Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammâ Sambuddhassa!

Lets Protect the Sangha
 

By Rasika Wijayaratne 

If the Lord Buddha was alive today we would go out of our way to look after Him. Why then do we hesitate to look after and be of service to the sons of the Lord Buddha, the Venerable monks of the Order of Sangha?

The service they render to the community is so very rarely appreciated, and the emphasis seems to be on how they do and do not act based on our standards of what a Venerable should and should not do. They do have short comings, but aren't they human too? Comparisons between powerful Arahants of Buddha’s day and present day Venerables are hardly fair.

I think it is important for us to see if we ourselves are being good lay people first before we start to analyse members of the Sangha. Do we keep to our five basic precepts (panca-sila) at all times? Most of those who criticise Venerables don’t protect these five basic precepts to start with, so are hardly in a position to criticise others, let alone Venerables who are required to protect more than 200 training rules every day.

If a Venerable were to only protect some of his precepts, even that would make him very powerful kammically (in terms of kamma or karma), so it is best not to criticise them thereby accruing powerful negative kamma. There is no way for us to gauge the level of goodness in a Venerable, so it is best left undone. It is not our place to deal with Venerables who maybe breaking their precepts, but rather a task that should be left to the Order of Sangha.

Parents need to be careful of not setting a bad example to their children by criticising the Sangha in the presence of their children, if at all, and children need to discourage their parents from further criticising the Sangha, rather than blindly following their example. Criticism of Venerable monks creates powerful akusala or negative kamma. Those who habitually criticise the Sangha need to consider this for the sake of their own well-being and happiness, if not anything else.

Related Youth Articles

1. Daily Dâna by Rasika Wijayaratne (on generosity)  [ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=dailydana ]

2. Five Precepts by Rasika Wijayaratne (on morality)  [ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=pansil ]

3. Metta Meditation by Rasika Wijayaratne (basic instructions on the meditation on loving-kindness)  [ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=mettamed ]