The So-Called Lay

Abstract

Many of America's new Buddhists are spreading the idea that they are a "sangha" and that their lay "sangha" movement is the correct adaptation of Buddhism to the American scene. Where does this peculiar and dangerous idea come from?

Traditionally the Sangha is considered the third of the Three Jewels---Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha--which are the foundation of Buddhism. Sangha refers to the community of fully ordained monks (Bhikshus) and nuns (Bhikshunis) who de-vote their lives, full-time, to the Buddhist Path. In both Northern (Mahayana) and Southern (Theravada) Buddhism, the moral relations governing the life of the Sangha community are practically identical. They insure a lifestyle that is pure, celibate, and free from worldly desires. In both Northern and Southern Buddhism, the great teachers and enlight-ened masters have come almost exclusively from the Sangha. There have been a few enlightened Buddhist laymen and laywomen in the past, but not one of them failed to wholeheartedly support the Sangha as the foundation of the larger Buddhist community.