The Life of the Sangha

Sangha’s many aspects manifest in many ways.  Last Sunday we held the first Introduction to Zen and Meditation at the B Street Zendo of Drifting Mountain Zen.  This gathering of community of practitioners, and those curious about practice is Sangha.  In the time of the historical Buddha, sangha meant the original community of Buddhist monks and nuns, and eventually it included lay people. Now we see Sangha is more than that, it is manifesting as all life. It is the trees, the rivers, the lakes, the mountains, insects, birds, and all animals, as well as we humans. 

When we realize all life as Sangha, there is intimacy with all things, there is connectedness, interconnectedness, and oneness  Our lives are enriched by the song of the birds, the shade of the tree, the sound of the river, our community, and more, and yet it is also who we are. 

Even the hummingbird and spider are connected, and one is dependent on the other. The hummingbird uses the silk web of the spider in its nest in order to allow for the nest to expand to hold the eggs and chicks.  The Pando, the quaking aspen grove at Fish Lake, Utah appears as individual trees, and yet they are all one tree, sharing a massive underground root system and are genetically identical.

 “…Sangha…[is]... the relationship between phenomena.  When we see the Dharma as all the phenomena that is happening and Buddha as the Supreme Way, or the oneness of everything, the harmony is the interrelatedness of all phenomena - ... oneness is manifesting in many different ways.”  “The Hazy Moon of Enlightenment,” Taizan Maezumi & Bernie Glassman, p. 107.

And Sangha supports Sangha. In the Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo, the third chant of the morning service, we dedicate  the merits of our practice to the peace of the world, all ancestors of the Sangha, and to all beings in the Dharma worlds. Then we "pray for the health and well being of [named family members and friends] “that they may be serene through all their ills,” including our pets if they are not well, the Great Salt Lake, the Colorado River, and implicitly all beings whose lives are impacted by and dependent on our natural environment.

All are Sangha. They're for us to appreciate, to be grateful for and care for.