| Translations of Saṃgha | |
|---|---|
| Sanskrit | संघ (IAST:saṃgha) |
| Pali | saṅgha (Dev: सङ्घ) |
| Bengali | সংঘ |
| Burmese | သံဃာ (MLCTS:θàɰ̃ɡà) |
| Chinese | 僧伽 (Pinyin:sēngjiā[1]) |
| Japanese | 僧 (Rōmaji:sō) |
| Khmer | សង្ឃ (UNGEGN:sângkh;ALA-LC:sanggh) |
| Korean | 승가 僧伽 (RR:seungga) |
| Sinhala | සංඝයා |
| Tibetan | དགེ་འདུན་ (dge 'dun[2]) |
| Tamil | சங்கம் |
| Tagalog | Sangha ᜐᜅ̟ᜑ |
| Thai | (พระ)สงฆ์ (RTGS:(phra)song) |
| Vietnamese | Tăng đoàn Tăng già Giáo hội 僧團 僧伽 教會 |
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Saṅgha orsaṃgha (IPA:[sɐŋɡʱɐ]) is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used by religious associations, includingBuddhists,Jains andSikhs. Given this history, some Buddhists have stated that the tradition of thesangha represents humanity's oldest survivingdemocratic institution.[3]
In Buddhism,sangha refers to themonastic communities ofbhikkhu (monks) andbhikkhuni (nuns). These communities are traditionally referred to as thebhikkhu-sangha or thebhikkhuni-sangha. As a separate category, those Buddhists who have attained any of thefour stages of enlightenment, whether or not they are members of the monastic community, are referred to as theāryasaṅgha ("noble Sangha").[4][5]
According to theTheravada school andNichiren Shoshu Buddhism, the termsangha does not refer to the community of unenlightenedsāvakas (lay followers) nor does it refer to the community of Buddhists as a whole. Instead, the Theravada school uses the termparisā ("assembly") orcatuparisā ("fourfold assembly") to refer to thebhikkhu,bhikkhunī,upāsaka, andupāsikā as a collective.[6][7][5]
In a glossary of Buddhist terms,[8] Richard Robinson et al. define sangha as:
Sangha. Community. This word has two levels of meaning:
(1) on the ideal (arya) level, it denotes all of the Buddha’s followers, lay or ordained, who have at least attained the level ofsrotāpanna;
(2) on the conventional (saṃvṛti) level, it denotes the orders of the Bhikṣus and Bhikṣunis.
Mahayana practitioners may use the word "sangha" as a collective term for all Buddhists, but the TheravadaPāli Canon uses the wordparisā (Sanskritpariṣad) for the larger Buddhist community—the monks, nuns, lay men, and lay women who have taken theThree Refuges—with a few exceptions[9] reserving "sangha" for its original use in thePāli Canon—the ideal (arya) and the conventional.[5][10][11]
The two meanings overlap but are not necessarily identical. Some members of the ideal Sangha are not ordained; some monastics have yet to acquire the Dharma-eye.[10]
Unlike the present Sangha, the original Sangha viewed itself as following the mission laid down by the Master, viz, to go forth "…on tour for the blessing of the manyfolk, for the happiness of the manyfolk out of compassion for the world, for the welfare, the blessing, the happiness of deva and men".[12]
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TheSangha is the third of the Three Refuges in Buddhism.[13] Common over all schools is that theāryasaṅgha is the foremost form of this third jewel. As for its recognizable contemporary forms, the interpretation of what is the Jewel is often dependent on how a school defines Sangha. In many schools, for example, monastic life is considered to provide the safest and most suitable environment for advancing towardenlightenment and liberation due to the temptations and vicissitudes of life in the world.
InBuddhism,Gautama Buddha, theDharma and the Sangha each are described as having certain characteristics. These characteristics are chanted either on a daily basis and/or onUposatha days, depending on the school of Buddhism. InTheravada tradition they are a part of daily chanting:
The Sangha: The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples (sāvakas) is:
That is, thefour pairs of persons, the eight types of individuals - This Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples is:
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The Sangha was originally established byGautama Buddha in the fifth century BCE in order to provide a means for those who wish to practice full-time in a direct and highly disciplined way, free from the restrictions and responsibilities of the household life.[16] The Sangha also fulfils the function of preserving the Buddha's original teachings and of providing spiritual support for the Buddhist lay-community. The Sangha has historically assumed responsibility for maintaining the integrity of the doctrine as well as the translation andpropagation of the teachings of the Buddha.
The key feature of Buddhist monasticism is the adherence to thevinaya which contains an elaborate set of "227 main rules of conduct" (known asPatimokkha in Pāli) including complete chastity, eating only before noon, and not indulging in malicious or salacious talk.[17] Between midday and the next day, a strict life of scripture study, chanting,meditation, and occasional cleaning forms most of the duties for members of thesangha.[18] Transgression of rules carries penalties ranging from confession to permanent expulsion from thesangha.
