Welcome home! Please contact
lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site.
New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days.
Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Hi All
I'm new to this forum......I have so many questions but maybe I'll leave them for another time
It just seems that the more I learn about Buddhism, the more I think I've become an accidental Buddhist. Many of the teachings Buddha shares are things that I've reached similar conclusions about... suffering in inevitable, causing harm leads to suffering....being good and compassionate leads to happiness. Also, an open non-dogmatic mind is essential.
What I'm not quite sure of is Sangha.... I don't really know what it means to me. I am involved with my local Buddhist centre so I'm mixing with people with similar realisations to myself but I'm not sure if the ritualistic side is for me... much of it is based on an eastern culture that I don't relate to. I'm sure that the majority of Buddhist monks become monks because of the influence of family and culture rather than because of wanting to undertake a journey of learning and discovery.
I suppose my question is, are there a number of ways to interpret what Sangha is and does it matter how we interpret this word?
0
Comments
Many others apply Sangha to non-monastic centers as well as lay communities, but that doesn't matter. What matters is what you expect to get out of a Sangha.
All the disciples of a specific guru can be considered a singular sangha as well... So far it seems to be used the same way Christians use "fellowship".
Metta to all sentient beings
When we talk about taking refuge in the sangha, here we should consider the sangha to be those people, either monastic or lay people, who have a certain realization.
I have often wondered about the use of the word sangha to describe our community, I do not think that the Buddha taught that we should take refuge in our community, rather, we are to look to those individuals who have attained an advanced realization.
Of course some of us may not know such people, and it may be difficult to know who has what realizations.
I do not think that our community is a suitable refuge, although the community can be of great benefit and comfort.