already seen that going for Refuge to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha is the central and definitive act of the Buddhist life. What makes you a Buddhist is that you actively practise the Dharma in harmony with others as disciples of the Buddha. A Buddhist is one who effectually treads the Path and is thereby making progress towards Buddhahood. This can be done whether or not one is wearing a robe, as is evidenced by the many lay disciples in the Buddha’s own time who achieved transcendental attainment. Indeed, many who wear a robe make no effective effort on the Path at all – and many progress spiritually who have never worn a robe. The Arya or Bodhisattva Sangha apart, the Sangha that is most significant consists of all those who are putting their going for Refuge to the Three Jewels into effect, regardless of whether they are monastic or lay. A sincerely committed monk has far more in common with a sincerely committed laywoman than he does with his monastic brothers who are merely wearing the robe for the sake of the security and status it confers. A renewed Sangha needs to come together on the basis of commitment, not lifestyle. SANGHA UNITED ON THE BASIS OF COMMITMENT
Commitment is the fundamental criterion for entry into the Sangha, not any other consideration, such as lifestyle, gender, nationality, education, race, or social class or caste. In the first place, this means that there can be no hierarchical distinction between monastics and lay people. All are equal members of a single Sangha, so long as they are genuinely and effectively committed to the Three Jewels, in the sense of systematically applying themselves to the practice of the Dharma. ‘Sangha’ does not merely mean the monastic Sangha – most commonly the Bhikshu Sangha, thereby excluding the nuns – but the
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