathering and determining the admissibility of evidence.

Article 50: Unless otherwise pronounced improper, bearing of reasonable doubt of interference or misconduct, all decisions/rulings are final and not open for further appeal. The appellant(s) is then referred to a higher decision-making body such as Board of Directors or the equivalent thereof.

Article 51: When a member expresses the need for mediation, it shall be voluntary. If both members or disputants agree to mediate, they are encouraged to seek a member-mediator who is acceptable to both parties.

Article 52: Mediation held in accordance with Article 50 shall be private and confidential. No officer or member may request or receive information regarding a mediation involving members, unless both parties agree in writing to release such information.

Article 53: If dispute is serious and requires high level of attention, the case shall be taken to litigation council of the temple.

Article 54: Hearing shall be public, unless for serious reasons the Council decides to hold the meeting privately, either at its own initiative or at the request of one of the parties. Non-attendance by one or both parties shall not invalidate the proceeding.

Article 55: The Council shall pass judgment within fifteen (15) days after the closing of the hearing.

Chapter XII - Staff

Article 56: The staff or employees of the Wat Dhamagosnaram shall be defined as two types:
- Volunteer staff or employees

The volunteer staff or employees offer their assistance to the Buddhist monks and Board of Directors in running daily operations of the temple, without seeking compensation, in areas, as such:

- Chef or cook and kitchen aides are responsible to cook for and offer meals to the Buddhist monks
- Staff are to maintain the cleanliness inside and outside of the temple
- Drivers are charged to transport Buddhist monks to and from temple:
- Attending Buddhist ceremonies of other temples and organizations
- Attending holy matrimony marriage ceremonies
- Attending funeral service
- Attending public functions of both Buddhists and non-Buddhists
- Payroll staff or employees

Payroll decision for temple’s staff or employees is charged to the voting decision of the Board of Directors, whether there are sufficient funds or budget to make payment to the staff.

Chapter XIII - Election Procedures

Article 57: The formation of an Election Subcommittee (ES) shall take place at least two (2) months ahead of the elections. An ES is an independent and neutral organ. An ES shall be dissolved after a successful election has been organized with an outcome of electing a President, Secretary General, and Treasurer General.

The composition of an Election Subcommittee shall be at least three (3), but not exceed five (5), is as followed:
- A Chief Abbott or Chief Buddhist Monk
- Two (2) deputies (to be designated and approved by the Board of Directors)

This Subcommittee shall establish guidelines and voting procedures within allowable parameters, as well as monitor and enforce them during the course of an election. Refer to Election Procedures and Regulations for unabridged details.

Article 58: Elections may take place on a date and location as deemed appropriate by the Elections Subcommittee.

Article 59: A tie vote shall be disallowed. In any events that a tie-vote occurs, a re-election must proceed.

Article 60: A simple majority vote is adopted in all situations unless otherwise specified.

Chapter XIV - Fiscal Year

Article 61: The fiscal year of the Wat Dhamagosnaram shall be the calendar year or from January 1st through December 31st unless the Board of Directors establishes another fiscal year.

Chapter XV - Seal

Article 62: The Board of Directors shall provide a Corporate seal which shall have a form of a "wheel" with eight "spokes", with the Buddha in the center, and with the name of the Corporation inscribed, in both Cambodian and English languages, on the outer side of the 'Wheel".

Chapter XVI - Amendments, Ratification of Bylaws, and Dissolution

Article 63: Congress or convention shall be the sole component vested with power to ratify and amend these Bylaws or to dissolve the Wat Dhamagosnaram.

Article 64: These Bylaws shall be amended by an affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members being present in the congress and cast votes at a meeting called for that purpose after notice of such meeting is given pursuant to the notice requirements found in these Bylaws, provided; however, that no such action shall be taken if it would in any way adversely affect the Corporation’s or wat’s qualification under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.

Article 65: The Congress shall convene to adopt amended section or item to which any portion of these Bylaws are repealed, modified, or added, and shall ratify immediately thereafter by the signatures of its holding members.

Article 66: Amendment(s) shall be inscribed in this document under the Amendment Article.

Article 67: The dissolution of Corporation or Wat must meet all of these criteria or circumstances:

When there is no Buddhist monk residing in the temple; and

When the Corporation or Wat can no longer function as an organization and can not materialize the objectives stated in the temple’s Bylaws; and when there is a discontinuation in the succession of Board of Directors; and

Article 68: In the event the Wat Dhamagosnaram becomes dissolved, its properties shall be made in charity to religious or non-governmental organizations that congress approves.

Article 69: The present Bylaws shall be presented in both English and Khmer languages.

Article 70: The signatures of the original or founding members shall therefore ratify the first version of the Wat Dhamagosnaram. These Bylaws were unanimously adopted by the convention in Providence, Rhode Island, on Sunday the first, the month of February of the year two thousand four, the 11th of an Old Moon Day, month of Meak, Year of the Ram, A.B. 2547 in duplicate copies in the Khmer Language.

Chapter XVII - Oath of Allegiance

Article 71: For these Bylaws being able to bring benefits to our nation, community, and religion, the following principles must be respected and applied:

TRUTH UNITY PROGRESS SOLIDARITY SOVEREIGNITY NEUTRALISM CONSCIENCE

Article 72: Oath of Allegiance:

We, Khmer Buddhist monks, Board of Directors, Members of Litigation Council, Advisory Council, and Members, pledge allegiance to the Bylaws of the Wat Dhamagosnaram and to the truth for which it stands, and from which the principle goals are achieved.

MAY BUDDHISM EXISTS FOREVER