12Standards

12.1 What a standard is

12.1.1 This chapter lists the few standards that 墨门 / The Mohist Community expects every Mohist and every chapter (墨社) to keep. There are not many, and each can be justified by the Three Tests (chapter 1).

12.1.2 The standards bind the Community first. Every meeting, every expense and every activity of the Community must meet them before Mohists are expected to follow them in their own lives.

12.2 The 节用 standard

12.2.1 The 节用 (frugality) standard is a list published every year by the 墨门理事会 (the Council). It sets out what counts as "sufficient, not showy" in these kinds of spending: housing, transport, celebrations (weddings, birthdays, festivals), funerals, gifts, food and clothing.

12.2.2 The list gives principles and reference ranges, not limits. It is given separately for different regions according to local living costs, adjusted each year for prices, published on mohist.org, and accompanied by the reasoning behind it.

12.2.3 The standard applies first to the Community's own events. The 兼爱大会 (assembly), 兼士营, monthly meetings, service days and every occasion held in the Community's name must fall within the list. Staff pay and the 兼士 stipend are set from the same list (chapters 9 and 10).

12.2.4 For an individual the standard is a voluntary reference. A Mohist uses it to measure a month of their own spending, and what they save may become their 节用捐 (9.3). No one checks whether a Mohist meets the standard.

12.2.5 Mozi said that "the sage kings did not undertake any additional expense that added nothing to the people's benefit." Frugality is not austerity. It is taking the spending that increases no one's welfare and putting it where it will.

12.3 The 非攻 pledge

12.3.1 Every Mohist makes the 非攻 (non-aggression) pledge on joining (chapter 3). The text is:

I will not initiate violence, nor threaten it. I will not profit from selling arms to an aggressor. I will not harass or intimidate anyone, online included. I defend; I do not attack.

12.3.2 "Violence" in the pledge covers physical violence and the threat of it. "Harass or intimidate" covers words and actions online, on social media and in private messages. "Aggressor" means a party that launches an attack on another state or person.

12.3.3 The pledge does not forbid self-defence, does not forbid lawful work protecting others, and does not require a Mohist to submit when attacked. What it forbids is 攻 — harm that you start.

12.3.4 Breaking the pledge is among the most serious grounds for discipline under chapter 14.

12.4 Honesty

12.4.1 Mozi said: "Whose word is not trusted, their action does not bear fruit" (言不信者行不果). A Mohist tells the truth inside the Community and outside it, and either keeps a promise or says in good time why it cannot be kept.

12.4.2 A Mohist holding a 职 is responsible for the truth of the accounts, records and reports they handle. Knowingly giving false information, however small the sum, is a ground for discipline.

12.4.3 Honesty includes admitting mistakes. A mistake admitted promptly and put right is not a ground for discipline.

12.5 Political neutrality

12.5.1 The Community as a body is politically neutral. It does not support or oppose any party, candidate, bill or referendum option; it issues no political statement in its own name; it allows no political organization to campaign at its activities.

12.5.2 Every Mohist as an individual has complete political freedom — to join a party, stand for office, attend rallies and speak publicly. In doing so they may not use the Community's name, marks or premises.

12.5.3 Membership rolls, care-pair lists, contact lists and any information taken from the Community's records may not be used for any political campaign or canvassing. Breaches are handled under chapter 14.

12.5.4 Neutrality does not prevent a chapter from discussing public questions at its meetings, nor from stating a position on the standards in this Handbook, such as non-aggression. The line is this: discussing a question is allowed; backing a side is not.

12.6 Substances

12.6.1 No alcohol is served or drunk at any meeting or activity of the Community, including the assembly, monthly meetings, service days and youth activities. Leaders are not drunk or under the influence of drugs while an activity is under way.

12.6.2 This rule applies only to Community activities. It says nothing about a Mohist's private life.

12.7 Non-discrimination

12.7.1 The Community does not refuse anyone membership, a 职 or a place in any activity on grounds of sex, sexual orientation, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or lack of it, disability, marital status, wealth or social position.

12.7.2 Chapters and leaders apply the same standard when assigning 职, giving aid and organizing activities. "Impartial" means precisely that no distinction is made.

12.7.3 Discriminatory words or conduct are a form of harassment under chapter 14.

12.8 What the standards are not

12.8.1 To prevent misunderstanding, this section lists rules the Community does not have:

1. No dress code. Mohists wear what they choose; no clothing or emblem is required at any meeting.
2. No diet rules. The Community forbids no food, requires no vegetarianism and no fasting.
3. No attendance quotas. Missing any meeting needs no excuse, is not recorded, and has no effect on membership.
4. No test of belief. The Community does not require a Mohist to accept any supernatural claim, nor does it turn anyone away for holding a religion (see chapter 2 on 天志 and 明鬼).
5. No rules about private life. Marriage, children, work, where to live, politics and belief are the Mohist's own business.

12.8.2 No chapter may add requirements on personal conduct beyond those in this chapter. A chapter may set house rules for its own meeting space, but may not make them conditions of membership.