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Building a Sangha Is Important
The Teacher is the ultimate refuge, possessing perfect wisdom and compassionate action, who has crossed to the shore of freedom, guiding humanity and celestial beings, an awakened one worthy of respect and offerings.
The Teacher’s Dharma is wondrous, clear, directly realizable here and now, extinguishing afflictions, bringing goodness, truth, beauty, peace, insight, and fearlessness.
The Sangha practicing the Dharma is a community of refuge, flowing in the direction of goodness, consisting of four pairs and eight kinds of noble beings, worthy of offerings, respect, admiration, and reverence.
The body is a precious asset that must be carefully cultivated, including
- the physical body
- the body of nutriment
- the body of contact
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the body of volition
and the body of precepts is the armor that brings concentration, insight, and the happiness of liberation for all time.
The six sense organs—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—are the foundation of life; when operating in mindfulness, they become the eyes, lungs, and footsteps of the Buddha.
Each person has three precious bodies:
- The Buddha body is always available, present in every step, word, and daily gesture.
- The Dharma body shines when the teachings are applied, manifesting as the energy of mindfulness, concentration, and insight.
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The Sangha body is the community of practice, sharing happiness and suffering, which must be nurtured and strengthened to preserve the Dharma.
Building the Sangha includes the work of preventing and transforming difficulties, with at least three people reflecting together to avoid subjectivity, meeting frankly to reach consensus, and maintaining harmony and peace for the whole community.
