kirk5a wrote: ↑Fri Jun 24, 2011 1:52 pm
"Sangha" is an important term with a rich and precise meaning. It stands for something truly extraordinary and brilliant that can constantly remind us of the highest and most excellent possibilities the Path has to offer. Let's use it well.
In recent decades, a new usage of the word has emerged in the West, one that seems to have no basis in classical Theravada Buddhist teachings: the usage of the word "sangha" to describe a meditation group or any sort of spiritual community.[1] It sounds innocent enough, but this particular usage can — and often does — lead to profound confusion concerning one of the most fundamental underpinnings of the Buddha's teachings, the going for refuge in the Triple Gem.
DN 2, MN 72, SN 51.15, AN 4.184, etc.
I looked through those sutta's, 2 of them doesn't mention anything about sangha.
The Pali word "sangha" literally means "group" or "congregation," but when it is used in the suttas, the word usually refers to one of two very specific kinds of groups: either the community of Buddhist monastics (bhikkhus and bhikkhunis), or the community of people who have attained at least the first stage of Awakening.
There are no 2 specific groups / kinds of the sangha. Only ariya's or people who have attained at least the first stage of awakening ARE CONSIDERED AS THE SANGHA. Doesn't matter if bhikkhus or bhikkhunis are used with the word sangha. If the word bhikkhus or bhikkhunis is used with the word "sangha", that means they are ariya's.
This is the same for the word "kalyana mitta", only ariya's are considered as kalyana mitta's. That's why kalyana mitta's are 100% of the path. When there are no more ariya's or kalyana mitta's alive, that's the end of the Buddha sasana for that time period.
This topic is one of the perfect examples that shows the today's decline of the Buddha sasana, teachers and practitioners of the Buddha dhamma.
I am a Buddhist that doesn't practice Buddhism. What I practice is nekkhamma, abyāpāda, avihiṁsā, viraga, nirodha or the Noble Eight Fold Path. The elimination / eradication / extermination of defilements, kilesa's, raga, dosa, moha and asava's.
Lineage: Buddha > Sthaviravada > Vibhajjavada > Theravada > Striving for Nibbana.