In the latest in the ‘Buddhism in a Nutshell” reel series, I answer the question “What is Sangha?”. Buddhists take refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, so what is meant by this Sanskrit term? Normally it refers to beings who have attained the first Bhumi level and realised emptiness. Which excludes most beings! To lower the benchmark, some might then think it means monastics, which would not be correct either. So who is a sangha member and why are they considered a source of refuge and guidance, listen here for a possible explanation:
Basically, only those who are generally abiding in the five main Buddhist vows could be worthy of the term “sangha” (and a genuine source of refuge) which would include both monastics and laypeople. Monastics have the extra vow of no sexual activity whatsoever. Being a monastic is not sufficient, as we all know, there are many people who wear the robes of monastics but are not generally abiding by the five main Buddhist precepts, such as not killing (or supporting or paying for killing), not stealing, not telling unnecessary or unethical lies/dishonesty, no sexual misconduct (for monastics that is not sexual activity at all).
However, there are Buddhist communities whose members are worldly human beings who are interested in and follow Buddhism, and may have taken refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. They are not really sangha though. So, next time someone accuses you or anyone else of causing one of the major offences of Buddhism “a schism in the sangha”, they are over-exaggerating and misusing the term. Disputes and disagreements in a spiritual community, especially when it is exposing unethical conduct not consistent with Buddhist vows or ethics, is a normal, natural part of a healthy and functioning community. Buddha himself would have open group meetings where wrongdoings were openly discussed by the community, and it was decided what ‘action’ (if any) needed to be taken against the individual. We should model that example of Buddha, not the one of ‘cults’ who believe that a teacher (or those with power) in a community can never be questioned about what they do and say, right?