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Mindfulness of Sangha is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] attainment of the truth is steadfast. 念是法明門、得道堅牢故。 We’ve arrived at the third of the three treasures, so let’s consider first what sangha is, and then what it means to be mindful of or remember sangha. The Sanskrit word sangha means a group of people who are unified by something—in our case, the dharma. Laying this out across the three kinds of three treasures from Dogen’s Kyojukaimon;
After his awakening, the Buddha went looking for someone to whom he could teach the dharma, someone who would actually understand it. He first goes in search of the five monks with whom he had practiced just before he left the group and sat down under the bodhi tree. The Buddha established a sangha so people could practice without the distractions and responsibilities of householder life in the world, and so that the teachings would be preserved and provide support for all practitioners. Members of the ordained sangha were traditionally responsible for translating and spreading the teachings. Because they were practicing in an upright, knowledgeable, proper way, they were worthy of receiving gifts, hospitality, offerings and respect from the laity. The nature of that upright way was defined by 227 main rules of conduct, the pratimoksha. Today in the Mahayana tradition we use “sangha” to refer to all practitioners, as in “the Western Buddhist sangha.” In the Theravada tradition, sangha refers only to the ordained sangha or to people who have a certain level of attainment. These are not the same thing—there can be ordained people who don’t have much understanding and laypeople who do. In Zen, the word we use for sangha is sōrin 叢林, which indicates a group of different kinds of trees. In the forest, all kinds of plants and trees grow together with different shapes, colors, lifespan, seeds, fruits and flowers. They are interdependent and living one life together. Sangha is made up of all different kinds of people practicing together peacefully and harmoniously, using their various gifts, skills and experiences for the benefit of everyone. Now that we know what sangha is, what about mindfulness of sangha? As we’ve seen, mindfulness in our tradition is about something that is remembered—in essence, not forgetting to practice. It’s about bearing something in mind—in this case, sangha—and not forgetting what sangha really is. Mindfulness of sangha means remembering that we are not alone. There are two sides to that. One is that we have support because we can rely on dharma friends when we need to, and the other is that what we do affects others. When we are deeply aware that we are not alone, we and others can remain steadfast in our practice. We’re reliable, solid and committed to awakening. North Americans sometimes don’t want to find a sangha when they begin their practice; it feels much safer to just stay home and read dharma books and maybe watch a video on how to sit. We don’t want someone else telling us what to do. Usually, in my experience, one of two things happens: people give up because it’s hard to practice alone, or they realizes they need to find a sangha in some form. When we join a sangha, our initial exploration stops being a philosophical exercise and starts being a real practice. Dharma is right here and now in people’s practice, not somewhere “out there.” It becomes very apparent that we are not alone, whether we initially believe it or not. During my first trip to Japan as a layperson with a rakusu, I thought sitting zazen in a Japanese temple would be really special. I would be sitting in a “real” temple, where people had been sitting for centuries, surrounded by cinematic scenery. Surely something extraordinary would happen—this would be “real” zazen! Following my fantasy-filled zazen period, I went to a service, which of course was all in Japanese. I didn’t understand any of it, but the bells were the same and my body knew what to do. I could have been practicing with my home sangha. I really felt that Japanese and Western practitioners were all practicing steadfastly together despite the different languages and places. The whole idea of being special was extra, because we were really all one sangha. When we join a sangha, at first we come to practice for our own support. Someone lights the candle, rings the bells and offers a talk, and we come to benefit from those things. Then we go home! After awhile, we start to become aware of the issues and questions facing the sangha. We start looking behind the scenes. Wait, there’s an annual budget. There are various kinds of volunteer rotations, and questions about how to maintain the facilties. Some people are managing retreats or teaching zazen to beginners or coming up with zendo guidelines. There’s a whole community of things going on here that includes me but is bigger than just me and what I’m doing. I’d only been practicing for about six months when I was recruited as a board member for the dharma center I was attending. What an eye-opening! There was so much more going on than just Sunday zazen and dharma talks! One of my early mentors used to say to me and others when we came to practice that it was good we were there to “lend our spirit.” Yeah, yeah, I thought, hearts and flowers stuff. It wasn’t until some time later that I started to understand that actually, that’s really important. Seido Roshi, the head of the temple where I trained in Japan, said: I don’t think there were so many practitioners at Koshoji [Dōgen’s temple]; it was a small group. Dōgen Zenji mentioned that we should not call a sōrin big or small depending on how many monks are practicing there. It’s not a matter of number. Daisōrin 大叢林 ( “great sōrin“) means that there is even a small number of people who have the real authentic spirit of the Way. This spirit is the most important thing. (1) This all really came home to me when I was running the Milwaukee Zen Center. Attendance at evening zazen was notoriously low. People said, “I’d come if more people were there.” So wait, everyone is at home waiting for someone else to make the first move? I had to point out that if you come, others will come and practice with you. Someone has to break that cycle of hesitation so that everyone can practice in a steadfast way. As members of the sangha, we have some responsibility simply to show up occasionally. We don’t have to ring bells, make tea or clean the zendo, though those things are really beneficial action for ourselves and others. This is not about doing volunteer work. We just have to be present to support the network of practice. We all know that the energy is quite different in a zendo full of people sitting or chanting than in a zendo with only a few. As much as Dogen Zenji said that it doesn’t matter whether there are a lot of monks or only a few, the reality is that if you arrive in a zendo day after day and it’s just you and the teacher and maybe a jikido, it can feel sort of forlorn and lonely. It’s a little harder to take refuge in a sangha that’s kind of invisible. Of course, it’s a two-way street. We have some responsibility to the sangha, but also it provides the container for our own practice. I would argue it supports our development in several ways.
