Do You Need a Sangha? | Sitting with a Community Vs. Sitting Alone...

There are 3 Jewels in Buddhism, the Buddha (teacher), Dharma (teachings), and the Sangha (community). But...which one of these is not like the other??

It sometimes seems like we can just plain do without sangha. After all, do we really need a bunch of knuckleheads in order to sit on a cushion and quiet down inside??

In this video I explore and unpack some of the gifts of practicing with a group.

For one thing, if you have a community to sit with it helps to get you up off your couch and into the meditation hall, whereas when sitting on your own it can be harder to self-motivate.

There's also what I call osmosis insights. When you sit with others you wind up learning things that you didn't even know you knew! Human beings are group animals, and when a bunch of people get together to sit Zazen, supporting each other, sharing in rituals, and trading insights, it can be like the wind in the sails of your Zen practice, whereas when you're on your own...it can feel like it's just you, alone, with your paddle.

However...sometimes our "karma" does not line up such that we have a community. It's sort of like how sometimes in life you're single. And what's the worst thing to do when you're single? Get really desperate for a partner! So, too, in my experience there's a lot you can get out of being a solo practitioner, or what I call a Spiritual Free Agent. Because in the end, even if you have a group to sit with, you will ultimately be alone on your little cushion. And that's where the practice starts and finishes -- you alone on your cushion with your own mind.

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