英文原文
The Importance of Sangha (the Buddhist Community) Part 1 - Bright Way Zen
When I first got interested in Zen Buddhism and meditation, I did some reading and learned about the so-called “Three Treasures” of Buddhism: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. (I talked about the Three Treasures in Episode 2 of the Zen Studies Podcast.) The “Buddha” made sense to me – the teacher Shakyamuni who lived 2,500 years ago, and at another level the wisdom inside of us. The “Dharma” made sense too: That’s the teachings and practices of Buddhism, or truth itself.
What about the “Sangha,” though? That’s the community of Buddhist practitioners. Was the treasure of Sangha really necessary? Was it important to get together with others to practice Buddhism? I associated groups of spiritual or religious people – fairly or not – with all kinds of negative things: prejudice, conformism, judgementalism, cults... Just a few years before I got into Zen, I had told a friend, “If I ever get into an organized religion, shoot me!”
Still, because I found the teachings of Buddhism so fascinating and helpful, and because I really liked meditation, I decided to give Sangha a shot. I looked up “Buddhist Churches” in the phone book (I realize this dates me!) and visited a couple local groups. The third one I attended felt like home, and despite my prior biases I have been intimately involved with Sanghas ever since.
In this series of blog posts, I’ll try to explain why Sangha is so important in Zen or Buddhist practice.
To begin:
The Full Buddhist Tradition Is Conveyed Through Sangha
The existence of Sangha is what makes Buddhism a living, applied spiritual tradition rather than a mere philosophy. I encountered all kinds of inspiring concepts, ideals, and philosophies before I became a Buddhist. As a teen, I read and re-read Thoreau’s Walden, and in college I was impressed with the Stoic philosophers. However, what was I supposed to do with these ideas other than just think about them? I could try to apply them to my life, I suppose, but translating them into action wasn’t so easy.
When I encountered Buddhism, it was different. After I read about Buddhist ideas and philosophy, I could try the practices of meditation and mindfulness and see what changes they made in my life. Even further, I could attend a local Sangha where I could learn from and question a real, live, trained teacher – someone who put Buddhist teachings into modern language, and could recommend how to apply them to everyday life. I could encounter other people who aspired to the same thing I did, and learn from their experience.
There’s only so much you can learn from books, especially when you’re talking about a spiritual practice that has the potential to transform your life. The Buddhist tradition has countless aspects that can’t be conveyed in a book, including the personal and dynamic interactions between teacher and student, learning how to move your body according to traditional forms that are meant to foster mindfulness and concern for others, and the emotionally nurturing power of ritual. This is the first important function of Sangha: it carries and conveys the many components of the Buddhist tradition that can’t be shared through writing.
Sangha Provides Positive Peer Pressure
Even apart from the Buddhist teachings and practices a Sangha can expose you to, participating with a Sangha is valuable. Why? Human beings are social creatures – even the introverts and misanthropes among us! We depend on and influence one another. The presence and positive support of other people is what helps us fulfill our aspirations – and form those aspirations to begin with. I like to call this kind of beneficial social influence on one another “positive peer pressure.”
For example, the course of your life was deeply affected by whether your parents were your greatest fans, or your greatest critics. If you’re surrounded by positive, healthy people, it’s whole lot easier to avoid negative behaviors like abusing drugs or wallowing in depression. No matter how convinced we are that more exercise would be good for us, most of us find it easier to actually do it if we attend a yoga class or join a gym.
Over 2,500 years ago, the Buddha emphasized that associating with what he called “admirable people” was essential to our success in practice. He defined “admirable people” as wise practitioners who are firm in their conviction spiritual practice is important, and are strong in virtue, generosity, and discernment.[i] The following is a famous passage from the Pali Upaddha Sutta (note: in this passage, the Buddha is called “the Blessed One”):
“...Ven. Ananda went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, Ven. Ananda said to the Blessed One, ‘This is half of the holy life, lord: admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie.’