We’ve talked about the manifesting and maintaining aspects of the sangha treasure; we also need to talk about the absolute aspect: all beings functioning together in peace and harmony. We’ve seen previously that the absolute three treasures can’t be separated. In this case, the absolute sangha treasure is the harmony of the awakened nature of all beings and the way they function according to the laws of this one unified reality. We can see that the sangha or the universe is one body and also many beings, one big self and also many small selves. Just as the body is made up of cells, the absolute sangha is made up of all beings, and yet it’s still one entity. If we don’t have a deep understanding that there is no fixed and permanent self nature that persists through time, and if we don’t have a deep understanding of dependent arising (that everything arises because of causes and conditions), then we think we can do whatever we want. We can take as many resources and as much space as we want because we don’t see that we’re affecting others. If one cell in the body does that, starts co-opting resources for itself and growing out of control, we call that cancer, and the whole body can die. Sila (ethics/morality) are closely tied to sangha practice. When we see the truth to which Buddha awakened, ethical behavior arises naturally and we don’t create disruption in the universe. The result is non-violence, non-harming, self-restraint, and harmony in the sangha. Sila is not something imposed from outside, but a sort of ethical compass within ourselves. We pose no threat to another person’s life, property, family, rights, or well-being. We simply do wholesome actions, avoid unwholesome actions, and try to benefit other beings. If we can embody the precepts as individual bodhisattvas, chances are we will build and maintain a wholesome sangha. Then we can take that practice out into the world and try to help create other wholesome organizations, which is not easy. The absolute aspect of the sangha treasure might seem like something abstract, but the reality is that it’s all about our moment by moment conduct in this life. All sentient and insentient beings are awakened and they function according to the dharma, and it’s our job to see that and not get in the way, and then as bodhisattvas, to help others not to get in the way. Buddhism is full of teachings about cultivating virtues that lead to skillful, ethical action, for example, the six paramitas, or perfections. (We’ll take a much closer look at these at Gates 87 - 92.)
