The Sangha

The Sangha is the third of the “Three Gems”. When Buddhists take their refuge in the Sangha they say: “Sangha saraṇa gacchāmi”, which means, “I go for refuge to the Sangha”. The word “sangha” literally means “congregation” or “community”. It is the word generally used for the order of monks. However, the word “sangha” in connection with the third Gem has a different meaning. The third Gem, the Sangha we take our refuge in, is the “ariyan Sangha”, the community of all those who have attained enlightenment. “Ariyan” or “noble person” is the name which denotes all those who have attained one of the four stages of enlightenment, no matter whether they are monks, nuns (bhikkhunī’s), unmarried lay-followers or married lay-followers. In the suttas we read that countless men and women lay-followers, single and married, attained enlightenment(22).

In order to understand what enlightenment is, we should first know more about the accumulation of defilements. All kinds of defilements which arise are conditioned; they are conditioned by akusala in the past. Akusala citta which arises now conditions akusala citta again in the future. Each citta which arises falls away completely and thus we may wonder how there can be accumulation of defilements. Each citta which arises falls away but it conditions the succeeding citta and this again the next one. Since our life is a continuous series of cittas succeeding one another, the process of accumulation continues in this series of cittas, going on from moment to moment, from birth to death, and from one life to the next life. That is the reason why there are conditions at present for all kinds of defilements; they can arise at any time when there are the right conditions.

The defilements which have been accumulated are very deeply rooted, and they can only be eradicated in stages, at the different stages of enlightenment. First the latent tendency of the clinging to the concept of self has to be eradicated. The belief in a self can be eradicated by understanding what it is we take for self, in developing vipassanā or right understanding of realities. What we call “my body” are only physical phenomena, rūpas, which arise and fall away and which we cannot control. We read in the Kindred Sayings (III, Middle Fifty I, par 59, The Five) that the Buddha said to his first five disciples in the Deerpark of Vārānasi:

Body, monks, is not the self. If body, monks, were the self, then body would not be involved in sickness, and one could say of body: “Thus let my body be. Thus let my body not be.”

The same is said about mental phenomena. What we take for “my mind” are only mental phenomena, nāmas, which arise and fall away and which are beyond control. There is no self who can direct them. The wrong view of self we have accumulated throughout countless lives can be eliminated only very gradually. The wisdom becomes keener as successive stages of insight are attained during the development of vipassanā. When the first stage of enlightenment is attained and nibbāna is experienced for the first time, the wrong view of self is eradicated completely and there is no more doubt about nāma and rūpa.

The first stage of enlightenment is the stage of the “stream­winner”, in Pāli: “sotāpanna”. We read in the Kindred Sayings (III, Khandhavagga, Ch XXV, Kindred Sayings on Entering, par 1, The Eye) that the Buddha said to the monks:

The eye, monks, is impermanent, changeable, becoming otherwise. The ear, monks, is impermanent, changeable. So is the nose, the tongue, the body, and the mind. It is impermanent, changeable, becoming otherwise...

He, monks, who thus knows, thus sees these doctrines, is called “streamwinner, saved from destruction, assured, bound for enlightenment”.

The sotāpanna, the streamwinner, is bound for the last stage of enlightenment, which is the stage of the arahat. At the first stage of enlightenment, the stage of the sotāpanna, nibbāna is experienced and defilements are eradicated, but not all defilements are eradicated yet. There are still lobha, dosa and moha. The sotāpanna knows that there are still conditions for akusala cittas, but he does not take them for self. Although he still has defilements, he will never transgress the five precepts; it has become his nature to observe them. He cannot commit a deed which can cause rebirth in one of the woeful planes; he is “saved from destruction” as we read in the above-quoted sutta. Those who are not ariyans cannot be sure that they will not be reborn in a woeful plane of existence, even if they have done many good deeds in this life. One may have committed an evil deed in a past life which may cause rebirth in an unhappy plane. Only ariyans can be sure that they will not be reborn in an unhappy plane.

The sotāpanna has an unshakable confidence in the “Three Gems”: in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. He has no doubts about the Path the Buddha taught; he cannot delude himself about the right practice of vipassanā. We are deluded about the right practice so long as we cling to a self, when we want to induce the arising of awareness or when we cling to results we are hoping for. The sotāpanna, however, is firmly established on the Path to the last stage of enlightenment, the stage of the arahat.

In the scriptures nibbāna has been described as the end of lobha, dosa and moha, as the end of dukkha, as the end of rebirth, as the deathless. When one reads this one may think that the attainment of enlightenment and the experience of nibbāna only pertains to the arahat who has realized the fourth and last stage of enlightenment and who will not be reborn after he has passed away. However, at each of the four stages of enlightenment nibbāna is experienced and defilements are eradicated, until they are all eradicated at the last stage of enlightenment. The ariyans who have not reached the stage of the arahat still have defilements and they still have conditions to be reborn, but they are sure to reach the end of defilements and the end of rebirth.

