サンガの実践 (3)

次の「サンガの実践」に関するティク・ナット・ハンの教えを、深くご一読ください。 http://www.lionsroar.com/the-practice-of-sangha/
以下は抜粋です。

引用：
仏陀を支援し、私たちのサンガを支援し、地球を支援し、私たちの子供たちと将来の世代を支援する唯一の方法は、彼らのために本当にここに居ることです。「最愛の人よ、私はあなたのためにここに居ます」は愛の声明です。あなたはここに居る必要があります。あなたがここに居ないなら、どのようにして愛せますか？ですから、瞑想の実践は、私たちが愛する人のためにここに居るという実践なのです。

存在しているということは、簡単にできることのように聞こえます。私たちはそれを習慣にしましたので、私たちの多くにとっては、それは簡単です。（中略）しかし、私たちの何人かは今、ここに居る習慣を培っていませんので、それはそう簡単ではないかもしれません。私たちは常に走っていますので、停止して今この瞬間にここに居ること、人生に直面することは困難です。私たちの中で、存在することを学んでこなかった人にとっては、その種の学びにおいて支援を受ける必要があります。あなたがサンガによって支援されている時、それは難しいことではありません。サンガと一緒なら、あなたは停止の技術を学ぶことができるでしょう。

サンガは素晴らしい家です。あなたはサンガに戻るたびに、より簡単に呼吸でき、よりマインドフルに歩くことができ、より上手に青空、白い雲、あなたの庭のヒノキの木を楽しむことができると感じます。どうしてでしょうか？なぜなら、サンガのメンバーは、歩行、呼吸、料理、その他自分の日常活動をマインドフルに行うことを通して、一日に何度も家に戻る実践をするからです。

私が歩行を実践する時、マインドフル、且つ美しいステップを踏みます。私は自分のためだけではなく、ここにいる私の友人全員のためにも、それを行います。（中略）そして、彼らが微笑んで自分自身と仲直りしながら、今、この瞬間に一歩進む時、私たち全員を元気づけます。あなたは私のために呼吸し、私はあなたのために歩き、私たちは一緒に物事を行います。これがサンガとして実践するということです。あなたは多くの努力をする必要はありません。あなたはサンガに支援されていると感じますので、あなたの実践は容易です。

私たちがサンガとして一緒に座禅を組む時、マインドフルネスの集合エネルギーを楽しみます。そして、私たち各人はサンガのマインドフルなエネルギーを自分に浸透させてあげます。たとえ、あなたが何もしなくても、ただ思考を停止し、自分にサンガの集合エネルギーを吸収させてあげるなら、それは大変な癒しになります。奮闘しないでください。何かをしようとしないでください。ただ自分をサンガと一緒に居させてあげてください。自分を休ませてあげてください。すると、サンガのエネルギーがあなたを助け、運び、支援するでしょう。サンガは、修行を容易にするためにあるのです。私たちが全く同じことをする兄弟姉妹に囲まれている時、サンガの流れの中で流れることは容易です。

21世紀の瞑想は、集合的実践になるべきです。サンガなしでは、私たちは大したことを達成できません。私たちがより大きな規模で苦しみに自分の注意を集中し始める時、そして私たちが自分自身でもある他人と繋がり、関係し始める時、私たちの個人的領域内に有している小さな問題は消滅するでしょう。このように、私たちの孤独やつんぼ桟敷にされた気持ちは、もはや存在しないでしょう。そして、私たちは一緒に物事を行うことができるようになるでしょう。

私たちが一人で自分の問題に取り組むなら、それはより困難になります。（中略）しかし、誰か、あなたと一緒に座禅を組む良き友人がいれば、あなたははるかに良い気持ちになります。あなたは支援されていると感じ、あなたの強い感情に対処するために、より多くの強さを持ちます。

あなたはそこで支援されていると感じますので、サンガは深く見る実践のための最も適切な設定であり、環境です。あなたが、正しく実践している（実践から喜び、平和、幸せを得ている）二人、三人、多分更に50人のサンガを持っているなら、あなたは地球上で最も幸運な人です。

