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Originally Posted by Joe Mc
TSangha going all the way up to the whole human race in general. Any thoughts on this one ?
Also I was going to ask was your waryness around Sangha to do with power dynamics etc. etc. ?
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I think context is important, so sangha can be different things in different contexts, but with the retreat thing there's teachers and the volunteers who make the food etc, so you rely on the sangha to support your own retreat.
It's about trust so it can't be 'all the people'. It's really reserved to the the teachers and/or the group of people you trust to mutually support each other along the spiritual path. Practice together and or belong to the same spiritual organisation - etc.
When you become a volunteer you become part of a peer group which is the sangha that people on retreat 'take refuge' in. We have codes of behaviour, daily meetings with teachers along with group metta meditations to make sure we stay more aligned with wholesome mind-states like compassion, forgiveness, understanding etc. - and don't get carried away with ill-will, animosity, gossip and so forth.
When it comes to sangha, people have to earn trust. Many schools out there are involved with corruption and degeneracy, and the monks and trustees are generally untrustworthy. They ask you to 'take refuge', but it's not a safe place to undergo purification.
An organisation has to be structured on a proper moral framework, have codes of behaviour based on moral foundations; and practices like group metta and continuous mindfulness are essential for the working staff. The staff have to work in dana, generosity, selfless service, to give and expect nothing in return. They are practicing, like, karma yoga, same as dana or generosity, so it's improper to pay or even thank them for all that they do. It's improper to charge anyone for retreat, but people who found value in the practice may give a donation if they want to help finance
someone else's stay.
Once you pay for what you get, and get paid for what you give, it's going the wrong way from the start. That's how rare a really proper school is.
I know people aren't going to like it because we imagine spirituality as free and easy with petals, colours, smiles and hugs etc, but bringing about and establishing the right conditions for refuge is very important, and it's not simple.