“‘Don’t say that, Ananda. Don’t say that. Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life. When a monk has admirable people as friends, companions, & comrades, he can be expected to develop & pursue the noble eightfold path.”[ii]
You may or may not relate to needing the support of others in order to do a challenging practice or change your habits. Maybe you’re an unusually self-disciplined person. However, if you do find that your spiritual aspirations wane when you try to fulfill them on your own, know you’re not the only one! Modern Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh says that, in his tradition, people say “when a tiger leaves the mountain and goes to the lowland, it will be caught by humans and killed. When practitioners leave their Sangha, they will abandon their practice after a few months.”[iii] Thich Nhat Hanh and many other teachers and practitioners maintain that it’s much easier to practice with a Sangha than by yourself.
Keep the value of positive peer support in mind if you find yourself wondering whether your presence in a particular Sangha matters! Even if you value Sangha, it’s easy to figure it will go on without you if you’re busy and don’t attend for a while. That assumption is probably true, but your presence with Sangha is an act of generosity even if you don’t have a special role there. It supports others by adding energy and momentum to the collective experience, inspiring others through positive peer pressure. [more to come...]
中文翻译
僧团（佛教社区）的重要性 第一部分 - 光明之道禅
当我最初对禅宗佛教和冥想产生兴趣时，我阅读了一些资料，了解了佛教所谓的“三宝”：佛、法、僧。（我在禅学研究播客第二集中谈到了三宝。）“佛”对我来说是有意义的——那是2500年前的老师释迦牟尼，在另一个层面上也是我们内心的智慧。“法”也有意义：那是佛教的教义和实践，或者真理本身。
那么“僧”呢？那是佛教修行者的社区。僧宝真的必要吗？与他人一起修行佛教重要吗？我将灵性或宗教人士的团体——公平或不公平地——与各种负面事物联系起来：偏见、从众、评判主义、邪教……就在我接触禅宗的前几年，我曾告诉一位朋友，“如果我加入一个有组织的宗教，就毙了我！”
尽管如此，因为我发现佛教的教义如此迷人和有帮助，而且我真的很喜欢冥想，我决定尝试一下僧团。我在电话簿中查找“佛教教堂”（我意识到这暴露了我的年龄！）并拜访了几个当地团体。我参加的第三个感觉像家一样，尽管我之前有偏见，但从那时起我就一直与僧团密切参与。
在这个系列博客文章中，我将尝试解释为什么僧团在禅宗或佛教修行中如此重要。
首先：
完整的佛教传统通过僧团传递
僧团的存在使佛教成为一个活生生的、应用性的灵性传统，而不仅仅是哲学。在我成为佛教徒之前，我遇到了各种鼓舞人心的概念、理想和哲学。青少年时期，我反复阅读梭罗的《瓦尔登湖》，大学时我对斯多葛派哲学家印象深刻。然而，除了思考这些想法，我该怎么做呢？我想我可以尝试将它们应用到我的生活中，但将它们转化为行动并不容易。