ですから、サンガの構築における実践は、はるかに簡単です。私たちはそんなに猛烈に実践する必要はありません。私たちの実践は、「非実践」の実践になります。それは多くのことを意味します。（中略）人々がマインドフルになることに満足しており、人々が日々の瞬間を深く生きているサンガの中に私たちが居ることに気付くことで十分です。（中略）あなたがそのような環境に身を置くなら、多くの努力なしに変容が起こるでしょう。これは私の経験です。
：引用終わり

（解説）
サンガは精神的な家族ですので、私たちは思いやりのある平和な雰囲気を楽しむことができます。私たちは無条件に受け容れられていますので、私たちは安全に感じます。すると、私たちは幸せを感じ、無条件に自分自身を受け容れ、愛すことができます。私たちには、恐れも不安もありません。ですから、私たちは他を分け隔てなく、無条件に受け容れ、愛すことができます。このように、サンガは無条件に受け容れられ、愛される経験（多分人生で初めて）を私たちに与えてくれます。無条件の自己受容または自己愛が、自分の中に育まれますので、この経験は貴重です。そして、この経験は分け隔てのない、他への無条件の受容または無条件の愛の基盤となります。

（参考）http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/10/notice-of-building-awakening-sangha.html
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2016/01/notice-of-session-format-change-of.html

プラム・ビレッジ

サンガの実践 (2)

次の「サンガの実践」に関するティク・ナット・ハンの教えを、深くご一読ください。 http://www.lionsroar.com/the-practice-of-sangha/
以下は抜粋です。

引用：
サンガの存在は、サンガの集合エネルギーが私たちの体と意識の中に浸透することを可能にする素晴らしい機会です。私たちは、その集合エネルギーから多くの利益を得ます。サンガは実践しており、マインドフルネスの集合エネルギーは強いですので、私たちは自分自身をサンガに委ねることができます。（中略）しかし、あなたがサンガの集合エネルギーを受け取るために、マインドフルネスのエネルギーを活用する方法を知っているなら、あなたの変容と癒しのための強力なエネルギー源を持つことになるでしょう。

あなたの体、意識、環境は、庭のようなものです。（中略）あなたのサンガ・メンバーがあなたの庭へ入って来ると、彼らはあなたがまだ多くの美しい木々を持っていること、そしてあなたの景観の中で堕落していないものを楽しむことができることを理解するのを助けることができます。それがサンガの果たせる役割です。（中略）サンガのマインドフルネスのエネルギーがあなたのマインドフルネスのエネルギーと組み合わさった時、あなたは美と幸せに触れることができるでしょう。

今、ここにおけるあなたの平和と幸せよりも重要なものは何もありません。（中略）あなたの時間を有効に活用してください。あなたの中とあなたの周囲の肯定的な生命の側面に触れる実践をしてください。

あなたの扉の背後にあなた自身をを閉じ込めて、一人で戦わないでください。あなたが自分だけでは強い感情を抱きしめるために戻れないと考えるなら、一人か、二人か、三人の友人にあなたの隣に座ってもらい、彼らの支援であなたを助けて欲しいと依頼することができます。彼らは、あなたがいっぱいの力で家（自分自身）に戻ることができるように、あなたにマインドフルネスのエネルギーを与えることができます。彼らは、「私の兄弟よ、あなたの痛みは非常に深いことを知っています。だから、私はあなたのために、ここに居るのです」と、言うことができます。

見捨てられ、孤立して、あなたは迷子になり、流されています。ですから、特に傷つきやすく、気分が優れず、動揺しており、不安定であると感じる人にとっては、サンガに帰依することは、非常に深い実践です。（中略）あなたが悲しみの海を渡ることができるように、サンガにあなたを船のように運んでもらうことができます。

