The Fertile Soil Of Sangha

These words of wisdom are taught by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (known as Thay by his followers).

I have heard Thay teach about the fertile soil of sangha many times. He also teaches that the next Buddha, Maitreya, might well be a sangha.

The sangha is one of the three precious jewels of Buddhism. The other two are the Buddha and the dharma. A practicing Buddhist takes refuge in these three jewels during formal ceremonies and meditation practices.

Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are three precious jewels in Buddhism, and the most important of these is Sangha. The Sangha contains the Buddha and the Dharma. A good teacher is important, but sisters and brothers in the practice are the main ingredient for success. You cannot achieve enlightenment by locking yourself in your room. Transformation is possible only when you are in touch. When you touch the ground, you can feel the stability of the earth and feel confident.— Thich Nhat Hanh, “The Fertile Soil of Sangha”

I have direct experience of the fertile soil of sangha. Shortly after 9/11, I participated in the formation of a sangha. It was called Mountain Sangha. Yes, this is the same as the URL for Meditation Practices for Healing and Well-being: https://mountainsangha.org.

You can probably tell from this that our sangha did not last very long. In fact, shortly after the interest in Mountain Sangha waned in 2009, we resurrected it in the form of Mindfulness in Healing.

In addition to these, I participated in what is called, The Aspirant Sangha. This sangha is designed to train aspirants to become members of Thay’s Order of interbeing. You can actually see the original content of Mountain Sangha here. It is also available in the Important Links section at the bottom of all pages.

Do you wish to participate in a sangha? I would love to start a Google Hangout with you. Please let me know by your comments or by email if you are interested.