The sotāpanna has experienced nibbāna. It is difficult to understand and define what nibbāna is. Nibbāna is the unconditioned dhamma, it does not arise and fall away. All realities we experience in daily life arise because of conditions and then fall away immediately. What arises and falls away is dukkha, suffering or unsatisfactory. All conditioned realities are impermanent, dukkha and anattā, non-self. Since nibbāna does not arise and fall away it is not impermanent and thus not dukkha. Nibbāna is not a person or self, it is anattā. Thus, all realities, including nibbāna, are anattā. When paññā has been developed to the degree that conditioned realities are clearly understood as they are, as impermanent, dukkha and anattā, there can be enlightenment, the experience of nibbāna. Nibbāna is the object of lokuttara citta, supramundane citta, as we have seen in chapter 7. The lokuttara cittas which experience nibbāna arise and then fall away immediately, they are impermanent. After they have fallen away other types of cittas arise which are not lokuttara cittas. So long as one has not eradicated all defilements akusala cittas are bound to arise again.

The fact that the sotāpanna has attained enlightenment does not mean that he cannot continue all his daily activities. The sotāpanna can live with husband or wife and lead a family life. Ariyans who have not attained the third stage of enlightenment, the stage of the “non-returner” or “anāgāmī”, still have attachment to sense objects. As regards the arahat, he has no inclinations at all for the layman’s life.

The sotāpanna does not take any nāma or rūpa for self, but there is still attachment, aversion and ignorance; he still has conceit. Therefore, he has to continue with the development of vipassanā. We read in the Kindred Sayings (III, Khandhā-vagga, Last Fifty, II, par 122, Virtue) that Mahā-Koṭṭhita asked Sāriputta what would be the object of awareness for a virtuous monk who has not realized any stage of enlightenment yet, or for a sotāpanna, or for those who have realized the subsequent stages of enlightenment. Sāriputta explained that the object of paññā is the five “khandhas of grasping”(23), which are all the nāmas and rūpas in and around oneself. Sāriputta said:

“The five khandhas of grasping, friend Koṭṭhita, are the conditions which should be pondered with method by a virtuous monk, as being impermanent, suffering, sick, as a boil, as a dart, as pain, as ill-health, as alien, as transitory, empty and not self...

Indeed, friend, it is possible for a virtuous monk so pondering with method these five khandhas of grasping to realize the fruits of stream-winning.”

“But, friend Sāriputta, what are the things which should be pondered with method by a monk who is a sotāpanna?”

“By a monk who is a sotāpanna, friend Koṭṭhita, it is these same five khandhas of grasping which should be so pondered.

Indeed, friend, it is possible for a monk who is a sotāpanna…by so pondering these five khandhas…to realize the fruits of once-returning(24).“

“But, friend Sāriputta, what are the things which should be pondered with method by a monk who is a once-returner?”

“By one who is a once-returner, friend, it is these same five khandhas which should be pondered with method.

Indeed it is possible, friend, for one who is a once-returner, by so pondering to realize the fruits of non-returning(25).”

“But, friend Sāriputta, what are the things which should be pondered with method by one who is a non-returner?”

“By such a one, friend Koṭṭhita, it is these five khandhas of grasping which should be so pondered. It is possible, friend, for a non-returner by so pondering to realize the fruits of arahatship.”

“But what, friend Sāriputta, are the things which should be pondered with method by one who is an arahat?”

“By an arahat, friend Koṭṭhita, these five khandhas should be pondered with method as being impermanent, suffering, sick, as a boil, as a dart, as ill-health, as alien, transitory, void and not self.

For the arahat, friend, there is nothing further to be done, nor is there return to upheaping of what is done. Nevertheless, these things, if practised and enlarged, conduce to a happy existence and to self-possession even in this present life.”

The ariyan of the second stage, the once-returner or sakadāgāmī, has not eradicated all attachment and aversion, but they have become attenuated. He still has ignorance, which is only completely eradicated by the arahat. The ariyan of the third stage, the non-returner or anāgāmī, has eradicated aversion and he has eradicated attachment to the things experienced through the five senses, but he has not eradicated all forms of clinging; he still clings to rebirth and he still has conceit.

Ariyans who are not yet arahats can still have conceit, although they have no wrong view of self. They may be inclined to pride while they compare themselves with others. When a person thinks himself better than, equal to or less than someone else, there can, even if it is true, be conceit. Why should we compare ourselves with others? In the Khemaka-sutta (Kindred Sayings III, Khandhā-vagga, Middle Fifty, Part 4, par 89) we read that the monk Khemaka, who was staying in Jujube Tree Park, was afflicted by sickness. Some other monks who were staying near Kosambī in Ghosita Park, asked the monk Dāsaka to enquire after his health. After he gave the message that his health was not improving, the other monks told Dāsaka to ask Khemaka whether he still took anything for self. When Khemaka had told Dāsaka that he did not take anything for self, the other monks concluded that Khemaka must be an arahat. Khemaka answered Dāsaka:

“Though, friends, I discern in the five khandhas of grasping no self nor anything pertaining to the self, yet am I not arahat, nor one in whom the āsavas (cankers) are destroyed. Though, friend, I see that I have got the idea of ’I am’ in the five khandhas of grasping, yet do I not discern that I am this ’I am’.”

