MIRROR OF FREEDOM (series): Number 14
Chagdud Gonpa Foundation
(reprinted with permission of Chagdud Gonpa Foundation)
To liberate ourselves and others from the cycles of suffering
we have to depend on someone who has already attained liberation. This
is why we take the Buddha as our guide. He is like a mapmaker who has
traveled to the place we want to go and has shown us how to reach our
destination. The dharma, the Buddha's teachings on how to get there, is
the map. Those who have maintained these teachings in an unbroken lineage,
the sangha, are our companions on this journey. They support us as we
go, protect us and prevent us from going the wrong way. Our friends in
the sangha facilitate our connection with the dharma and our practice
until we attain enlightenment.
The blessings of the Buddha arise from his attainment
of the three kayas, the three aspects of enlightened mind; the blessings
of the dharma arise from the power of unceasing truth; and the blessings
of the sangha lie in the members' pure and single-minded intention as
they walk the path together.
The Tibetan word for sangha is gedun. The first syllable
refers to that which is virtuous or positive; the second means "to yearn
for" or "strive after". So sangha members are lovers of virtue who undertake
and uphold positive actions, who try to transform their bad habits, purify
their negativity and increase their virtuous acts--mentally, verbally,
and physically--in order to benefit others.
We in the sangha aren't flawless; if we were, there would
be no need to follow a spiritual path. Because we all need help, we walk
in the same direction. The basis for the sangha is that each of us has
made the decision to follow the path of the Buddhadharma and to engage
in that path one-pointedly until we reach the shared goal of enlightenment.
In climbing a mountain, we might come across different paths to the top.
If we start up one path and then decide it isn't so great, and start up
another and again decide that a different path would be better, we won't
make any progress. To reach the top we need to find the path that's best
for each of us, but the important thing is that we go forward step by
step and not keep changing paths.
Recognizing that samsara is as illusory as a dream, and
that those who don't realize they are dreaming suffer from their belief
in the solidity of their experience, we give rise to great compassion
and the aspiration to help others wake up. But to do so, we have to awaken
ourselves first--we have to reach the mountaintop--and so we undertake
spiritual practice.
To swiftly develop the capacity to liberate others, we
practice the short path of the Vajrayana. Through empowerment in the mandala
of the vajra master, we are introduced to the pure nature of phenomenal
appearances and assume the same commitments and goals as the vajra master.
Those who have received this introduction and practice transforming ordinary
confused perceptions by maintaining recognition of that pure nature are
members of the Vajrayana sangha. Through such meditation, one can quickly
reach the highest peak.
The Sangha as Training Ground
The sangha embodies two qualities that are truly reliable.
The first, direct recognition of the absolute nature of mind, gives rise
to the second, the liberation of delusion, confusion and the poisons of
mind--the root causes of suffering. Those who possess these qualities,
and fully understand and uphold the vow of refuge, perceive and participate
in life in a way that is not at all ordinary. As true sangha members,
they are dedicated to refraining from harm and to helping others in any
way they can. We can depend on them as examples, as well as for leadership
and guidance.
We in the sangha need to be aware that others will look
to us also as helpers and models, observing how we exemplify the dharma
in our lives. We should never behave in a way that would lead someone
astray. We must develop faith, devotion, respect, friendship and support
among ourselves in the immediate, or inner, sangha as well as all others
in the larger sangha--which includes practitioners of the Buddhist tradition
throughout the world, and specifically those of the four schools of Vajrayana
Buddhism who have taken the vows of refuge and bodhicitta. For regardless
of which Buddhist tradition we follow, we receive the blessings of the
Three Jewels--the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha--through any spiritual teacher
who carries purely the unbroken lineage of the Buddha's teachings, from
H.H. the Dalai Lama, the manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva
of compassion in human form, to many other emanations of enlightened beings.