私たちが船を持っているなら、自分の痛みや悲しみを運ぶことができ、苦しみの川に沈むことはないでしょう。その船とは何のことでしょうか？まず第一に、その船とは、あなたが自分の実践から発生させるマインドフルネスのエネルギーのことです。その船とはまた、ダルマ（仏陀の教え）における兄弟姉妹から成る実践共同体のサンガのことでもあります。

しかし、私たちは自分の苦しみを抱えたまま、喜びの道を歩かねばならず、私たちの兄弟姉妹と喜びを分かち合わねばなりません。（中略）自分自身がサンガによって支援され、抱かれるようにしてください。一滴の水が自らを川の中に居させてあげる方法で、あなたがあなた自身をサンガの中に居させてあげると、サンガのエネルギーがあなたの中に浸透でき、変容と癒しが可能となるでしょう。
：引用終わり

（解説）
マインドフルネスの集合エネルギーは、個人のマインドフルネスのエネルギーよりもはるかに強力です。そして、そのマインドフルネスの集合エネルギーは、サンガでのみ発生させることができます。ですから、一人で実践するよりも、サンガの兄弟姉妹と一緒に実践する方がはるかに優れています。

（参考）http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/10/notice-of-building-awakening-sangha.html
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2016/01/notice-of-session-format-change-of.html

プラム・ビレッジの僧侶と尼僧

サンガの実践 (1)

次の「サンガの実践」に関するティク・ナット・ハンの教えを、深くご一読ください。 http://www.lionsroar.com/the-practice-of-sangha/
以下は抜粋です。

引用：
サンガは共同体以上であり、深い精神的な実践です。

サンガは、目覚めた意識をもたらし維持するために、一緒にダルマ（仏陀の教え）を実践する仲間の共同体です。サンガの本質は目覚めた意識、理解、受容、調和、愛です。

人生は、生きがいのあるものになるために、理解、思いやり、調和を必要とします。

仏陀は、自分の教えが唯一の味、解放の味を持っているのとちょうと同じように、四海の水は唯一の味、塩の味を持っていると言いました。それ故に、サンガの要素は人生の味、解放の味であり、私たちは塩になるために実践する必要があるのです。「私はサンガに帰依します」と私たちが言う時、それは声明ではなく、実践です。

木々、水、空気、鳥たち、等は皆、私たちのサンガのメンバーになれます。（中略）全宇宙が仏陀の教えを説いているのであり、実践しているのです。あなたが注意深ければ、そのサンガと交信するでしょう。

現代社会は、非常に多くの根なしの若者を創造しています。彼らは家族や社会から根こそぎにされています。彼らは根を持っていませんので、彷徨い周っており、まったく人間ではありません。（中略）根のない木は何も吸収することはできません。根のない木は生き残ることはできません。たとえ、彼らが10年間、集中的に実践したとしても、彼らが島（自分の殻）に留まるなら、彼らが他人とのつながりを確​​立できないなら、彼らが変容するのは非常に困難です。

実践共同体であるサンガは、崩壊家族からやって来たり、社会から疎外されている若者に対し、二度目のチャンスを提供することができます。もし、その実践共同体が心地良くて温かい雰囲気を持つ家族として組織されているなら、若者たちは実践に成功できます。

苦しみは、私たちの時代の最大の問題の一つです。まず、私たちはこの苦しみを認識し、受け容れる必要があります。その後、私たちは脱出方法を見つけるために、苦しみの性質を深く調べる必要があります。

私たちの文明、文化は、個人主義によって特徴づけられてきました。個人は社会から、家族から自由になりたいと思っています。個人は自分が家族や社会に帰依する必要があるとは考えておらず、自分はサンガなしで幸せになれると考えています。ですから、私たちに必要な堅実さを持っておらず、調和を持っておらず、意思疎通を持っていないのです。

それ故に、実践は数本の根を成長させるためにあります。サンガは、あなたの責任を回避するために隠れる場所ではありません。サンガは、自己と社会の変容と癒しのための実践の場です。（中略）これは共同体としてのみなされ得ます。個人としてではなく、サンガとして。

