Sangha (both our own community of practitioners and the community of all beings) is one of Zen’s Three Treasures, along with Buddha (both the historical Buddha and our own awakened nature) and Dharma (both the Buddhist teachings and each thing that exists).

Zen and other forms of Buddhism historically were monastic traditions. Only monks and nuns who “left home” were considered members of the sangha. Today in the West we are expanding the notion of sangha, pioneering modes of Zen practice appropriate to non-monastic, everyday life, with its many demands and distractions and all its seeming chaos. We—along with many contemporary monastics—recognize it is possible to be a fully dedicated Zen practitioner amid ordinary life “in the world.” We owe much to past and present monastics—and, today more than ever, we need people who take up the Zen Way (and other contemplative ways of life) without leaving home. Zen and other practices can help us develop the insight, compassion, and wisdom necessary to mend our divisions and address other pressing social and environmental challenges in ways that express and honor the reality that all beings and things together are Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Together the members of our community support one another in practice and in our everyday lives. To invert an old Zen saying, “nobody else can do it for us,” and “we cannot do it alone.” Many Zen practitioners are surprised by the depth and strength of the friendships they develop through a practice that emphasizes sitting in silence.