The importance of the Sangha

[vajrastorm]

In reading 'Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand', on the 'Optimum Human Rebirth', I came across this which reflects the importance of having a Sangha presence to ensure that Buddhadharma will continue to thrive in an area.

It is stated in this chapter on "THE OPTIMUM HUMAN REBIRTH' that a most important Personal Endowment one has to experience to ensure that one has an optimum human rebirth is that one must be born in "a central land" (p.273 of my edition). It is further explained that a "central land" means "being reborn in a central place that is under the influence of the words of Dharma, and THAT HAS AT LEAST FOUR MEMBERS OF THE SANGHA".

In this degenerate age, age of great distractions, it is rare to find any one willing to become a monk or a nun. If at all, there are individuals who step forward to express a wish to became a monastic and a renunciate, the Dharma community to which they belong must( for the benefit of all and the sake of ensuring that Dharma continues to thrive in their area for a long long time) give these individuals every support and encouragement.

 

[Jessie Fong]

@VajraStorm : When you mentioned Sangha, does it have to be one who has taken the vows and wears the robes?  Or can it mean to be any four persons of the Buddhist community?  If it is rare to find one monk/nun, then would it not be rarer to find a community of four?

There are cases of people who wish to renounce and become nuns/monks, but are they suitable "candidates" to uphold the precious vows, let alone living the life of one?  Do they act, live the life of a renunciate in preparation for their actual acceptance into the nun-hood or monk-hood?

That being the case, the chances of having a human rebirth will be decreased as you rightly pointed out that this is the age of distractions.

[biggyboy]

It is stated in this chapter on "THE OPTIMUM HUMAN REBIRTH' that a most important Personal Endowment one has to experience to ensure that one has an optimum human rebirth is that one must be born in "a central land" (p.273 of my edition). It is further explained that a "central land" means "being reborn in a central place that is under the influence of the words of Dharma, and THAT HAS AT LEAST FOUR MEMBERS OF THE SANGHA".

In this degenerate age, age of great distractions, it is rare to find any one willing to become a monk or a nun. If at all, there are individuals who step forward to express a wish to became a monastic and a renunciate, the Dharma community to which they belong must( for the benefit of all and the sake of ensuring that Dharma continues to thrive in their area for a long long time) give these individuals every support and encouragement.

The four types of sanghas to form a noble sangha community are ....

(1) Sotapanna or Stream-Enterers(those who have entered the stream leading to Nibbana)
achieved perfection in morality and has abandoned the three restrictions of self-illusion, uncertainty and clinging to mere rules and ritual

(2) Sakadagami or Once-Returners (those who will return only once more to the vicissitudes of this world)
mitigated lust, hatred and delusion

(3) Anagami or Non-Returners (those who will never come again to the dubious conditions of this world)
has achieved perfection in mental discipline and further eradicated the restrictions of sensual lust and ill will.

(4) Arahants or Worthy Ones (those who have achieved the ideal of perfection and attained to the goal of Nibbana).
has achieved perfection in wisdom and put an end to five more restrictions, namely, attachment to fine-material existence, attachment to immaterial existence, conceit, restlessness and ignorance.

It is the purpose of the Buddha, to teach all people to progress along the lines of development to become a noble sangha for any dharma communities to help and spread dharma.  In other words in creating the universal community of noble, enlightened and truly civilized people...being the source of refuge, solace and example for all to learn, follow and strive to be one of them.

Hence, it gives much more sense for us to support them in every way we can, for they gave up much more than us and did what most do not want to do for the benefit of dharma.

[Dorje Pakmo]

The Sangha plays an important role for spreading and preserving the essence of the true Dharma. The world today will need the Sangha even more. It has come to a time, where most people look for simple solutions and quick fixes to their everyday problem. It has become very materialistic and most people equate success with having lots of cash. So, to know Buddhism, start engaging it and to follow through with the practice without the support offered by the Sangha is harder these days because the majority of the human beings are more immersed in the world of money making and enjoyment than to seek spiritual development. Hence changing ourselves and the people around as is not easy, because we were taught from very young to develop our skills to find lots of cash. Without the Sangha as an example, then many will follow the current pattern of “mind” destruction.

