Documents menu

Query on sources for an expansive notion of sangha

A dialog from the H-Asia list
May 1998

Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 16:29:29 -0700
From: nikhil aziz <nhemmady@du.edu>

Would anyone have information on an expansive concept of sangha (that is to include the entire community, not monks alone) within various Buddhist traditions? Jose Cabezon at the Iliff School of Theology mentioned that there were some Tibetan sources but I was hoping to locate some in English translations, and preferably in the Thervadin tradition. However, any sources would be welcome. Thank you.

Nikhil Aziz.
University of Denver
<nhemmady@du.edu>

Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 10:53:42 -0700
From: "T.Matthew Ciolek" <tmciolek@coombs.anu.edu.au>

In his post of May 22, Nikhil Aziz <nhemmady@du.edu> asked:

>Would anyone have information on an expansive concept of sangha (that
>is to include the entire community, not monks alone) within various
>Buddhist traditions?

An all-inclusive (= Mahayana) definition of sangha (monks, nuns, priests, lay practitioners, their families, cats, sparrows, lawn-mowers, trees, bushes, supermarket trolleys, stones, clouds, continents and cicadas) is outlined in

Aitken, Robert. 1982. _Taking the Path of Zen_. North Point Press. pp. 72-74.

Robert Aitken Roshi, is a Sanbo Kyodan (Rinzai/Soto) Zen master, who in 1959 founded in Honolulu, Hawaii the Diamond Sangha. Since the early 1970s he published approx. 10 books. He is now in retired.

For further details see relevant sections of the Zen Buddhism WWW Virtual Library http://www.ciolek.com/WWWVL-Zen.html

- regards -

Dr T. Matthew CIOLEK tmciolek@coombs.anu.edu.au
Head, Internet Publications Bureau,
RSPAS, The Australian National University, Canberra
ph +61 (02) 6249 0110 fax: +61 (02) 6257 1893
http://www.ciolek.com/PEOPLE/ciolek-tm.html