Before he attained parinirvana, the Buddha prophesied
that in degenerating times, he would manifest as spiritual friends and
teachers. Even to prostrate in the direction of the buried bones of one
from whom one has received four lines of dharma teaching produces immeasurable
merit. On the other hand, to see or dwell on faults in sangha members
is to diminish not only our refuge vow but our bodhisattva vow. To lose
our pure view of the inner sangha is to breach an even deeper level of
commitment--that of the Vajrayana.
What can we do to sustain a strong sangha? First, we have
to understand that practicing dharma means correcting our own faults,
changing our own minds. As humans, we all have flaws. Just as sisters
and brothers in a large family have to learn how to deal with one another,
we have to learn how to help and support one another in the sangha. If
we were holding hands to help each other cross a river and one person
fell in, we wouldn't leave him there; we'd lift him out and keep going.
Simply hearing the teachings of the dharma isn't enough
to completely transform ourselves. The teachings have to be implemented,
and we begin by increasing our compassion. If someone the sangha is rude
to us, instead of responding in our habitual way, by being angry, sarcastic,
hurtful or holding a grudge, we practice compassion. As dharma practitioners
we bring our understanding of karma to bear on difficult situations, recognizing
that someone who upsets others is creating nonvirtue. Rather than being
critical, we try to help, and in this way we create virtue. And when we
make mistakes, we purify the karma we've created.
There are times when we are upset or irritated. Sometimes
our body is out of sorts. Sometimes our subtle energies are out of balance
and our mind is agitated. Sometimes we just wake up on the wrong side
of the bed. We need to recognize that this emotional turmoil is not permanent,
that it will pass, like clouds in the sky--and then patiently let it go
by. We shouldn't add fuel to the fire. If an irritable person says something
annoying, we should remain patient and maintain respect. We shouldn't
prolong or even try to correct the situation, but rather wait until the
person calms down and then try to talk things over. We always need to
focus on how we can help others, not on how we can benefit ourselves.
When anger arises, the best thing to do is to drop it.
But if we can't, we remain patient and it will eventually dissolve. Because
sangha members don't cling to anger for months or years, they don't inflict
the kind of damage in relationships that resentment can cause. If we try
again and again to develop love, concern and patience, slowly we will
make progress in our practice. Like grains of barley in a bag whose husks
fall away as the grains rub together, sangha members working together
can swiftly cleanse their minds' poisons and obscurations and contribute
to each other's learning and growth.
The world isn't going to change for us. From the very
beginning of our journey on the dharma path, we realize that what must
be changed is our own mind--that the mind is the arena for training. We
recognize that nothing in samsara or nirvana is outside mind; all is rooted
in it. Our interactions within the sangha serve as a mirror that reflects
our mind back to us so that we can use the methods of the dharma to correct
ourselves. If we find ourselves responding to irritating situations in
an ordinary way, we ask, "Why do I react this way? Why do I hold onto
these things?" By transforming mental poisons as they arise, we learn
to deal more effectively with our immediate circumstances and live up
to our spiritual goals.
At first, the sangha is like a collection of holy objects,
such as statues, in a bag; they inevitably clank against one another.
But if people trying to create something of benefit are at odds with one
another, the negativity and disharmony undercut their spiritual aspirations.
On the other hand, if they treat each other with patience, respect, love
and compassion, those qualities radiate out and benefit all those around
them. When they go about their activities in the world, where there is
less support for spiritual practice, they will have well-established habits
of patience and kindness. They won't lose them in stressful situations.
In this way, the sangha provides a training ground for applying the dharma
in the world at large, which is the true arena for our practice.
The Benefits of Sangha
Those who embrace the teachings of the Buddha are the
children of the Buddha's speech, and those who gain recognition of mind's
true nature are the children of the Buddha's mind. Once we have taken
refuge, received the Buddhist teachings and embarked on the path, our
situation is no longer ordinary; something has changed. An insect caught
in a milk bottle, flying around and around hopelessly and helplessly,
will eventually find its way out if there is a single hole in the bottle.
By taking refuge, listening to teachings, and training the mind, we puncture
a hole in cyclic existence. Eventually we'll escape. For Buddhist practitioners,
samsara is not endless.
