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What is a Sangha?
The sangha was established in the Buddha's time. Through study and mediation Buddha's
students became arhats. From the Buddha's time until today the lineage of the sangha has been
unbroken. Although Buddha passed away 2500 years ago, the sangha still exists. When we
practice together, that practice is more powerful than when we practice individually. It's difficult
to practice individually because we will be distracted by circumstances and forget to practice.
When we unite as a sangha and practice in one place, we will be inspired by those who are more
enthusiastic for practice. We will be able to ask others for help and advice. Likewise we will be
able to help others.
Drupon Tinley Ningpo, December 2, 2006
Why take part in a sangha?
A variety of reasons, including:

to discover how to alleviate suffering in your life – this can be anything from mild
not-quite-rightness to meaninglessness to intense stress or crisis

it means you meditate (and your mind quietens down) at least once a week

to learn about the dharma (‘Buddhism’) from non-dogmatic but knowledgeable and
experienced teachers, as well as others on the path

to get to know some lovely people who are all on a similar journey

to feel your mind and your heart grow and open
If I come along will I be expected to keep coming or commit to something?
No. In this tradition, dharma practice is a personal pursuit and as such is entirely driven by you.
Whether or how often you come along is entirely up to you. There’s no roll call, the sangha is
just there for you whenever you want to come.
Having said that, the Buddha identified ‘right effort’ or applying yourself to living the dharma,
as one of the eight items on his to-do list for awakening, so the more consistently you can come,
the more benefit you and the sangha will receive.
The only time we ask people to rsvp for meetings is when someone is preparing a talk. This is
out of kindness to the person speaking, to ensure that we are not causing them to put in effort
preparing a talk only to have no audience or an inappropriate audience (e.g., someone prepares a
talk for beginners but no beginners can come that week).
What will be expected of me if I come along?
Not much – other than being genuinely interested in participating and learning and being
respectful of others’ attempts to do this too. It might be worth reading our "principles for a
thriving sangha" to see if this is an appropriate group for you.
Beaches-Sangha.org
What is Sangha
What is the Sangha?
The Sangha is a spiritual family. At the centre of the family are the teacher and the teachings. In
the Buddhist tradition, the teaching is called Dharma, and the founder of this Dharma is called
Buddha Shakyamuni or Gautama Siddhartha. This tradition was born in 500 BC.
The Sangha also represents all the many beings that have achieved awakening. In creating our
own Sangha we can connect to this.
The Orchard Sangha was formed by students of Ad Brugman and Sonia Moriceau to support the
teachers and their teachings in the lineage of John Garrie Roshi and the Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche
and was created in a spirit of gratitude and appreciation for the teachings received.
In our Sangha we are learning how to take care of each other and ourselves through our
mindfulness practice and being aware of the impact of our words, actions and thoughts on
others and ourselves. We are also taking care of the place where the teachings are given and
received.
So, the Sangha is an intentional community and as we take care of each other, the place and
ourselves we also take care of the teachers. This mutual support benefits us all as we walk the
path of the Dharma together.
“I have found that the more I embrace the Sangha, the more I can let go of the feeling of a
separate self. As I relax into the collective wisdom and insights that the Sangha offers I
experience the ‘whole being greater than the sum of the parts’ where the potential of the whole is
greater than that of any individual. I also directly feel the benefit of participating in the activities
of the Sangha and contributing what I can from wherever I am.”
Orchard Sangha
Definitions
“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 of srotapanna; (2) on the conventional (samvtri) level, it denotes the orders of the
Bhiksus and Bhiksunis”[who?][6]
Some lay practitioners in the West these days use the word "Sangha" as a collective term for all
Buddhists, but the Pali Canon uses the word parisā (Sanskrit, parisad) for the larger Buddhist
community — the monks, nuns, lay men, and lay women who have taken the Three Refuges —
reserving ‘Sangha’ for a more restricted use.”[5][7][8]
“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”[who?][7]
“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"[who?][9]
Qualities of the Sangha
The Sangha is the third of the Three Jewels in Buddhism. Due to the temptations and vicissitudes
of life in the world, monastic life is considered to provide the safest and most suitable
environment for advancing toward enlightenment and liberation.
In Buddhism, the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha each are described as having certain
characteristics. These characteristics are chanted either on a daily basis and/or on Uposatha days,
depending on the school of Buddhism. In Theravada tradition they are a part of daily chanting:
The Sangha: The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples (Savakas) is:
practicing the good way
practicing the upright way
practicing the knowledgeable or logical way
practicing the proper way
That is, the four pairs of persons, the eight types of individuals - This Sangha of the Blessed
One's disciples is:
worthy of gifts
worthy of hospitalities
worthy of offerings
worthy of reverential salutation
the unsurpassed field of merit for the world.[10]
"The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite
purpose, in the spirit of harmony."
"No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force,
which may be likened to a third mind [the master mind]." Napoleon Hill
A common experience among spiritual seekers is the feeling of peace and serenity that
prevails in an ashram or other gathering of seekers. This is especially so during a silent
retreat when the ego has no chance to assert itself through conversation. Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi (b. ca. 1915, d. 2008), the founder of Transcendental Meditation, has elevated
this effect into a guiding principle, which he calls the "Maharishi Effect" (see Section 5.2).
This states that, when a group of people are meditating together, they create a harmonious,
tranquil influence that is felt not only by the meditators, but also by anybody else in their
vicinity. He has even formulated it into a quantitative principle--the number of people whose
mental states are harmonized by a group of meditating people is equal to one hundred
times the square of the number of people meditating.
The harmonious tranquility of nonlocal mind experienced in a spiritual community is
extremely important for spiritual growth. Without this experience, it is easy to feel
stagnation, frustration, and dryness. This is what Jesus meant when he said in Matthew
18:20:
"For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."
“A Course in Consciousness” Stanley Sobottka, Professor of Physics, University of Virginia