Then the venerable Dāsaka returned to the monks with that message and reported the words of the venerable Khemaka (and those monks sent this further message): “As to this ’I am’, friend Khemaka, of which you speak, what do you mean by this ’I am’? Do you speak of ’I am’ as body or as distinct from the body? As feeling, or as distinct from feeling? As perception…as the “activities”…as consciousness, or as distinct from consciousness? As to this ’I am’, what do you mean by it?” (So the venerable Dāsaka went again and took the message in these words.)

“Enough, friend Dāsaka. What boots this running to and fro! Fetch my staff. I will go myself to these monks.”

So the venerable Khemaka, leaning on his staff, came to those monks. When he got there, he greeted them, and exchanging the courtesies of civil words, sat down at one side. As he thus sat, the elders thus spoke to the venerable Khemaka:

“As to this ’I am’, friend Khemaka, of which you speak, what do you mean by it? Do you speak of it as body or as distinct from body…as consciousness, or as distinct from consciousness?”

“No friends, I do not say, ’I am body or feeling, or perception, or the ’activities’ or consciousness, or as distinct from these and from consciousness.’ Though, friends, I see that I have got the idea of ’I am’ in the five khandhas of grasping, yet I do not discern that I am this ’I am’. Just as, friends, in the case of the scent of a blue lotus, or a white lotus, if one should say: ’The scent belongs to the petals or the colour or the fibres of it’, would he be rightly describing the scent?”

“Surely not, friend.”

“Then how would he be right in describing it?”

“Surely, friend, by speaking of the scent of the flower.”

“Even so, friends, I do not speak of the ’I am’ as a body, or as feeling and so forth. Nevertheless I see that in these five khandhas of grasping I have got the idea of ’I am’; yet I do not discern that I am this ’I am’. Though, friends, an ariyan disciple has put away the five lower fetters(26) , yet there remains in him a subtle remnant from among the five khandhas of grasping, a subtle remnant of the I am-conceit, of the I am-desire, of the lurking tendency to think ’I am’, still not removed from him. Later on he lives contemplating the rise and fall of the five khandhas of grasping, seeing thus: ’Such is body, such is the arising of body, such is the ceasing of it. Such is feeling…perception…the activities…such is consciousness, the arising of it and the ceasing of it’.

In this way, as he lives in the contemplation of the five khandhas of grasping, that subtle remnant of the I am-conceit, of the I am-desire, that lurking tendency to think ’I am’, which was still not removed from him -that is now removed.

Suppose, friends, there is a dirty, soiled cloth, and the owners give it to a washerman, and he rubs it smooth with salt-earth, or lye or cowdung, and rinses it in pure clean water. Now, though that cloth be clean, utterly cleansed, yet there hangs about it, still unremoved, the smell of the salt-earth or lye or cowdung. The washerman returns it to the owners, and they lay it up in a sweet-scented coffer. Thus that smell…is now utterly removed...”

Further on we read:

Now when this teaching was thus expounded the hearts of as many as sixty monks were utterly set free from the āsavas, and so was it also with the heart of the venerable Khemaka.

The arahat has eradicated all defilements and latent tendencies. He will not be reborn when his life is terminated.

How can we find out who is an ariyan? There is no way to know who is an ariyan, unless we have become enlightened ourselves. It cannot be known from someone’s outward appearance whether he is an ariyan or not. People who are very amiable and peaceful are not necessarily ariyans. However, we can take our refuge in the ariyan Sangha even if we do not personally know any ariyans. We can think of the virtues of the ariyans, no matter whether they are in this plane of existence or in other planes. The ariyans prove that there is a way to the end of defilements. We should know what the condition is for the end of defilements: the development of wisdom. The monks, nuns, men and women lay-followers who were ariyans in the Buddha’s time proved that what the Buddha taught can be realized in daily life. The Buddha did not teach abstract ideas, he taught reality. Should those who want to realize the truth not walk the same Path the ariyans walked, even if they still have a long way to go?

The ariyans understood very clearly that we cannot seek deliverance from our defilements outside ourselves. Defilements can only be eradicated where they arise: within ourselves. If we want to eradicate defilements we should follow the eightfold Path which is the “Middle Way”. In order to follow the “Middle Way” we do not have to change our daily life, we do not have to follow a particular life-style or difficult practices. We can be aware of nāma and rūpa during our daily activities. We will experience that this may be more difficult than the practices of an ascetic. It is harder to overcome the clinging to a self when we are seeing, hearing or thinking, than to endure bodily hardship. The development of wisdom is a life task. We need much courage and perseverance in order to continue to be aware of realities of daily life.

When we take our refuge in the ariyan Sangha we are expressing our confidence in the Buddha’s Path, through which we may realize what the Sangha has realized. We take our refuge in the Sangha also when we pay respect to the monks, no matter whether they are ariyans or not, because the goal of monkhood is to apply what the Buddha taught in order to realize the truth and to try to help other people as well to realize the truth. Thus the monks remind us of the “Three Gems”: the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha.