Thich Nhat Hanh famously said, “The next Buddha will be a Sangha.” In Buddhism, sangha is one of “the three jewels,” and is translated as community. So what does it mean for the next Buddha to be a sangha? It means that we need not just our teachers or our practice, but a community around us in order to protect and nourish our practice. This is true whether our practice is political, spiritual, or both. We need each other.

Links and resources for this episode

• Article: The Next Buddha may be a Sangha
• Article: The Fertile Soil of Sangha
• Book: Emergent Strategy
• Write a letter to a political prisoner
• Free checklist: 40+ places to cultivate mindfulness

Definitions

Sangha: spiritual community.

Formerly referred to the monastics in whom practitioners could take refuge. Now it refers to the Buddhist community as a whole. It refers to not just those who are monastics, but also those who are non-monastic householders within the Buddhist community. Often refers to the individual community in which a practitioner takes refuge or does their study.

Homework

• Write a letter to a political prisoner. I’ve linked a list, with names and addresses in the show notes, and even if you are listening to this episode much later, write a letter to someone who is currently incarcerated for standing up for the planet, the animals, and social justice. You can find that list here.
  This is something really close to my heart, and I hope that you’ll take 5 minutes and a little bit of postage to reach out to someone in our movement and let them know that folks on the outside are thinking of them.

• Share this episode with someone in your community with a note about what they mean to you.

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