New horizons for emerging sanghas: community groups and lay women dharma teachers
In a talk given to the June 2019 Sakyadita Australia conference Anna Markey discusses how there is an emergence of many small community-based clusters of intimate dharma groups in Australia, either leaderless or led by lay teachers. And many of these teachers are women.
The community of practitioners – the sangha – is a crucial aspect of the dharmic path for secular Buddhists. But what do we mean by community? How is a community different than other forms of collective organizations? How do we create a true community of practitioners that help each other develop their practice and contribute to a ‘culture of awakening’?
Creating a Buddhist community – connections that work
Stephen Batchelor explains how ‘community is not something you join or something that you find. It’s something you create. Community is a practice of ... forging and developing connections and friendships and relationships.’
Four bonds of fellowship that help build community
Martine Batchelor discusses the four bonds of fellowship that help build community at a Gaia House talk. What are these four bonds? Generosity, kind words, beneficial help and consistency.
Winton Higgins has written extensively about democratic communities and the development of secular Buddhism. In this article Winton offers some defining characteristics of a democratic sangha.
A secular Buddhist perspective on dharmic citizenship
Winton Higgins urges secular Buddhists to be active citizens and contribute to social and political change. Given the crises facing our society, 'nowadays politics matters like never before!'
Secular Buddhism and democratic communities: sanghas r us
Winton Higgins discusses the importance of not just giving lip service to the importance of community, or sangha, but making it a central part of our practice.
In the third of three talks given at a day-long workshop in New Zealand in 2019 Winton Higgins discusses the centrality of creating communities or sanghas in the secular dharma path.
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