Sangha Evening

  • What: Sangha evening
  • When: Wednesday, 12 June, 7.30pm-9pm
  • Where: Pa Maria, 78 Hobson St, Thorndon
  • Cost: dana

From Rob Perry and Kristen Neely:

Dear friends,

 Kristen and I have recently been discussing a mutually and deeply felt need, which may well be shared amongst others in the group, to create a stronger sense of sangha, or spiritual community and friendship, between those of us who attend courses at Original Nature. On a practical level, our idea is to hold a weekly “Sangha Evening”, the format of which is yet to be discussed amongst us all, but which would almost certainly involve a sit.
Our decision to go ahead and take it upon ourselves to seek the teachers’ permission to invite you all to help us achieve this was based on the fact that, unlike the courses, which are more than enough for the teachers to have on their plates, such regular meetings of the sangha need not necessarily be teacher-led or teacher-created.
In the Buddha’s Teaching, the Sangha, along with the Buddha and the Dharma, is described as one of the Three Jewels; one of the Three Refuges. That’s how important it is. In a well-known passage from the Buddhist scriptures, Ananda, the Buddha’s cousin, disciple and long-time personal attendant, asks the Buddha: “Lord, is it true what has been said, that good spiritual friends are half of the holy life?” The Buddha replies, “Do not say so, Ananda. Good spiritual friends are the whole of the holy life. Find refuge in the sangha community.”
This is a profound statement. To me, it means that the sangha doesn’t exist alongside the teachings, but actually underpins them, as well as providing a protective environment of ethics and loving-kindness in which the teachings can be practised. Something that I know Kristen and I are not alone in thinking is that as far as the Dharma jewel is concerned, the teachings offered at Original Nature are of a world-class standard. We feel they deserve a strong sense of sangha at their hub.
We also feel that because Original Nature doesn’t have a physical base of its own, the sense of “home base” that sangha provides is all the more necessary.
So that’s a summary of our rationale behind this idea. There is much yet to be discussed between us all as to how it could be put into practice in terms of whether to hold it weekly or just periodically between courses, which night is most suitable, and a basic format. But in the short-term, we invite you to come along to Pa Maria on the next three Wednesday evenings (12th, 19th and 26th June) at 7:30pm for what will probably be a cup of tea, a meditation and a collective chat!
One of the issues that has yet to be discussed is the rent, which is about $30 per night. In the meantime, a small contribution of dana (koha) would be much appreciated.
Kristen and I were both excited by the enthusiasm of a few people about the idea at the end of Erin’s course last Wednesday. We look forward to your presence, and to hearing your feedback and ideas.

With metta,

Rob Perry and Kristen Neely