American Daoist Seminary
The American Daoist Seminary 美國道教學院 (ADS; a.k.a. American Daoist Academy [ADA]) is our formal Daoist school and program intended to provide deeper and more complete Daoist religious training, including systematic teacher training and vocational clerical training. This is Daoist education (dàojiào jiàoyù 道教教育) as such, with attention to Daoist culture (dàojiào wénhuà 道教文化). Interested individuals are encouraged to develop a root in “virtue practice,” especially the cultivation of “hidden virtue” (yǐndé 隱德), before applying. We also recommend reading and studying the Dàodé jīng 道德經 (Scripture on the Dao and Inner Power; Komjathy translation) and Zhuāngzǐ 莊子 (Book of Master Zhuang; Watson translation) in order to develop a foundational Daoist view. (Take the Daoist Self-Assessment)
The full seminary program is two years, with an optional third year. The years and associated training, which must be completed sequentially, are as follows:
First Year/Practitioner: Foundational religious literacy concerning the entire depth and breadth of the Daoist tradition, including commitments and values related to Daoist being. The primary textbook will be The Daoist Tradition and ADS Manual I
Second Year/Teacher: In-depth exploration of holistic and integrated Daoist training with an emphasis on being/becoming a Daoist community elder and/or teacher. This will include the ability to facilitate Daoist spiritual direction and contemplative mentorship. The primary textbook will be Entering Stillness and ADS Manual II
Third Year/Ordinand: Investiture training, the successful completion of which will result in an invitation to be ordained (chuánshòu 傳授) as a Daoist monastic/priest (dàoshì 道士) in the Huàshān pài 華山派 (HSP; Mount Hua Lineage) and Clarity-and-Stillness Order 清靜道 (CSO) under Louis Komjathy 修靜 and Kate Townsend 抱靜. This will involve a formal teacher (shī 師)-student (dì 弟) lineage relationship and religious affiliation with the Daoist Foundation. Upon ordination, HSP and CSO become ordinands’ primary lineage affiliation, which also supersedes any and all previous ones. Any subsequent ordinations in turn nullify HSP/CSO ordination and affiliation. The primary textbook will be ADS Manual III as well as HSP/CSO inner materials
In terms of traditional Western monasticism, these years may be understood along the lines of postulancy, novitiate, and clergy. Alternatively, in terms of university education, they may be thought of as lower-division major courses, upper-division major courses, and masters’ level training. The first year is beyond the spiritual seeker and/or preliminary Daoist inquiry stage, for which individuals are directed to our general offerings. The third year requires a process of discernment and mutual agreement on the part of the candidate and our Directors.
Admittance to the ADS requires a formal application, an accompanying entrance interview by our Directors, and community approval. Application does not guarantee acceptance into the program. Unapproved applicants may reapply in a subsequent year.
Applicants must be actively and fully involved in the Daoist Foundation community for at least one full year, have attended our Foundations of Daoist Practice retreat, and be committed to following a Daoist religious path. Individuals who choose to undertake the third-year ordination-track also may not be training concurrently under other Daoist teachers.
We have completed the 2024 application process, with eight seminarians accepted into the 2024-2025 program. They began their training in September. The next application period will commence in June of 2025, with the next cohort being accepted in autumn of the corresponding year. The program runs remotely from September to May of each year and meets remotely on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month, with the following meeting schedule:
First Years: 11am-1pm CDT/CST
Second Years: 1-3pm CDT/CST
Third Years: 3-5pm CDT/CST
This schedule aims to include the largest swath of the international Daoist Foundation community with attention to different time zones. “Daoist seminarians” should attend ALL meetings, with minimal absences. However, in the event of absences, the meetings will be recorded, and participants who have to miss a meeting will have access to said recordings for a two-week period. Each group also will have the opportunity and be required to attend a cohort-specific retreat, which will have set dates during each year at a place to be determined.
First Years: Second weekend of June
Second Years: Second weekend of August
Third Years: Second weekend of October
Participation in the culminating retreat is a prerequisite for moving on to the next year’s training. There will be alternative accommodations for individuals outside of the United States. The third-year retreat will include a formal ordination ceremony (Daoist name-bestowal, manuscript transmission, and investiture) and accompanying community celebration.
The cost for the remote program, not including books or retreats, is $150/month. This includes access to all Daoist Foundation general meetings, practice sessions, spiritual direction, and the seminary courses as such. (Please note that we are unable to offer scholarships or subsidies at this time, so need-based applicants are encouraged to find alternative funding sources, including personal benefactors.)
Apply to the American Daoist Seminary
Please send completed applications to the Daoist Foundation Registrar.
The 2024 application period is now closed. We will recommence accepting and reviewing applications in June of 2025 for next year’s program.
Why Choose ADS?
The American Daoist Seminary is the only Daoist training center being guided by a preeminent scholar-practitioner and leading authority on the Daoist tradition; under the direction of a senior female and senior male Daoist priest (dàoshì 道士), and thus employing a non-patriarchal approach and emphasizing gender equity and inclusion; and advancing holistic and integrated tradition-based Daoist practice-realization, including as rooted in the associated Daoist scriptures (dàojīng 道經). In addition, we understand Daoism as a religious path and way of life and Daoist ordination as a communal vocation based in spiritual discernment. This centers on the Three Expressions (sānxiàn 三見) of cultivation, embodiment, and transmission as articulated within the Daoist Foundation Approach (DFA). ADS in turn utilizes a unique Daoist Studies curriculum (dàoxué kèchéng 道學課程) that is based in scholarly rigor, informed by a Daoist ethos, and infused with a lived/living Daoist sensibility.
