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The Sangha's Role in Individual and Collective Transformation

Taking Refuge in the Sangha

Thich Nhat Hanh · June 8, 2002 · New Hamlet, Plum Village, France Reviewed

Thay explores how the practice of mindfulness, concentration, and insight is crucial to produce the element of holiness in a Sangha. If we cultivate these three qualities within us, we will be able to touch the element of holiness that is present in each and everyone of us. Thay further elaborates that the Sangha is composed of four pairs and eight kinds of holy people that collectively nurture mindfulness, concentration, and insight. Practicing mindfulness transforms our suffering, supported by the Sangha’s collective energy.

Thay comments that at the moment humanity is not a Sangha yet because we don’t have enough mindfulness, concentration, and insight. We are too dispersed and therefore we are not able to embrace and transform the suffering of the world. People are concerned with their own interests, their own cravings, and pay little attention to the suffering of the Middle East, for example. Thay ends by exploring Chapter 15 and Chapter 24 of the Lotus Sutra, which can help us realize that we are all in a family—we are all children of the Earth and we should take care of each other and our environment, concluding that this is possible with a Sangha that practices the six togetherness. This is the way to preserve the Earth and our happiness.

This is the fifth talk in a series of thirteen given during The Hands of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2002. Thay offered this talk at the New Hamlet, Plum Village, France.

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Part of the following collections

The Hand of the Buddha – 21-Day Retreat (2002)

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Previous Talk June 7, 2002

"Interconnectedness and Compassion: Lessons from the Lotus Sutra and Vietnamese Traditions"

Next Talk June 9, 2002

The practice of compassion

Next: The Sangha's Role in Individual and Collective Transformation

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The Sangha's Role in Individual and Collective Transformation

From "Taking Refuge in the Sangha" • June 8, 2002

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The Practice of Kung An

00:44:25

You want to understand. You want to transform. It is like when you are struck by an arrow, and you carry with you the arrow in your flesh. Standing or sitting, being awake or sleeping, you still carry the arrow. The koan, the kung an should be something like that. Your daily life is fully focused on that. And if you are, the kung an should be something that can draw all your energy, your interest, your mindfulness, your concentration on it. And you are holding it day and night, embracing it, looking deeply into it. And one day, insight will come, and you understand, and you will be liberated. So kung an, is something that should have the capacity of bringing all your concentration, all your energy into it. Because without that, there cannot be a breakthrough. The suffering in the Middle East, for instance, is a kung an for the whole mankind. Not only for the Israelis or the Palestinians. But as a human family, we are so busy. We are not a Sangha. We don't have enough mindfulness, concentration. We cannot make it into a kung an.

00:46:16

We pay some attention. And then we remove attention. We focus our attention on other matters. And that is why it is not a kung an for the human family yet. When the teacher understands the difficulties and the suffering of the disciple, he or she will offer a kung an. Like, "Tell me, dear one, what is the sound made by just one hand?" Usually we need two hands in order to make a sound. "Tell me. How can you produce sound with one hand?" So that is a kind of skillful device in order to help the disciple to find out, to understand his or her situation. And the disciple cannot just use his or her intellect in order to work on the kung an. Because the intellect is only part of us, underneath there is the whole subconsciousness, unconsciousness. Underneath there is your body, all the mental formations, your store consciousness. That is why the kung an that has been offered by the teacher should not be entertained only by the intellect. It should be buried deeply in the soil, in the flesh of your being. And during your daily life, you have to carry the kung an with you day and night. Eating, sleeping, doing things, you are embracing it. That is the full time embrace.

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