Manchester Buddhist Centre

Sangha, a net­work of friendships

Sangha means spir­itual com­munity, so the MBC Sangha includes any­one who prac­tises with the Friends of the West­ern Buddhist Order and comes to the Centre from time to time

It is essen­tially a net­work of friend­ship in which we try to com­mu­nic­ate and share our efforts to become more than we cur­rently are. A sur­pris­ing level of trust can build up because we know that other mem­bers of the Sangha are at least try­ing to be eth­ical, to be aware of them­selves and oth­ers, to express metta, or loving-kindness.

Our Sangha isn’t per­fect — it is only when all indi­vidu­als have achieved a pro­found level of wis­dom, and thus free­dom from ego, that the Sangha finds its ulti­mate poten­tial. But even so, this side of Enlight­en­ment it’s pretty good! The Sangha is the real heart of the Buddhist centre — without it, it is simply a build­ing.