THE SANGHA

Sangha is a Pali word; it literal meaning is group, comunity, or society. Now, it has become a traditional word referring to the Order of the Buddhist monks. All the Three gems are inter-related; one cannot understand one without understanding the other two. Therefore, the Sangha has to do with the Buddha and the Dhamma

The Sangha follows the footprints of the Buddha. The Sangha practices the Dhamma (the Buddha's Teachings) and teaches it to laypeople. The Sangha is the object of veneration for the Buddhists. Nobody can become a Buddhist without going to the Sangha for refuge. Strictly speaking, the Sangha means the community of those who have realized the Truth. If the Buddhists have no Sangha, they could not understand the meaning of the Buddha's words. Therefore, the Sangha, like the Buddha and the Dhamma, is worth of respect.

The Sangha teaches the laypeople not to do any evil, to cultivate good, and to purify the mind. How to cultivate good is to follow the five precepts: (1) not kill, (2) not steal, (3) not commit adultery, (4) not tell lies, (5) not drink toxicantes. To purify the mind is to have right concentration. How to have right concentration is to practice medition.

Medition is the way to purify the mind from greed, hatred, and ignorance. There are two kinds of meditation: Concentration Meditation and Insight Meditation.

Concentration Meditation is to aim at training one-pointedness mind or mind focusing. This way makes the mind become calm. Anger, worry, restlessness, lust, and doubt are temporarily suppressed.

Insight Meditation is the endeavor to achieve complete insight into the real nature of all phenomena. It is realization of understanding all things as they really are. Buddhists practice the meditation to realize that nothing is worth to cling to; let go, and see things as they are and rest with things as they are.