私たちが数本の根を成長させるためには、自分が根づくのを助けることができる種類の環境を必要とします。サンガは、一人一人が島（自分の殻）で、お互いに意思疎通できない実践共同体ではありません。これは、真のサンガではありません。そのようなサンガからは、何の癒しも変容も、もたらされることはないでしょう。真のサンガは、兄弟姉妹愛の精神がある家族のようなものであるべきです。

私たちがマインドフルに生きている人々のグループ、笑顔になり愛することができるグループを見ると、自分たちの将来に自信を得ます。私たちがマインドフルな呼吸、笑顔、休息、歩行、作業を実践する時、社会の中の肯定要素となり、私たちの周囲の全てに自信を鼓舞します。

私の伝統では、個人としては、私たちはあまり大したことはできないということを学びます。ですから、サンガに帰依すること、共同体に帰依することは、非常に説得力のある、重要な実践なのです。（中略）サンガの中に居ることなく、同じ理想と実践に動機付けをされている仲間のグループによって支援されることなく、私たちは遠くまで進むことはできません。

ですから、サンガは土壌であり、私たちは種子です。私たちの種子がどれだけ美しくても、どれだけ丈夫でも、土壌が私たちに活力を提供してくれないなら、私たちの種子は死んでしまうでしょう。

正しいマインドフルネスを実践するために、私たちは適切な環境を必要とし、その環境とは私たちのサンガです。サンガなしでは、私たちは非常に弱いのです。

サンガは、私たちが正しいマインドフルネスを実践しないなら、私たちの魂と私たちの周囲の全ての美しいものを失うということに、互いに同意している人々の共同体です。

私の伝統では、虎が山を離れて低地へ行くと、人間に捕えられて殺される、と語り継がれています。実践者がサンガを離れてしまうと、数ヶ月後には実践を放棄することになるでしょう。
：引用終わり

（解説）
真のサンガは精神的な家族であり、全てのサンガ・メンバーは本当に兄弟姉妹です。私たちはお互いを助け合い、滋養と癒しのための集合エネルギーを発生させます。ティク・ナット・ハンが前に言った通り、サンガは指揮者なしのオーケストラに例えることができます。ですから、各メンバーは自発的に協調のためにそれぞれの役割を果たします。それ故に、サンガは非常に強いのです。

（参考）http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/10/notice-of-building-awakening-sangha.html
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2016/01/notice-of-session-format-change-of.html

サンガ

The Practice of Sangha (6)

Read deeply the following Thay's teaching on "The Practice of Sangha". http://www.lionsroar.com/the-practice-of-sangha/
The followings are the excerpts.

Quote:
The reason we take refuge in anything is because we need protection. But very often we take refuge in people or things that are not at all solid. ... We need to be very careful, because if we take refuge in a person who has no stability at all, then the little bit of solidity we have ourselves will be entirely lost. 

When a situation is dangerous, you need to escape, you need to take refuge in a place that is safe, that is solid. Earth is something we can take refuge in because it is solid. We can build houses on earth, but we cannot build on sand. The sangha is the same. Mindfulness, concentration and insight have built up sanghas and individuals that are solid, so when you take refuge in the sangha, you take refuge in the most solid elements.

When you are angry, if you know how to go back to your mindful breathing and take refuge in your mindfulness, you become strong. You can dwell peacefully in that moment and you are capable of dealing with the situation in a much more lucid way. You know that within you there are the elements of mindfulness, concentration and insight. Those seeds are always there. If you have a friend, a teacher, a sangha that can help you to touch those seeds and help them to grow, then you have the best kind of protection.

This is the role sangha plays in supporting, protecting and nourishing us. In the sangha there is stability and joy. The sangha is devoted to the practice of mindfulness, concentration and insight, and while everyone in the sangha profits from his or her own mindfulness, they can also take refuge in the collective energy of mindfulness, concentration and insight of the sangha. That is why there is a sense of solidity and security in the sangha. We are not afraid because the sangha is there to protect us.

