In all of the dharma talks I've listened to and the books I've read a community or Sangha is really important to your practice. So, what is a girl to do when there is no Sangha? I've adapted the best I can and kind of found my own online community of like minded people. Though, in real life, when I meet someone who is Buddhist I tend to not know what to do. I get excited and want to extend the branch of camaraderie, but I am so bad at talking to new people. It goes something like this.
"Oh, hi! I like your beads."
"My what? My belt?"
"No, your beads."
"My shirt?"
"No," reach out and touch the mala, "Your beads!"
^ That actually happened to me. It probably happened due to my mumbling. People just aren't my forte. So this leads to my next question, is an online community enough to fill in the spaces a Sangha should be filling? It's really the best I can do at this point. I'd love to have a meditation group of like minded peers, but I'm new to this joint. In my town you tell someone you're Buddhist and they ask if you worship the devil (yes, that really happened to me, too.)
So, what are your thoughts? Is an online Sangha still a Sangha?
No comments:
Post a Comment