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The Sound of the Bell and the Collective Consciousness of the Sangha
Yesterday, while practicing walking meditation on the rooftop, after just a few dozen steps, we heard the sound of the church bell ringing. Everyone stopped, listened, and breathed deeply. The bell rang automatically, right on time, and this brought a sense of sadness, because it was not a human being but a machine inviting us to return to our breath. The number of monastics is decreasing, and many temples are left only to perform ceremonies for peace and memorial services, like a “convenience store” lacking a practice program and brotherhood, making the monastic life no longer attractive to young people.
The Buddha taught us to return to the “island within”—the warm refuge inside each person, not dependent on external things. When the desire to run away—the seed of hurt handed down by our ancestors—arises, we only need to breathe with mindfulness and recognize:
- “Hello, my seed of hurt, I know you are there and I will take care of you.”
- See that alongside the seed of wanting to run away, there is also the seed of finding our true home right here and now; from there, we can build our “true home” in the sangha.
The sangha is our home, our root, our true home, where each person needs to put down roots with their own mind instead of relying on external conditions. When we understand and embrace each other with compassion—like the roots of bamboo intertwining beneath the earth—the sangha will be an inexhaustible source, nourishing us and giving us the opportunity to take refuge, to build true happiness and peace.