It is like the flocks of wild geese that travel together from the north to the south in huge numbers. If one bird goes off on its own, it will be easily caught, but if they stay together, they are much safer.

It’s the same with the sangha. If we think we can live alone, apart from the sangha, we don’t know our own strength or our own weakness. Thanks to the sangha we do not enter paths of darkness and suffering. Even when the sangha doesn’t seem to be doing anything at all, in fact it is doing a lot, because in the sangha there is protection.

Without the sangha we easily fall into the traps of the five cravings. Once in those traps, we will be burnt by the flames of the afflictions and suffering. Keeping the mindfulness trainings and taking refuge in the sangha’s protection is a very good way to avoid being caught in the traps of the five cravings. We keep the mindfulness trainings so that they protect us. The rest of the sangha will also be keeping the same mindfulness trainings and helping us.

Some people have told me that they have never felt secure before coming to a retreat. Then after sitting, eating and walking mindfully with the sangha, for the first time they get a feeling of security. Even small creatures living nearby feel safer, because we are mindful and do our best not to harm them. That feeling of security can lead to joy. We can practice like this:

   Breathing in, I see that I am part of a sangha, and I am being
                        protected by my sangha.
   Breathing out, I feel joy.

The dharma can protect you—dharma not in the sense of a dharma talk or a book—but dharma as the practice embodied by people like yourself. When you practice mindful breathing, mindful walking, mindful listening to the bell, you bring into yourself the elements of peace and stability, and you are protected during that time. You begin to radiate the energy of stability and peace all around you. This will help to protect your children and your loved ones. Although you may not give a dharma talk with your words, you are giving a dharma talk with your body, with your in-breath, with your out-breath, with your life. That is the living dharma. We need that very much, just as we need the living sangha.
:Unquote

(My commentary)
The living sangha must be the best way to be protected and feel secure. But sangha building is not always easy because most people are ego, or separate self. When sangha members are mindful, it is quite easy to keep harmony in the sangha because they are temporary awareness, or part-time Buddha. But they are not fully awakened as full-time Buddha yet, so when they stop practicing mindfulness, they return to ego. Then it becomes difficult to keep harmony in the sangha and all members can't be protected and feel secure. Therefore, I feel that sangha members can be extended to the whole cosmos such as all animals, flowers, trees, blue sky, mother earth, sunshine and so on. They are always mindful without thinking, so they are always solid, compassionate and peaceful. That's why they can be great sangha members. They may be actually more reliable than humans.

(Cf.) http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/10/notice-of-building-awakening-sangha.html
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2016/01/notice-of-session-format-change-of.html

Plum Village

The Practice of Sangha (5)

Read deeply the following Thay's teaching on "The Practice of Sangha". http://www.lionsroar.com/the-practice-of-sangha/
The followings are the excerpts.

Quote:
Our transformation and healing depend on the quality of the sangha. If there are enough people smiling and happy in the sangha, the sangha has more power to heal and transform. So you have to invest in your sangha.

You don’t need a perfect sangha—a family or a community doesn’t have to be perfect in order to be helpful. In fact, the sangha at the time of the Buddha was not perfect. ... I also have some difficulties with my sangha, but I’m very happy because everyone tries to practice in my sangha.

If we lived in a sangha where everyone was perfect, everyone was a bodhisattva or a buddha, that would be very difficult for us. Weakness in the other person is very important, and weakness within yourself is also very important. ... It is thanks to the presence of weakness in you and weakness in a brother or a sister that you learn how to practice. To practice is to have an opportunity to transform. So it is through our shortcomings that we learn to practice.

There are some people who think of leaving the sangha when they encounter difficulties with other sangha members. ... To help your heart grow bigger and bigger, understanding and love are necessary. Your heart can grow as big as the cosmos; the growth of your heart is infinite. If your heart is like a big river, you can receive any amount of dirt. It will not affect you, and you can transform the dirt very easily.

