Extending Our View of Sangha

We are human beings walking a path of liberation, and the value of community is linked to our fundamental humanity. As Suzuki Roshi said, "Buddhanature is just another name for our human nature." As human beings, we are strongly affected by those around us: we share in their joys and sorrows, and we look at what is happening in our immediate environment and feel discouraged or inspired. Nowadays, evolutionary scientists tell us we are "hardwired" as social beings; it is human nature to be influenced by our association with family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, the communities we work and live in. The English word "influenza" comes from the same root, and the view here is that awakening is positively contagious: we catch each other's wisdom and compassion, because wakeful examples resonate so strongly with our own innate nature.