当我遇到佛教时，情况不同了。在我阅读了佛教思想和哲学之后，我可以尝试冥想和正念的实践，看看它们在我的生活中带来了什么变化。更进一步，我可以参加当地的僧团，在那里我可以向一位真实、活生生的、受过训练的老师学习和提问——他将佛教教义转化为现代语言，并可以推荐如何将它们应用到日常生活中。我可以遇到其他渴望与我相同事物的人，并从他们的经验中学习。
从书本中能学到的东西是有限的，尤其是当你谈论一种有可能改变你生活的灵性修行时。佛教传统有无数方面无法在书中传达，包括师生之间个人和动态的互动，学习如何根据旨在培养正念和关心他人的传统形式移动身体，以及仪式的情感滋养力量。这是僧团的第一个重要功能：它承载和传递佛教传统的许多组成部分，这些无法通过写作分享。
僧团提供积极的同伴压力
即使除了僧团可以让你接触到的佛教教义和实践之外，参与僧团也是有价值的。为什么？人类是社会性生物——即使是我们中的内向者和厌世者！我们相互依赖和影响。他人的存在和积极支持帮助我们实现我们的愿望——并首先形成这些愿望。我喜欢称这种彼此之间的有益社会影响为“积极的同伴压力”。
例如，你的人生进程深受你的父母是你最大的粉丝还是最大的批评者的影响。如果你被积极、健康的人包围，避免滥用药物或沉溺于抑郁等负面行为就容易得多。无论我们多么确信更多锻炼对我们有好处，如果我们参加瑜伽课或加入健身房，大多数人会发现实际上更容易做到。
2500多年前，佛陀强调与他所谓的“善知识”交往对我们修行的成功至关重要。他将“善知识”定义为坚信灵性修行重要的智慧修行者，并在德行、慷慨和辨别力上强大。[i] 以下是巴利文《优婆达经》中的著名段落（注意：在这段中，佛陀被称为“世尊”）：
“……阿难尊者去到世尊那里，到达后，向世尊顶礼，坐在一边。当他坐在那里时，阿难尊者对世尊说，‘这是圣洁生活的一半，主：善友、善伴、善谊。’
“‘不要这么说，阿难。不要这么说。善友、善伴、善谊实际上是圣洁生活的全部。当一位比丘有善知识作为朋友、伴侣和同志时，他可以期望发展和追求八正道。’”[ii]
你可能或可能不需要他人的支持来进行具有挑战性的修行或改变你的习惯。也许你是一个异常自律的人。然而，如果你确实发现当你试图独自实现灵性愿望时，它们会减弱，要知道你并不是唯一一个！现代禅宗老师一行禅师说，在他的传统中，人们说“当老虎离开山去到低地时，它会被人类捕获并杀死。当修行者离开他们的僧团时，他们会在几个月后放弃修行。”[iii] 一行禅师和许多其他老师和修行者认为，与僧团一起修行比独自修行容易得多。
如果你发现自己怀疑你在特定僧团中的存在是否重要，请记住积极同伴支持的价值！即使你重视僧团，如果你很忙一段时间不参加，很容易认为它会继续下去。这种假设可能是真的，但你在僧团中的存在是一种慷慨的行为，即使你在那里没有特殊角色。它通过为集体体验增加能量和动力来支持他人，通过积极的同伴压力激励他人。[更多内容……]
文章概要
本文探讨了佛教僧团社区在中年支持中的重要性。作者分享了自己从对僧团持怀疑态度到亲身参与的经历，强调僧团不仅是佛教“三宝”之一，更是将佛教从哲学转化为活生生实践的关键。文章指出，僧团通过师生互动、传统仪式和集体修行，传递无法从书本中学到的佛教精髓。同时，僧团提供积极的同伴压力，帮助修行者保持动力、避免负面行为，并引用佛陀和一行禅师的教导，说明善知识交往对修行成功的必要性。文章聚焦于僧团如何为中年修行者提供情感支持、实践指导和社区归属感，从而增强修行效果和生活质量。
高德明老师的评价
用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容：这篇文章就像在说，如果你喜欢玩一个游戏，比如学佛，一个人玩可能有点无聊，但和一群好朋友一起玩就更有趣了！这些好朋友就是僧团，他们像队友一样，互相帮助、互相鼓励。当你遇到困难时，他们给你加油；当你做得好时，他们为你高兴。这样，你就能更好地学习佛的智慧，让自己变得更快乐、更善良。就像在学校里，有老师和同学一起学习，比一个人在家看书更有意思一样！
佛学的各个宗派视角评价，突出《显密圆通成佛心要集》的视角：从佛教显宗和大乘视角看，僧团是修行不可或缺的助缘，体现了“六和敬”的精神，促进共修功德。在《显密圆通成佛心要集》中，道㲀大师强调显密圆融，僧团作为实践平台，能融合显教的教理学习和密教的仪轨修持，加速成佛进程。准提法作为该集核心，僧团共修可增强咒力与观想效果，通过集体能量场提升修行境界。显宗重视僧团的戒律和闻思修，密宗则注重灌顶和师徒传承，僧团为两者提供交汇点，确保修行不偏颇。准提法的优点在于简便易行，僧团支持使其更易坚持，适合现代人繁忙生活，实现即身成佛的可能。
在修行实践上可以应用的和可以解决人们的十个问题：1. 提供情感支持，缓解中年孤独感。2. 通过集体冥想，增强正念和专注力。3. 学习佛教教义，解答人生困惑。4. 参与仪式活动，培养心灵宁静。5. 获得善知识指导，避免修行误区。6. 建立健康社交圈，减少负面行为。7. 分享修行经验，互相激励进步。8. 实践慈悲行为，提升人际关系。9. 增强修行动力，克服懈怠懒惰。10. 融入社区归属，找到生命意义。这些应用基于僧团的集体力量，帮助人们在中年阶段应对压力、提升灵性成长，实现生活与修行的平衡。