The Buddha used this image. If you put a little dirt in a pitcher of water, then that water has to be thrown away. People cannot drink it. But if you put the same amount of dirt into a huge river, people can continue to drink from the river, because the river is so immense. Overnight that dirt will be transformed within the heart of the river. So if your heart is as big as a river, you can receive any amount of injustice and still live with happiness. You can transform overnight the injustices inflicted on you. If you still suffer, your heart is still not large enough. That is the teaching of forbearance and inclusiveness in Buddhism. You don’t practice to suppress your suffering; you practice in order for your heart to expand as big as a river.

One time the Buddha said to his disciples: “There are people among us who do not have the same capacity as we do. They do not have the capacity to act rightly or to speak rightly. But if we look deeply, we see in their hearts that there are good seeds, and therefore we have to treat those people in such a way that those good seeds will not be lost.”

The Buddha saw all his disciples as his children, and I think of mine in the same way. Any disciple of mine is my child that I have given birth to. In my heart I feel at ease, I feel light and happy, even though that child may still have a problem. You can use that method, too. If there is a person in the sangha who troubles you, don’t give up hope. Remember, “My teacher has given birth to that child. How can I practice in order to see that person as my sister? Then my heart will feel more at ease and I will be able to accept her. That person is still my sister, whether I want her to be or not.” That feeling and those words can help dissolve the irritation that you are having with that person.

If we have harmony in the sangha, we can give confidence to many people. We don’t need to be perfect. I myself am not perfect, and you don’t need to be perfect either. But if in your own way you can express your harmony in the sangha, this is your gift.

In the sangha there must be difficult people. These difficult people are a good thing for you—they will test your capacity of sangha-building and practicing. One day when that person says something that is not very nice to you, you’ll be able to smile and it won’t make you suffer at all. Your compassion will have been born and you will be capable of embracing him or her within your compassion and your understanding. Then you will know that your practice has grown. You should be delighted that such an act does not make you angry or sad anymore, that you have enough compassion and understanding to embrace it. That is why you should not be tempted to eliminate the elements that you think are difficult in your sangha.

I am speaking to you out of my experience. I now have a lot more patience and compassion, and because I have more patience and compassion, my happiness has grown much greater. You suffer because your understanding and compassion are not yet large enough to embrace difficult people, but with the practice you will grow, your heart will grow, your understanding and compassion will grow, and you won’t suffer anymore. And thanks to the sangha practicing together, thanks to your model of practice, those people will transform. That is a great success, much greater than in the case of people who are easy to get along with.
:Unquote

(My commentary)
We can generate compassion through understanding (insight). And in order to understand, we need to revive awareness through mindfulness and look deeply into the suffering through concentration. So, when we encounter difficult people, the first thing we need to do is to understand the root cause of their sufferings. And if we understand the root cause, we can generate love and compassion to them. And when we have love and compassion, afflictions such as fear, anger, hatred and despair will never arise. Therefore, we always need to live in mindfulness, concentration and insight.

(Cf.) http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/10/notice-of-building-awakening-sangha.html
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2016/01/notice-of-session-format-change-of.html

Plum Village

The Practice of Sangha (4)

Read deeply the following Thay's teaching on "The Practice of Sangha". http://www.lionsroar.com/the-practice-of-sangha/
The followings are the excerpts.

Quote:
The right thing is to do whatever you are doing in mindfulness. Mindfulness is keeping one’s consciousness alive to the present reality. ... The wrong thing is whatever you do without mindfulness. If we understand this, we will not be embarrassed anymore. Everything we do is right provided we do it in mindfulness. 

If you take a step and you feel peaceful and happy, you know that is the correct practice. You are the only one who knows whether you are doing it correctly or not. No one else can judge.

