What is the ‘Sangha’?
19th May 2014
In this video, Dr Dave Webster talks to Justin Whitaker – author of the influential American Buddhist Perspective blog – about the Sangha:
Religion, Philosophy & Ethics course at University of Gloucestershire.
See our blog at http://r-p-e.blogspot.co.uk/
A question that arises with respect to the aryan sangha is whether it really does refer to the/an actual order of monks and nuns, or rather an idealized community of correct practitioners. E.g., MN 7.7 mentions confidence in the sangha “practicing the good way”, etc.; but of course this may not accurately represent the sangha which surrounds one.
In this sense the sangha is both something actual and something more theoretical.
Yes – Doug – you are right. Ideally the ideal order and actual order would coincide – but that clearly isn’t the case. Whether the monastic order – in some of its forms such as the 969 movement – in Burma meets the conditions for being the aryan sangha is highly questionable..
Quite so.