Taking the vow of refuge gives us entrance into the sangha,
but whether we remain there depends on whether we uphold its spiritual
purpose. If we take refuge but don't really embrace the ideals of the
sangha, we are like someone who hides something rotten under the carpet
and then sniffs everywhere else, insinuating that the odor is somebody
else's problem. But it is our own hope, fear and self-importance, not
anyone else's, that cause the rancid smell.
As beginning practitioners, we are like children hanging
on their mother's skirt. We find tremendous support in those practitioners
who recognize the nature of mind. It is the qualities of such sangha members
to which we aspire and to which we hold. If we watch them, we can see
how to hold our mind, how to correct our speech and how to conduct ourselves.
If we see someone reciting mantra, we remind ourselves to practice in
order to help all beings. if we see someone helping another person, meditating
or working far beyond her limit. we emulate her. If we are always aware
of our sangha companions' positive qualities and follow their example,
and at the same time acknowledge our own faults and shortcomings and work
to reduce them, our practice will improve.
Because spiritually we are toddlers, our practice legs
are extremely wobbly. Though toddlers look at adults walking and think
they can do it too, they often stumble and fall. It helps them to hold
onto a hand that is more sure than their own. Often, something that a
sangha friend says will keep us from faltering in our practice--going
in the wrong direction or down a long detour. Just one comment can help
steady us and get our motivation back on track.
By holding the mind, maintaining moral integrity and being
careful, consistent and diligent, we gain the respect of other sangha
members. But we must take care not to develop pride in being a part of
the sangha. Instead, we should remind ourselves that we are on the path
with the sangha because we aren't enlightened. We have mental poisons
to purify, which requires practicing and constantly checking our actions
of body, speed and mind; are we reducing nonvirtue and increasing virtue?
One of the benefits of doing practice with sangha members
is the multiplication of merit produced by group effort. For example,
if one person chants one hundred mantra repetitions, she or he will accumulate
the merit of chanting one hundred recitations. But if ten people recite
one hundred mantras together, each will accumulate the merit chanting
one thousand. Furthermore, just as a joint effort is accomplished quickly
and well if someone with the necessary skills is involved, or a load is
carried with greater ease if one member of the group is stronger than
the others, spiritual practice is enhanced by the presence of advanced
practitioners. The Buddha said that one out of four members of the sangha
is an incarnation of a bodhisattva. A bodhisattva's pure motivation, intention
and qualities enhance the virtue created by the other practitioners. That
is why, traditionally, the sangha practices together. The benefit of group
sangha activity arises not only from our sitting on meditation cushions,
but from everything else we do--as long as we are not self-focused, but
rather cut through self-clinging by working for the benefit of others.
By imbuing every action with pure motivation, we overcome self-purpose.
Our commitment is to continue practicing in this way until all of samsara
is empty.
All of us in the sangha have the great fortune to be under
the protection of the Three Jewels. We have had Vajrayana empowerments
and teachings, and practice methods that reveal the true nature of mind.
We should never consider the sangha a casual group of friends, but hold
each practitioner in great esteem. Every minute together is a precious
opportunity and should be a great source of joy. As we practice, training
and retraining body, speech and mind, we remain very close to each other,
without barriers. We thus not only reap the benefits of the sangha's support
but also contribute to that support. We have come together in this life
and will meet again in future lifetimes. Until enlightenment, this mandala
will never separate.
Having generated pure motivation and undertaken formal
practice and dharma activity with the sangha, we dedicate our merit not
only to fellow sangha members but to all sentient beings. First of all,
we dedicate our practice as a single mandala, and our activities of body,
speech and mind, to the removal of obstacles to life itself, with the
aspiration that no one's life will be cut short by even a single day.
For a practitioner, each day holds the potential for practice and greater
attainment. In addition, we dedicate our merit with the aspiration that
all beings will have the greatest health and mental well-being possible,
that love and compassion will fully arise for them and that they will
be able to practice the methods of the Vajrayana and achieve complete
realization of the absolute truth. In this way we can serve the sangha
on an inner level as well as through our pure motivation, prayers and
dedication.