Saichō, the founder of the Japanese school ofTendai, decided to reduce the number of rules down to about 60 based on the Bodhisattva Precepts. In theKamakura, many Japanese schools that originated in or were influenced by the Tendai such asZen,Pure Land Buddhism andNichiren Buddhism abolished traditional ordination in favor of this new model of the monastic regulations.
TheOrder of Interbeing, established in 1964 and associated with thePlum Village Tradition, has fourteen precepts observed by all monastics.[19] They were written byThích Nhất Hạnh.
Monks and nuns generally own a minimum of possessions due to theirsamaya as renunciants, including three robes, an alms bowl, a cloth belt, a needle and thread, a razor for shaving the head, and a water filter. In practice, they often have a few additional personal possessions.
Traditionally, Buddhist monks, nuns, and novices eschew ordinary clothes and wear robes. Originally the robes were sewn together from rags and stained with earth or other available dyes. The color of modern robes varies from community to community:saffron is characteristic for Theravada groups; blue, grey or brown for Mahayana Sangha members inVietnam,maroon inTibetan Buddhism,grey inKorea, andblack inJapan.
A Buddhist monk is abhikkhu inPali, Sanskritbhikṣu, while a nun is abhikkhuni, Sanskritbhikṣuṇī. These words literally mean "beggar" or "one who lives byalms",[2]: 115 [20] and it was traditional inearly Buddhism for the Sangha to go on "alms round" for food, walking or standing quietly in populated areas with alms bowls ready to receive food offerings each day. Although in thevinaya laid down by the Gautama Buddha, thesangha was not allowed to engage directly in agriculture, this later changed in some Mahayana schools when Buddhism moved to East Asia, so that in theEast Asian cultural sphere, the monastic community traditionally has engaged in agriculture. An emphasis on working for food is attributed to additional training guidelines laid down by aChan Buddhist master,Baizhang Huaihai, notably the phrase, "A day without work is a day without food" (Chinese:一日不做一日不食).[This quote needs a citation]
The idea that all Buddhists, especiallysangha members, practicevegetarianism is a Western misperception. In the Pali Canon, the Buddha rejected a suggestion byDevadatta to impose vegetarianism on thesangha. According to the Pali Texts, the Buddha ate meat as long as the animal was not killed specifically for him. ThePāli Canon allowed Sangha members to eat whatever food is donated to them by laypeople, except that they may not eat meat if they know or suspect the animal was killed specifically for them. Consequently, the Theravada tradition does not practice strict vegetarianism, although an individual may do so as his or her personal choice.[21]
Both Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions vary depending on their interpretation of their scriptures. In someMahayana sutras, meat-eating is strongly discouraged and it is stated that the Buddha did not eat meat. In particular, East Asiansangha members take on theBodhisattva Precepts originating in theBrahmajāla Sūtra, which has a vow of vegetarianism as part of the Triple Platform Ordination, where they receive the three sets of vows:śrāmaṇera/śrāmaṇerī (novitiate), monastic, and then theBrahmajāla Sūtra Bodhisattva Precepts, whereas the Tibetan lineages transmit atradition of Bodhisattva Precepts fromAsanga'sYogācārabhūmi-Śāstra, which do not include a vow of vegetarianism.
According to Mahayana sutras,Shakyamuni Buddha always maintained that lay persons were capable of great wisdom and of reaching enlightenment. In some areas there has been a misconception that Theravada regards enlightenment to be an impossible goal for those outside thesangha, but in Theravada suttas it is clearly recorded that the Buddha's uncle, a lay follower, reached enlightenment by hearing the Buddha's discourse, and there are many other such instances described in the Pāli Canon. Accordingly, emphasis on lay persons, as well as Sangha members, practicing the Buddhist path of morality, meditation, and wisdom is present in all major Buddhist schools.
Some liberal scholars opine thatsangha is frequently (and according to them, mistakenly) used in the West to refer to any sort of Buddhist community.[22]
Accordingly, theNichiren Shōshū sect maintains thetraditionalist definition of thesangha as the Head TempleTaisekiji priesthood collective as the sole custodians and arbiters of Buddhist doctrine.[25][26]
TheSoka Gakkai, anew religious movement which began as a lay organization previously associated with Nichiren Shōshū in Japan, disputes the traditional definition of sangha. The organization interprets the meaning of the Three Jewels of Buddhism, in particular the "treasure of the Sangha", to include all people who practice Buddhism according to its own interpretation within their organization, whether lay or clerical. After its formal expulsion from its parent religion in December 1991 due to conflicts of religious doctrine, the organization re—published newer literature which revised the terms such as "Treasure of the Priesthood" to "The Buddhist Order".[27][28]
Some modernist sects ofNichiren-shu holds a position that any Buddhist community is also called Sangha,[29] along with both liberal and progressive Mahayana lay movements as well claiming this new definition.[30][31][32]
The Holy Book says: "We ought to know that this place is the Kaidan." This means that whatever a place, where we practice the doctrines of the Holy Book, is fit for a "Kaidan." If it is fit for a "Kaidan," it is inhabited by all Buddhas. Such is the nature of the "Kaidan" taught by our Sect.
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