The Dharma is revealed through our life and our practice. Buddha Shakyamuni has taught 84,000 ways to suit that number of types of people. There are said to be 84,000 Dharma doors. To take refuge in the Dharma is to choose the doors that are most appropriate for us. Dharma is great compassion, understanding and love. To realize these qualities, we need a Sangha, it is when a Sangha shines its light on our personal views, we are able to see more clearly and will not fall back into our negative habit patterns. A strong Sangha support is much needed for the Buddhist community, ourselves and our family as a whole because it can help us overcome deep habituations that are counterproductive to living an engaged Buddhist life. Buddha’s teaching emphasized the importance of Sangha on the spiritual path. Buddhist practice must include all aspects of one’s life, hence trying to separate one’s spiritual life from one’s material needs is likely to result in serious self-alienation and misses the whole purpose of the Buddhist path. In this way the Sangha must be part of our everyday life.

[ratanasutra]

The Sangha is precious in Buddhism as without the Sangha the religion could not establish, spread and grow till today. The sangha show that it is possible for us to practice the Dharma and become enlightened. Their moral actions also inspire us and we can seek for their advice in the spiritual path as well. 

Here is The meaning and significance of Sangha
from http://www.buddhanet.net/cmdsg/getting5.htm

The Sangha forms the third component of the Triple Gem. Sangha members represent the embodiment of the Dhamma and they have been, by and large, responsible for the preservation and promotion of the religion, both during and after the time of the Buddha.

    Two months after his enlightenment the Buddha began his teaching mission by delivering the first sermon, called the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, to a group of five ascetics, who were his former associates. They were Kondañña, Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahanama, and Assaji. At the conclusion of the discourse, Kondañña is said to have attained the "Eye of Truth," i.e., realized the Dhamma and achieved the first of four stages of transcendent spiritual attainment. With that, the Sangha came into being, bringing to completion the Holy Triple Gem. This happened on the full moon day of the month Asalha (eighth lunar month).

    Literally, Sangha means community. In its broadest sense, the term covers both the lay and the monastic communities. From the doctrinal perspective, it refers to those who have achieved any of the four stages of transcendent spiritual attainment. Such Sangha members are known as 'noble disciples' (ariyasangha). Technically, these are called Sotapanna (Stream Enterer), Sakadagami (Once Returner), Anagami (Non-Returner), and Arahanta (Worthy One). These noble disciples constitute the Sangha of the Triple Gem; they are Sangha by virtue of their special attainments. Thus anyone who has attained to that higher level is qualified to be included in this category of Sangha.

    From the perspective of the Vinaya (Discipline), Sangha refers to a community of monks (bhikkhusangha), specifically a group of four or more monks, who are required to be present at certain ecclesiastical rites where a quorum of monastic members is needed. This is the Sangha according to the Vinaya definition, but not necessarily as part of the Triple Gem. Thus there are two categories of Sangha, namely, Noble Sangha and Conventional Sangha. Of course, individual monks may belong to both if they are so qualified. Kondañña and his colleagues, and many of their contemporaries, were some of these noble monk disciples.

    However, because the role of the monks is so distinct and prominent, the term Sangha is often used exclusively in reference to the community of monks and does not cover the laity as in its broader sense. In the Theravada tradition, especially, this term is never used in connection with the lay community.

    When Kondañña gained the Eye of Truth, he became the first member of the Noble Sangha. When he was ordained a monk, he became the first member of the Conventional Sangha. Thus, the conclusion of the first discourse marks the beginning of the Noble as well as the Conventional Sangha of disciples.

[Dhiman]

The noble sangha community dedicated their lives in studying the Dharma for the sake of all beings. This lineage existed and has not been broken since Buddha's time and bestows great blessings to anyone who takes refuge in them. Supporting the sangha generates great merits because it is equivalent to supporting the cause for all sentient beings to attain Buddhahood.

It is said that the practice of Buddhism is very difficult without the assistance of the sangha. When we enter a Dharma center to seek for comfort from our pain and confusion in life, the sangha members are the first to offer us advice and keeps us motivated to push ourselves further, which is not the role of the Lama / Guru. Opening ourselves and supporting one another is critical to loosening ego and selfishness. At the same time, we are exposed to their own faults and negative habituations which serves as a clear reminder for our practice.

