The Importance of Supporting the Sangha : หน้า 192/207
The Warm Hearted Family : หน้า 192/207 Understanding the role of monks in Buddhism and the importance of supporting the Sangha community despite negative perceptions.
The text emphasizes the importance of supporting the Sangha community and not generalizing negative perceptions from a few individuals. It highlights a situation where a layperson questioned the respect due to monks based on negative news, which could jeopardize faith in the Sangha. The respected senior monk's response is crucial for maintaining reverence for the spiritual community, reflecting the Buddha's teachings to analyze before forming beliefs. Ultimately, Buddhists must strive to support the Dhamma fully and avoid spreading negativity.
หัวข้อประเด็น
-Role of monks in Buddhism -Importance of community support -Analyzing perceptions in faith -Respecting the Sangha -Buddhism teachings on belief
ข้อความต้นฉบับในหน้า
be summed up in the following proverb: One rotten apple spoils
the whole barrel. If people think this way, they can harm
Buddhism unknowingly. This is certainly not the nature of a
Buddhist. Buddhists must consider all aspects, just as the
Lord Buddha once said: “Do not believe something without
first analyzing all aspects of it.”
3) One who succeeds in Dhamma must not find fault
in monks, but must help to support the spread of Dhamma
to the fullest extent.
On this point, I would like to share an example given by
a respected senior monk during a lecture he gave to a group of
college students.
There was a layperson who read a great deal of negative
news about monks, over-generalizing that they all were
troublesome. As a result, he raised this concern when he met
the respected senior monk:
He said, “Nowadays, monks do not behave well and
do not deserve my reverence. So, I wish to pay respect to
only the Lord Buddha and the Dhamma. My question is,
“Can I not pay respect to the Sangha?” His question was
sensitive, difficult to answer, and had a potentially broad impact
on the Sangha community. If the respected senior monk could
not give him the right answer, it was possible that the entire
class he was lecturing could lose their faith in the entire Sangha
community.
The Warm Hearted Family 382 Solving Buddhism’s Crisis
The Warm Hearted Family 383 Solving Buddhism’s Crisis