(Our Sanghas, part 1)
The triad of teacher, teachings and community (or the three jewels of Buddhist philosophy―Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) appear around us repeatedly. Look across faiths, team sports, businesses or even any serious hobbies. In any context that human beings are truly commited to growing or contributing, we’ll always find some sort of a teacher, a set of convictions and a community of practitioners.
Of course the teachers and teachings are invaluable but over time it’s the community that propels us forward. Our communities may go by different names but, when formed with intention, they serve the same fundamental purpose: to be a source of real and sustained strength and guidance as we navigate what we set out to do. Another case in point are Ivy League universities. Students pay a lot of money to go to say Harvard or Stanford and while the quality of professors and research truly makes a difference, the high-quality learning occurs because of interactions with an extremely-commited community. And it is this community that provides whatever type of eventual support or access our ongoing practice might need.
It’s the Sangha that helps us learn, grow, build and contribute. It’s in this Sangha that we lift each other up in times of hardship or doubt. If anything creates momentum in us, it’s the Sangha. It doesn’t have to be large but it has to be real, aligned and commited towards the same goals.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly―our tribes, cohorts and sanghas often influence and sometimes even determine our what and how in life; that is, what we seek and how we go about seeking it. With this outsized influence, doesn’t it make sense to be thoughtful in our “Sangha-selection process”?
“May you be brought into real passion, kindness,
And belonging.” ― John O’Donohue
