The Nature of Spiritual Community By Sangharakshita ISBN 978-1899579310 Read by Tejasvini
The Sangha, the spiritual community, is traditionally one of the three highest ideals of Buddhism, alongside the Buddha and the Dharma. But why? Many western Buddhists would question whether it has a role at all. Some feel that Dharma practice is about personal commitment, not about joining a group, while others identify the term "sangha" solely with the monastic community. In this volume Sangharakshita presents the ideal Sangha as a free association between developing individuals. An exploration of the nature of spiritual community is balanced by reflections in individuality, on what it is to be truly human. As Sanga is all about friendships, the final part of the book considers the individual's relationship with others - friends, family, fellow workers and spiritual leaders - and the connections of the Buddhist community to the world as a whole. Throughout the book the author demonstrates his passionate commitment to the ideal of Sangha, in principle and in practice.
An extract from What is the Sangha?
The question 'What is the Buddhist life?' can be answered in one word. It is a committed life. A Buddhist is not someone who has merely been born into a Buddhist family, or has made an academic study of Buddhism and knows a great deal about its history and doctrines. Nor is a Buddhist someone who dabbles in Buddhism, who has a smattering of knowledge about it and airs their views on the subject, who mixes it up with Christianity or Vedanta or New Age ideas of one kind or another. A Buddhist is someone who is committed to the Three Jewels, who 'goes for refuge' in the traditional phrase, and who as an expression of that going for refuge seeks to observe the ethical precepts of Buddhism. This is the heart of the matter.
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