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When?

edited November 2010 in Buddhism Basics
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?

Comments

  • CloudCloud Veteran
    edited November 2010
    The word is irrelevant next to the purpose. To that, I mean the monastic Sangha was set up to remove one from the world of conception as far as possible to allow for singular pursuit of an enlightened state of mind. That is the purpose.

    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. :)
  • edited November 2010
    Sangha... Basically it's just the group of people on the path to enlightenment. All Buddhist's are a sangha... But it's also used to describe specific groups of Buddhists. Like say all my friends are Buddhists and we speak about dharma, that makes us 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".
  • zidanguszidangus Veteran
    edited November 2010
    When a Buddhist goes for refuge in the three jewles, the Sangha is one of those jewels. You can think of the Sangha as people like yourself, who are following the teachings of Buddha, some more advanced on there Buddhist path, some just beginning it. People in the Sangha are there to help, support, and give advise about Buddhist practice. They are spiritual friends who share their experiences, and help us to stay on the right path. If there were no Sangha, how can the teachings of Buddha and other great masters have been spread and kept alive, all over the world to such a vast population.

    Metta to all sentient beings
  • edited November 2010
    I think that it is important to remember that the word sangha has at least a couple of different definitions.
    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.
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