In Buddhism
there are Three Treasures: the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. The emphasis
in the United
States
seems to be on the first two. People think, "I'll meditate at home, read
lots of dharma books about
enlightenment,
and go to some retreats. In three to five years I'll get enlightened and
be able to get on with the rest
of my life."
This is, at its center, is a selfish view; "take the Dharma and run." It
is like thinking that true intimacy
and the
end to loneliness can be found in a series of one-night stands. It's not
the way human or dharma
relationships
work. They take a lot of work.
I have heard
people say, "I practice on my own but I'm not really involved with the
sangha." Why do we want to
skip the
sangha jewel? Because human relationships can be messy and uncomfortable.
One teacher calls the
Three Treasures
"two jewels and a rock." At the end of sesshin we might think, "Oh, I love
everyone so much!"
During
a long board meeting we might think about the same people, "Let me out
of here! These people are driving
me crazy.
I don't practice Zen to attend meetings and argue over how to run a corporation!"
Why should we cherish the sangha treasure?
We cherish
the sangha as the testing ground of our practice. To love a theoretical
person is not hard.
Tetsugen
Roshi once said, "It's easy to open your heart to the suffering masses
overseas. It's much harder to love
the people
in your sangha or your family." Maezumi Roshi used to say that the sangha
treasure is like a rock
tumbler.
As we rub together we eventually smooth down each other's rough places.
The Buddha
called harmonious relations in the sangha "blending like milk and water."
We might think that the
Buddha's
disciples lived in ease together, but they represented the full range of
human suffering and clarity, just as
we do.
Once two factions of monks "had taken to quarreling and brawling and were
deep in dispute, stabbing
each other
with verbal daggers." Finding three monks living "in concord, with mutual
appreciation, without
disputing,
. . . viewing each other with kindly eyes," the Buddha asked them how this
occurred. They responded
that they
maintained silence, and an attitude of loving kindness in their thoughts,
speech, and actions with each
other,
both openly and privately. They always considered setting aside what they
wished to do and doing what the
others
wished to do. They told the Buddha, "We are different in body, venerable
sir, but one in mind."
We cherish
the sangha as the support for our practice. Even beginners are able to
feel the added strength
and concentration
of zazen that occurs in a group. At home alone someone might sit only 20
minutes. With the
sangha
that time can stretch to 30 minutes.
When we
do sesshin we are making a commitment to each other to practice together
all day for three to seven
days. As
we leave home for sesshin we might think, "I'm too busy to do this. Maybe
I should call and cancel." But
because
we have promised each other to come to sesshin and to do certain jobs,
we show up. Peer pressure
keeps us
going forward. We begin the retreat and find once again, to our relief
and delight, that we are able to
enter an
experience of clear, quiet mind together.
Sesshin
provides the clearest experience of the sangha jewel. In sesshin we are
able to put aside our individual
plans,
anxieties, ambitions, and power moves. We eat, sit, walk, work, and sleep
in a harmony of body. Doing
zazen together
hour after hour we also bring our minds into harmony with each other and
with the Singing Voice of
the Universe.
When the
Buddha questioned the monks about how they lived together in harmony, they
said "we do not break
out into
speech." There is a wonderful feeling of accord that arises during sesshin
when we are not speaking. At
first it
seems clumsy or even cold and rude. By the second day it becomes smooth,
like silent dancing partners
who flow
in unison. With more open, subtle awareness we see and move with each other
effortlessly. This is the
actuality
of "We are different in body, venerable sir, but one in mind."
We cherish
the sangha as the multiplier of our practice effort. If the Buddha had
gone out and taught alone
after his
awakening, how many people would have been reached? A few thousand perhaps.
It is through the
sangha,
the life example of his lay followers and the teaching of his ordained
disciples, that the Buddha's teaching
has spread
throughout the world. It is the sangha that manifests and spreads the wisdom
and compassion of One
Clear Mind
to society.
We cherish
the sangha as good companions in spiritual life. When Ananda said to the
Buddha that good
companions
are half of the holy life, the Buddha responded that good companions and
friends in practice are the
whole of
the holy life. But we can't just sit and wait for ideal companions to happen
along. We create these good
companions
by how we think, speak and act.
How would
we practice if the least bit of progress for ourselves was dependent upon
everyone else making
progress
first? We would be very motivated to help everyone along. We'd suddenly
be very busy pulling them
from the
front and shoving them from behind. It's not theoretical. It's true. Our
own awakening is absolutely
dependent
upon the awakening of everyone else. Why? Because we're part of one thing.
One part of a ball can't
move unless
the other parts move in the same direction.
It is by
means of the sangha that our individual practice is supported, tested,
and extended, strengthened,
magnified,
and dispersed. It is by means of the sangha that our practice emerges from
the gestating place inside of
us and
is given birth, grows steadily and enters lively activity. The degree to
which we cherish the sangha is a
measure
of our perception of the truth of interconnectedness. We need to practice
with the sangha until we can
see clearly
at all times past the exterior appearances to each person's shining Buddha
Nature. When we can do
this we
will want to practice in the company of all these Buddhas. Then we look
toward each person who comes
toward
us with anticipation. What can this (well-camouflaged) Buddha teach me?
We can't
take our choice of which of the Three Treasures we want. The Three Treasures
are intertwined. They
are often
pictured as one gem with three tiers. I'm sure the sangha jewel is the
largest, the one at the bottom that
holds up
all the rest. Only out of that solid base of sangha is it possible to realize
the Buddha and the Dharma
treasures.
The real test of how well the other two jewels have become part of us is
how we live with others. Can
we see
others through the eyes of the other two jewels? Can we speak and act from
the glowing center of the
Triple
Gem?
How can
we cherish the sangha? People say to me, "We should have more sangha activities."
Fine, then do. The
teacher
is not a cruise ship activities director. Sangha building comes from inside.
From inside you. To cherish the
sangha
means to help everyone feel valued, welcome, and able to participate in
spiritual practice. Let us practice
together
diligently and wholeheartedly, cherishing and upholding the sangha. This
is how Buddhas give birth to
Buddhas.
Copyright © 1998 Jan Chozen Bays
source: http://www.zendust.org/talk1106.htm
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