The Buddha once said: When you look after each other, you are looking after the Tathagata.

[Vajraprotector]

A very famous sangha member himself, Thich Nhat Hanh has stressed the importance of sangha building as the key to creating a stable foundation for our practice.

He wrote in The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching :
 “Dharma books and tapes are valuable, but the true Dharma is revealed through our life and our practice…There are said to be 84,000 Dharma doors…To take refuge in the Dharma is to choose the doors that are most appropriate for us. Dharma is great compassion, understanding, and love. To realize these qualities, we need a sangha…When a sangha shines its light on our personal views, we see more clearly. In the sangha, we won’t fall into negative habit patterns.”

A short story from the sutras below also shows the importance Buddha placed on sangha.
 
 Ananda, Lord Buddha's long-time personal attendant and monk-disciple, asks Buddha:
"Lord, is it true what has been said, that good spiritual friends are fully half of the holy life?"
The Master replied, "No, Ananda, good spiritual friends are the whole of the holy life. Find refuge in the sangha community."

[pgdharma]

To be a Buddhist is not easy without the support of thee sangha.  It is not easy to change ourselves and to change the way we parent our children. We need to have a strong sangha not only for ourselves, but for our children and for our family as a whole. The support of sangha can help us to overcome deeply ingrained habits that are counterproductive to living an engaged Buddhist family life.

The association with sangha is equally important for our children, who can be strongly influenced by the people around them. They model other children’s behaviour. Association with sangha means the effort you put into supporting them to adopt skilful practices will be reinforced by what they see within other families.

The late Chogyam Trungpa said of taking refuge in the Sangha,

"The sangha is the community of people who have the perfect right to cut through your trips and feed you with their wisdom, as well as the perfect right to demonstrate their own neurosis and be seen through by you. The companionship within the sangha is a kind of clean friendship-—without expectation, without demand, but at the same time, fulfilling."

By taking refuge in the Sangha, we become the refuge. This is the path of the Buddhas.

[Carpenter]

Monk may be literally translated as "beggar" or more broadly as "one who lives by alms". It is philologically analysed in the P?li commentary of Buddhaghosa as "the person who sees danger (in samsara or cycle of rebirth)". He therefore seeks ordination to release from it.

In this degenerate age, being a monk is very difficult, due to the attachment and especially with the technology nowadays, people get more and more tight up with their personal life and enjoyment, it has already never appear in their thought of becoming a monk or nun. Because if to be one, they have to give up what they are enjoying now, they rather guard their material belonging than guarding the Dharma.

Many people who expressed their interest of becoming a monk are not stable in mind, because they have many problem in life, so they thought by being a monk, they can escape from all these problems that they have, but after entering to the monastery, only they realize it is not as what they thought, they disrobe and ran away from the monastery.

Yes, very sad indeed. Becoming a monk for many people now is not because of realizing the suffering of Samsara but to escape from their responsibilities as a human being.

[Q]

The fact that the Sangha is part of the Three Jewels already states their importance in leading us out of samsara... as we Buddhists only take refuge to that which can bring us to liberation. The Sangha is the very reason why we can receive the Dharma today.

The Sangha was established during the Buddha's time, and has remained in an unbroken lineage from 2500 years ago. Sangha literally means 'community', therefore it can be viewed in a larger perspective which covers both lay and monastic people... as well as Sanghas that constitutes the Three Jewels, also known as the noble disciples. While according to the Vinaya, a sangha comes to existence in the presence of 4 or more monks.

Being in the Sangha as a person that wishes to pursue a spiritual path is one of the greatest blessing because being with such a community can help us stabilize our spiritual practice. While the Buddha and Dharma is equally important as the source of great compassion and love... in order for use to develop and realize these qualities, we need a sangha. It is through the Sangha that we will not fall into our negative habits, and receive the appropriate support to help us overcome any worldly concerns.

Also, in the effort to separate oneself from a material world to a spiritual one... this transition can be very difficult for many which may cause some people to feel alienated. Such a situation will not help our spiritual practice as the Buddha has stated that in Buddhist practice, we should include all aspects of one's life... the middle path, not extremities. Therefore, to avoid such a situation, the sangha must be a part of our everyday life in order for use to not feel temptation towards worldly matters, and improve spiritually.

