By
Scott Shaw
In the Buddhist tradition it is taught
that the Sanga or Spiritual Community is one of the
primary elements that one should take into consideration as they walk upon the
Spiritual Path. To put this understanding
into a more usable definition, the Sanga refers to the fact that, “You can know a person by the company that they keep.” Worldly
people associate with worldly people and spiritual people associate with
spiritual people.
Throughout all spiritual traditions a
person is told that they should let go of worldly friends and only associate
with spiritually, like-minded people. On the surface, this sounds like a pretty
good idea.
Think about it… For the most part a
spiritually inclined person is probably not going to get you into too much
trouble as they probably don’t drink, do drugs, womanize (or manize), don’t
party, and don’t do worldly activities that may have the tendency to lead you
down the road to demise. Thus, you will probably remain fairly safe.
But, at this juncture, the questions
have to be raised, “What exactly is
spiritual?” And, “Who is truly
a spiritual person?”
This is the point where the novice on
the Spiritual Path oftentimes becomes confused. For what appears to be
spiritual is not always the truest representation of spirituality. And, those
who appear to be holy are not necessarily that.
Here in the west, the obvious examples
of this are the priests who mess with young children. On all levels that is
just wrong. There is no excuse and no justification for that type of action.
Though these inappropriate actions have
been at the forefront of the news over the past couple of decades, these
actions have gone on literally forever. And, they have spanned all cultures and
religious traditions.
In fact, it is so common that a person
in a position of religious authority takes advantage of a person, that is it
almost universally unfathomable. But, it happens everyday.
Add to this that these people are
supposed representatives of god (or what ever figure a particular religions
places as its most holy). From this, these people are provided with a license
to do pretty much whatever they want and claim it as an act of god. Here lies
one of the primary problems with the concept of Sanga.
At its heart, the Sanga
ideology if fine. But, then add to it, the desirous mind of the human
personality, and the concept and all of the good it may provide is completely
lost.
Watch the news when a priest or other
religious figure is accused of inappropriate behavior and you will always see
people stepping up to their defense. Then, when the accusations are proven to
be true, the statements arrive, “I
can’t believe it. He seemed like such a good man.” And so on…
On the other side of the issue, as this
type of behavior has become so prevalent, there are people who falsely claim
that a person did something inappropriate to them, when, in fact, they did not.
An individual does this simply to either take control over a person’s life or
to make that person seem less to the masses. This may be based in anger,
jealously, or an untold number of other emotions. But, at the end of the day it
creates the same Life-Problem attributed to that of the wayward priest; namely,
the actions of another destroy and forever alter the life of a person.
Is this true spirituality?
At the heart of the Sanga
is people. People by their very nature, their very design, are flawed.
The human race is based upon desire. People desire THINGS.
These things may be physical; they may be spiritual. But, desire is the root
cause of all things both good and bad in this place we call life.
Some people desire objects. Some people
desire love. Some people desire lust. Some people desire fulfillment. Some
people desire enlightenment. But, no matter what the title, desire is desire.
Though it is commonly understood that a
Sanga is made up of specified
group of people who desire the same thing. But, do they?
Each person comes to the Sanga with their own unique set of
life experiences. Each person comes to the Sanga with his or her own personality. Each person comes to the Sanga with his or her own set of
desires. And though they may each be seeking a similar end-goal—though they
each may desire a similar communal experience, each person is a unique and
different entity. As such, they each add a particular set of variables to the
overall equation.
A Sanga is measured by the overall output of its amassed energy.
Add one faulty person to a Sanga
and that energy is damaged and altered forever.
Each and every action we take not only
affects ourselves and the overall evolution of our life but it also affects any
of those we have interaction with.
What you do today equals the choices you will be presented
with tomorrow.
Who you encounter today, leads you to the people you will
interact with tomorrow.
As each person is their own unique entity, you can never
judge and never assume what actions they will make from moment to moment. As
such, though they may present themselves as a spiritual or as a worldly person,
that image they present can never truly define who they are because that is
simply a projection of how they want to be viewed by the world. It is not
necessarily who they truly are.
The Sanga, in
its concept, is an idealize image of a perfect community and support group.
Though it sounds nice and no doubt can provide a positive learning experience,
you must always keep your guard up, as you can never know what actions another
person may take.
Ultimately, true spiritually is never defined by how a person
appears to the world. True spiritually
is only known internally. It is only defined by the True Inner Self.
Find it in you. Not outside of you.
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© 2012—All Rights Reserved
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