The function of the bell in a sangha is to bring us back to ourselves. When we hear the bell we come back to ourselves and breathe, and at that point we improve the quality of the sangha energy. We know that our brother and our sister, wherever they are, will be stopping, breathing, and coming back to themselves.

The sangha is made out of the work of individuals, so we have the duty to help create the energy of the sangha. Our presence, when it is a mindful presence, contributes to that energy. 

If we practice looking deeply, our understanding of interbeing will grow, and we will see that every smile, every step, every breath is for everybody. It is for our country, for the future, for our ancestors.

The best thing we can do is to transform ourselves into a positive element of the sangha. If members of the sangha see us practicing well, they will have confidence and do better. If there are two, three, four, five, six, seven of you like that in the sangha, I’m sure the sangha will be a happy sangha and will be the refuge of many people in the world.
:Unquote

(My commentary)
Mindfulness means to come back to ourselves. And ourselves means true self who is awareness, non-separate self, or the whole cosmos. Most people except for small children are ego, separate self, or fake self who separates oneself from others. They have wrong views that they are special, separate and superior (or inferior, or equal) to others. That's why they suffer from afflictions such as fear, anger, hatred, despair, jealousy...etc. Their own separations, discrimination, or duality are the root cause of their sufferings. So, all sufferings are their own creations. And the reason why they can't love themselves and others, is because they are ego. When we transform ourselves from ego to awareness through mindfulness, we will be awakened as awareness and will become the temporary Buddha.

(Cf.) http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/10/notice-of-building-awakening-sangha.html
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2016/01/notice-of-session-format-change-of.html

Plum Village

The Practice of Sangha (3)

Read deeply the following Thay's teaching on "The Practice of Sangha". http://www.lionsroar.com/the-practice-of-sangha/
The followings are the excerpts.

Quote:
The only way to support the Buddha, to support our sangha, to support the earth, to support our children and future generations, is to really be here for them. “Darling, I am here for you” is a statement of love. You need to be here. If you are not here, how can you love? That is why the practice of meditation is the practice of being here for the ones we love.

To be present sounds like an easy thing to do. For many of us, it is easy because we have made it a habit. ... But for some of us it may not be so easy, because we have not cultivated the habit of being in the here and the now. We are always running, and it is hard for us to stop and be here in the present moment, to encounter life. For those of us who have not learned to be present, we need to be supported in that kind of learning. It’s not difficult when you are supported by the sangha. With sangha you will be able to learn the art of stopping.

The sangha is a wonderful home. Every time you go back to the sangha, you feel that you can breathe more easily, you can walk more mindfully, you can better enjoy the blue sky, the white clouds and the cypress tree in your yard. Why? Because the sangha members practice going home many times a day—through walking, breathing, cooking and doing their daily activities mindfully.

When I practice walking I make mindful and beautiful steps. I do that not only for myself but also for all of my friends who are here. ... And when they make a step in the present moment, smiling and making peace with themselves, they inspire all of us. You breathe for me, I walk for you, we do things together, and this is practicing as a sangha. You don’t need to make much effort; your practice is easy, because you feel that you are supported by the sangha.

When we sit together as a sangha, we enjoy the collective energy of mindfulness, and each of us allows the mindful energy of the sangha to penetrate us. Even if you don’t do anything, if you just stop thinking and allow yourself to absorb the collective energy of the sangha, it’s very healing. Don’t struggle, don’t try to do something, just allow yourself to be with the sangha. Allow yourself to rest, and the energy of the sangha will help you, will carry and support you. The sangha is there to make the training easy. When we are surrounded by brothers and sisters doing exactly the same thing, it is easy to flow in the stream of the sangha.

Meditation in the twenty-first century should become a collective practice; without a sangha we cannot achieve much. When we begin to focus our attention on the suffering on a larger scale, we begin to connect with and to relate to other people, who are also ourselves, and the little problems that we have within our individual circle will vanish. In this way our loneliness or our feeling of being cut off will no longer be there, and we will be able to do things together.