In short, a sangha community is most important to nourish our spiritual life. Although these are degenerated times, but being in a Dharma centre although consists of lay practitioners, they too can be considered as our sangha community.

The importance of the Sangha can also be seen when Ananda asked Buddha if having a good spiritual friend is half the spiritual journey. In reply, Lord Buddha said "No, Ananda, good spiritual friends are the whole of the holy life. Find refuge in the sangha community."

[Tenzin K]

Monasticism is one of the most fundamental institutions of Buddhism. Monks and nuns are considered to be responsible for preserving and teaching Buddhist teachings and guiding Buddhist lay followers.

The order of Buddhist monks and nuns was founded by Gautama Buddha during his lifetime over 2500 years ago. The Buddhist monastic lifestyle grew out of the lifestyle of earlier sects of wandering ascetics, some of whom the Buddha had studied under. It was not really isolationist or eremetic: the sangha was dependent on the lay community for basic provisions of food and clothing, and in return sangha members helped guide lay followers on the path of Dharma. Individuals or small groups of monks – a teacher and his students, or several monks who were friends – traveled together, living on the outskirts of local communities and practicing meditation in the forests. Monks and nuns were expected to live with a minimum of possessions, which were to be voluntarily provided by the lay community. Lay followers also provided the daily food that monks required, and provided shelter for monks when they were needed. During the Buddha's time, many retreats and gardens were donated by wealthy citizens for monks and nuns to stay in during the rainy season.

Monks and nuns are expected to fulfill a variety of roles in the Buddhist community. First and foremost, they are expected to preserve the doctrine and discipline now known as Buddhism. They are also expected to provide a living example for the laity, and to serve as a "field of merit" for lay followers, providing laymen and women with the opportunity to earn merit by giving gifts and support to the monks. In return for the support of the laity, monks and nuns are expected to live an austere life focused on the study of Buddhist doctrine, the practice of meditation, and the observance of good moral character. The relative degree of emphasis on meditation or study has often been debated in the Buddhist community. Many continued to keep a relationship with their original families.

[RedLantern]

Dharma is great compassion,understanding and love.To realize this qualities,we need a Sangha.When a Sangha shines its light on our personal views,we see more clearly.In the Sangha,we won't fail into negative habits patterns.When we practice together,chanting technique and focus improves.We receive new viewpoints and interpretations of the Dharma.We receive support and encouragement for our practice.We are soothed and connected and our spirits are lifted.
We need to have a strong Sangha not only for ourselves,but for society as a whole.Buddhism provide hve to a healthy balance in a culture that is growing in fundamentation.We are highly tolerable group in the world where understanding and compassion is disappearing.
We all want change for the better but first we have to change ourselves,to do that,we need the support of the Sangha.
The importance of a strong Sangha cannot be underestimated.Without a Sangha,my practice would have become diluted and chaotic and probably fade away.

[Dondrup Shugden]

The Sangha is on of the 3 jewels of refuge, so the importance of the Sangha is beyond description.  In this degenerate age, the understanding and path to enlightenment is from teachings of the Holy Dharma by the Sangha.

The Sangha is formed to preserve the Dharma and to be the bridge to lay practitioners for the clear understanding of the 84,000 dharmas taught by Buddha.

As lay practitioners we must always support the Sangha to have the Dharma upheld until samsara ends.

[kelly]

Sangha community play a very important role in preserving the Buddha teaching especially in this degenerative age people are very difficult to focus in their spiritual practice either distraction from work or from family , and in most time all these distraction is create by ourselves because of greed, so we need the Sangha to remind us about important of staying in the path not to be distracted by samsara pleasure .

[eyesoftara]

The Sangha is one of the 3 components of the refuge we take, the other being Buddha and Dharma. Buddha beings all the Buddhas and the enlightened qualities that we aspire to become, Dharma being the teachings that we can practice to achieve these qualities, the sangha becomes an important part of the refuge for the function of propagating both the Buddha and the qualities of the Buddhas and the Dharma.

Also, the Sangha are in the form of humans that can directly indirect and support the practitioners and propagate the Dharma. In that way, the Sangha is the Buddha and the Dharma.