Cultivating these things gives us a basis for seeing all beings as our sangha and seeing the interconnectedness of how they function. Can we see all beings as awakened? Can we see how they are interdependent, and if we do something there, there’s an effect across space and time? If we forget about sangha, we forget about truth. We can’t separate sangha from the truth of the reality of all beings. If we do, we make a mistake and create suffering and dissonance in the larger organism. In the Vimalakirti Sutra, Manjusri asks about the nature of Vimalakirti’s sickness. He says: From ignorance we hold attachment, and my sickness is thus caused. Since all beings are sick, I am sick. If they are no more sick then my sickness would cease. And why? A bodhisattva eters a life of birth and death for the sake of all beings; where there are birth and death, there is always sickness. If all beings were free from sickness, then there would be no more sickness with a bodhisattva. Just as when the only son of a wealthy merchant becomes sick, then his parents from their anxiety become sick also, and when he is restored to health, then they also recover their health; even so, a bodhisattva loves all beings as parents love an only sone. As long as all beings are sick he is sick, when they recover their health, he also recovers his health. Again you have asked about the cause of my sickness. The sickness of a bodhisattva is caused only by his great compassion. (1) If we can cultivate the wisdom to see that all sentient and insentient beings are our sangha, we have the compassion to acknowledge their suffering and try to help. That means remaining steadfast in our practice: steadfast when we encounter incivility, short sightedness, divisiveness, false speech, misconduct, and a host of other sicknesses in our universal sangha. The sangha is a group that is unified by something, and no matter whether we understand it or like it or not, we are all one absolute sangha treasure. Questions for reflection and discussion
Notes (1) “Living in the Sodo,” article by Seido Suzuki at Ancient Way. (2) Vimalakirti Sutra quoted in Eternal Legacy: Wisdom Beyond Words by Sangharakshita For further reading:
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About the text The Ippyakuhachi Homyomon, or 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination, appears as the 11th fascicle of the 12 fascicle version of Dogen Zenji’s Shobogenzo. Dogen didn't compile the list himself; it's mostly a long quote from another text called the Sutra of Collected Past Deeds of the Buddha. Dogen wrote a final paragraph recommending that we investigate these gates thoroughly. Hoko has been talking about the gates one by one since 2016. She provides material here that can be used by weekly dharma discussion groups as well as for individual study. The 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination
[1] Right belief [2] Pure mind [3] Delight [4] Love and cheerfulness The three forms of behavior [5] Right conduct of the actions of the body [6] Pure conduct of the actions of the mouth [7] Pure conduct of the actions of the mind The six kinds of mindfulness [8] Mindfulness of Buddha [9] Mindfulness of Dharma [10] Mindfulness of Sangha [11] Mindfulness of generosity [12] Mindfulness of precepts [13] Mindfulness of the heavens The four Brahmaviharas [14] Benevolence [15] Compassion [16] Joy [17] Abandonment The four dharma seals [18] Reflection on inconstancy [19] Reflection on suffering [20] Reflection on there being no self [21] Reflection on stillness [22] Repentance [23] Humility [24] Veracity [25] Truth [26] Dharma conduct [27] The Three Devotions [28] Recognition of kindness [29] Repayment of kindness [30] No self-deception [31] To work for living beings [32] To work for the Dharma [33] Awareness of time [34] Inhibition of self-conceit [35] The nonarising of ill-will [36] Being without hindrances [37] Belief and understanding [38] Reflection on impurity [39] Not to quarrel [40] Not being foolish [41] Enjoyment of the meaning of the Dharma [42] Love of Dharma illumination [43] Pursuit of abundant knowledge [44] Right means [45] Knowledge of names and forms [46] The view to expiate causes [47] The mind without enmity and intimacy [48] Hidden expedient means [49] Equality of all elements [50] The sense organs [51] Realization of nonappearance The elements of bodhi: The four abodes of mindfulness [52] The body as an abode of mindfulness [53] Feeling as an abode of mindfulness [54] Mind as an abode of mindfulness [55] The Dharma as an abode of mindfulness [56] The four right exertions [57] The four bases of mystical power The five faculties [58] The faculty of belief [59] The faculty of effort [60] The faculty of mindfulness [61] The faculty of balance [62] The faculty of wisdom The five powers [63] The power of belief [64] The power of effort [65] The power of mindfulness [66] The power of balance [67] The power of wisdom [68] Mindfulness, as a part of the state of truth [69] Examination of Dharma, as a part of the state of truth [70] Effort, as a part of the state of truth [71] Enjoyment, as a part of the state of truth [72] Entrustment as a part of the state of truth [73] The balanced state, as a part of the state of truth [74] Abandonment, as a part of the state of truth The Eightfold Path [75] Right view [76] Right discrimination [77] Right speech [78] Right action [79] Right livelihood [80] Right practice [81] Right mindfulness [82] Right balanced state [83] The bodhi-mind [84] Reliance [85] Right belief [86] Development The six paramitas [87] The dāna pāramitā [88] The precepts pāramitā [89] The forbearance pāramitā. [90] The diligence pāramitā [91] The dhyāna pāramitā [92] The wisdom pāramitā [93] Expedient means [94] The four elements of sociability [95] To teach and guide living beings [96] Acceptance of the right Dharma [97] Accretion of happiness [98] The practice of the balanced state of dhyāna [99] Stillness [100] The wisdom view [101] Entry into the state of unrestricted speech [102] Entry into all conduct [103] Accomplishment of the state of dhāraṇī [104] Attainment of the state of unrestricted speech [105] Endurance of obedient following [106] Attainment of realization of the Dharma of nonappearance [107] The state beyond regressing and straying [108] The wisdom that leads us from one state to another state and, somehow, one more: [109] The state in which water is sprinkled on the head Archives
December 2024
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