The Jewel of Sangha
by Reishin Denise Leong
At Ryoan-ji Temple in Kyoto there is a famous Zen garden with fifteen rocks. Wherever a person stands in the garden, one of the fifteen rocks cannot be seen – a reminder that there is something unknowable, beyond what we can perceive. But always present.
I have just returned from sesshin at our root monastery Dai Bosatsu Zendo, filled and fulfilled once again. It was a bumpy start for me in many ways, but as time went on, it all settled into a beautiful container – the monastery by the lake in a mountain forest amphitheater. On top of the world we were … sharing zazen, kinhin, meals, sleep (or lack of it!), and tick spray. Being with the bears, the woods, the birds, and each other until there was no boundary. One.
Thich Nhat Hanh once suggested that the next Buddha may not be a single person but rather a sangha – a community of kindred spirits practicing compassion and loving-kindness together. At DBZ, we shared a practice of deep listening in the silence, mindful presence, and bearing witness to all that arose. We were spiritual pillars for each other through the joys and sorrows, tears and laughter. We left as spiritual friends (kalyana mitra), wiser for the time alone together.
The experience of sangha in a sesshin is truly beyond words. There is a mystery and magic in the immersive silence that connects our hearts and minds. Although not “seen,” sangha is always present, eternally interconnected. Every sesshin I re-awaken to the jewel and beauty of sangha and am grateful.
For the heart-felt company we keep, here is a song for sangha:
We Shall Be Known
by Mamuse