If we work on our problems alone, it becomes more difficult. ... But if you have someone, a good friend sitting with you, you feel much better. You feel supported and you have more strength in order to deal with your strong emotion. 

Because you feel supported there, the sangha is the most appropriate setting and environment for the practice of looking deeply. If you have a sangha of two, three, maybe even fifty people who are practicing correctly—getting joy, peace and happiness from the practice—then you are the luckiest person on earth.

So practice in the setting of the sangha is much easier. We don’t have to practice so intensely. Our practice becomes the practice of “non-practice.” That means a lot. ... Being aware that we are in a sangha where people are happy with being mindful, where people are living deeply the moments of their days, that is enough. ... If you put yourself in such an environment, then transformation will happen without much effort. This is my experience.
:Unquote

(My commentary)
Sangha is a spiritual family, so we can enjoy compassionate and peaceful atmosphere. We feel safe because we are accepted unconditionally. Then we feel happy and can accept ourselves and love ourselves unconditionally. We have no fear and insecurity. So, we can accept and love others without separation unconditionally. In this way, sangha gives us an experience (maybe for the first time in life) of being accepted and loved unconditionally. This experience is precious because unconditional self-acceptance or self-love will be nurtured within ourselves. And it will be the foundation of unconditional acceptance or unconditional love to others without separation.

(Cf.) http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/10/notice-of-building-awakening-sangha.html
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2016/01/notice-of-session-format-change-of.html

Plum Village

The Practice of Sangha (2)

Read deeply the following Thay's teaching on "The Practice of Sangha". http://www.lionsroar.com/the-practice-of-sangha/
The followings are the excerpts.

Quote:
The presence of a sangha is a wonderful opportunity to allow the collective energy of the sangha to penetrate into our body and consciousness. We profit a lot from that collective energy. We can entrust ourselves to the sangha because the sangha is practicing, and the collective energy of mindfulness is strong. ... But if you know how to use that energy of mindfulness in order to receive the collective energy of the sangha, you will have a powerful source of energy for your transformation and healing.

Your body, your consciousness, and your environment are like a garden. ... When members of your sangha come into your garden, they can help you see that you still have a lot of beautiful trees and that you can enjoy the things that have not gone wrong within your landscape. That is the role that the sangha can play. ... When their energy of mindfulness is combined with yours, you will be able to touch beauty and happiness.

Nothing is more important than your peace and happiness in the here and now. ... Make good use of your time; practice touching the positive aspects of life in you and around you.

Don’t lock yourself behind your door and fight alone. If you think that by yourself you cannot go back to embrace strong feelings, you can ask one, two or three friends to sit next to you and to help you with their support. They can give you mindfulness energy so that you can go back home with strength. They can say, “My brother, I know that the pain in you is very deep, and I am here for you.”

Abandoned, alone, you get lost, you get carried away. So taking refuge in the sangha is a very deep practice, especially for those of us who feel vulnerable, shaky, agitated and unstable. ... You allow the sangha to transport you like a boat so that you can cross the ocean of sorrow.

If we have a boat, we can carry our pain and sorrow, and we will not sink into the river of suffering. And what is that boat? That boat is, first of all, the energy of mindfulness that you generate by your practice. That boat is also the sangha—the community of practice consisting of brothers and sisters in the dharma.

But we have to walk on the path of joy with our suffering, we have to share joy with our brothers and sisters. ... Allow yourself to be supported, to be held by the sangha. When you allow yourself to be in a sangha the way a drop of water allows itself to be in a river, the energy of the sangha can penetrate into you, and transformation and healing will become possible.
:Unquote

(My commentary)
The collective energy of mindfulness is much stronger than individual energy of mindfulness. And the collective energy of mindfulness can be generated only in the sangha. So, it is much better to practice together with sangha brothers and sisters than to practice alone.

(Cf.) http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/10/notice-of-building-awakening-sangha.html
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2016/01/notice-of-session-format-change-of.html

Sangha of Plum Village