Sangha is held to be one of the three jewels of Buddhism. The Buddha invites us to “take refuge” in sangha as an aspect of the path to freedom. It is a place where we can be held, supported, comforted, and also encouraged to live with compassion, generosity, and metta. Additionally, sangha moves us away from feeling as a separate being and instead seeing ourselves as relational beings. Sangha reminds us we’re not alone with the hard stuff. We inspire each other with the power of kindness, the value of truthfulness and the five precepts.
This week, Evelien guided us with a talk by Jill Shepard on Sangha As a Refuge. This talk offers some reflections on what this might mean, and explores what conditions support the establishing and maintaining of healthy practice communities. As our sangha is exploring and widening the way we communicate and hold community, this is especially relevant.
You can hear Jill’s talk at the following link: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/player/70343.html
