How do we Practice as a Sangha

Summary

This talk presents the Sangha as a living organism, or super-organism, in which each member functions like a cell within a larger body. The speaker emphasizes that a true Sangha is not merely a gathering of people, but a disciplined community shaped by shared practice, communication, and mutual responsibility. The discussion repeatedly returns to the idea that the Sangha is the most concrete refuge for practitioners and the essential context for understanding the Buddha, the Dharma, and the path of awakening. A major portion of the talk explains the formal procedures by which a monastic Sangha functions. The speaker describes Sangha-karma, a democratic decision-making process rooted in the time of the Buddha and preserved for more than 2,600 years. He outlines the sequence of questions asked during a meeting: whether the community has assembled, whether there is harmony, whether those without the relevant precepts have left, and what the purpose of the meeting is. These procedures ensure legitimacy and protect the integrity of the community. The speaker notes that only those who have received the appropriate precepts may vote, whether in a fully ordained monastic Sangha, a novice community, the Order of Interbeing, or a lay community practicing the Five Mindfulness Trainings. The talk then turns to the Six Togethernesses, which the speaker presents as the foundation of Sangha life. The first togetherness is physical presence: members must live together in the same place, under the same roof, sharing daily life. The second is shared discipline: everyone in the community practices the same trainings and mindful manners, whether the 250 precepts of fully ordained monks and nuns or the Five Mindfulness Trainings for lay practitioners. The speaker stresses that these trainings protect both the individual and the community, and that recitation and study of the trainings deepen practice over time. The third togetherness is sharing, understood broadly as the exchange of insight, experience, and practice. The speaker explains that Dharma discussion is one form of sharing, but that communication also occurs through conduct, posture, calmness, and the way one responds to difficulty. He gives examples of practitioners whose quiet stability and joyful presence communicate more powerfully than words. He also compares this to Western science, arguing that the success of modern science depends on the systematic sharing of discoveries through publication. In the Sangha, sharing must be permanent and multidimensional, not limited to speech. The fourth togetherness is loving speech. The speaker warns that anger, jealousy, and emotional agitation can damage harmony, so practitioners must learn to speak gently, calmly, and at the right time. The fifth togetherness concerns material sharing: food, clothing, shelter, and medical care should be distributed equally within the community. He recalls monastic requirements such as three robes, a bowl, and a water filter, and recounts a formative novice practice of reciting a gatha before drinking water, cultivating compassion by recognizing the life in the water. The sixth togetherness is harmony of views and ideas. The speaker describes how differing opinions can be integrated through deep looking, so that apparent opposites become complementary and the community reaches a synthesis that brings joy to everyone. The speaker also discusses the role of the core Sangha and the extended Sangha. A permanent, residential Sangha is presented as the core refuge, while the extended Sangha consists of those who may gather periodically but still draw strength from the core community. He argues that a real Sangha cannot be built by telephone, email, or letters alone; it requires embodied, daily practice together. He cites the establishment of the Vermont Green Mountain Dharma Center and Maple Forest Monastery as an example of creating a living refuge for both monastics and laypeople. Toward the end, the speaker uses ants, termites, and bees as analogies for collective intelligence and coordinated action. He observes that these creatures become highly organized only when they reach community size, and he suggests that human beings can do even better by practicing the Six Togethernesses. Unlike insect colonies, a human Sangha can cultivate peace not only within itself but also for society and the wider Earth. The talk concludes by returning to the idea that the Buddha is not absent or finished, but continues to practice through the community. The speaker connects this to Jesus as well, referencing Living Buddha, Living Christ, and suggesting that both figures remain active through their followers. In this way, the Sangha becomes the place where awakening is continued, shared, and made visible in the world.