Hello, welcome back.

My name's Ms. Pauvaday, and I'm going to be teaching you another lesson on Buddhism.

Today, we are looking at the Sangha.

So this is the community of monks and nuns.

And these are people who are really serious about coming out of this cycle of samsara.

So let's get ready to learn a bit more.

So for today's lesson, you're going to need pen, paper, and again, make sure that we're nice and switched on, nice and focused.

Go somewhere nice and quiet so that you can be nice and prepared and focused for the lesson.

So go ahead and pause, make sure that you have all those things, and then join me once you're ready.

Today, we're going to be looking at the Sangha.

We're going to be looking at why do some people decide to become monks and nuns? It seems really extreme.

So we're going to be thinking about why they do that because obviously many, many people do that across the world.

We're going to be looking at something called the Three Jewels which is a particularly important part in Buddhism related to the Sangha, and something called "Taking Refuge." To start off with, let's think about the meaning of life.

Okay, classic philosophy question, what is the meaning of life? I'm sure you've thought about it yourself.

I've got some images here to kind of help you there, but take a moment to pause, have a think, and then join me in a moment.

Okay, so you might have thought something like salvation.

So definitely for Christians, meaning of life is about leading a good life, coming out of suffering, coming out of.

To kind of escape the sin and suffering that was created by Adam and Eve, and to find a way back to a perfect place known as heaven.

And those are through the teachings of Jesus who tried to save everyone.

That's according to the Christian tradition, so you might think something like that.

From a Hindu perspective, it's going back to this original divine energy, finding your way back to that original, pure blissful state.

You might even think from a scientific perspective, actually it's just a bit of evolution, that we're just evolving into better beings.

You might even think it's actually about gaining wealth, so it could be about gaining material things.

Definitely, we have that system in our.

Capitalism.

Capitalism is about trying to gain material wealth, but also to help society progress, so you might have that idea.

You might be thinking, actually, it's just about being happy, just be happy, get the best experiences out of life.

You might be thinking, actually, there's no point at all, I don't see the point in this, this is Nihilism.

Not really Nihilism, but it's that you can't really see the point, it's just live your life.

Many people might say it's actually about procreation, having a family, and that kind of links to evolution.

And those of you who are big fans of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," one of my fave's, excellent set of books, you might say 42, which is quite funny.

If you don't know what that is, I recommend you read those books, or watch the film, it's very, very funny.

Okay, so we just need to remind ourselves of a few things here before we start.

Have a go at putting the Four Noble Truths in the correct order.

We've covered this quite a fair bit, I'm sure you're going to nail this, but go ahead and pause, write them down in the correct order.

Okay, so you've had a moment or two to have a look.

So the first noble truth is, "In life, we suffer." So that's the first one.

The second one is the cause, "The cause of suffering is desire and ignorance." The third one is, "There is a way out of suffering." And the fourth one is, "The Eightfold Path." So go again, tick your ones, make sure they're in the right position.

I'm sure you did brilliantly.

So yes, and here they are.

The first one is, "Life is suffering." That's really important that we think about this.

Buddhism sometimes, people think, "Oh, God, Buddhism's so depressing." It starts off at this idea that life is suffering and the cause is desire and ignorance, but most of Buddhism is about trying to find a way to live happy, live a good, happy life so that you don't get stuck in this cycle, even if you are in this cycle, that you're not stuck in desire and craving, and therefore you are living a contented life.

And that's what the Buddha was trying to basically communicate.

So in Buddhism, there isn't a kind of purpose in terms of life, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a purpose.

So the main purpose is to come out of this idea of suffering.

Not all life is suffering.

So you can learn to live a good life if you learn to develop compassion and you can learn to be present in the moment, so not be thinking about the past, future, just being in the moment, remembering that things are not going to last forever.

So that if you are enjoying a moment, being there, be there, not be thinking about what's happening next, be in the moment because we know it's not going to last forever.

And by doing that, you can live a very happy and contented life.

Now, monks and nuns are quite acutely aware of this.

So these are very serious people.

They are dedicated to really becoming enlightened.

They really are, "Right, okay.

That's it.

That's my goal.

That's what I want to do." So definitely, for Buddhists and nuns, they're purpose of their lives might be to reach enlightenment.

They might have decided that at some point.

So they're dedicated to becoming awakened, dedicated to have compassion for others because everyone's stuck in this cycle, all beings are stuck in this cycle according to Buddhism.

So they're dedicated to helping people be free of that.

They do something known as renunciation, so renouncing something, this is formally rejecting.

To renounce something is when you reject it.

So you might say, for example, the Buddha renounced Hinduism.

He was a Hindu, but he rejected it.

So renunciation means, in the Sangha, for monks and nuns, means formally rejecting the status quo.

And what do I mean by that? It means formally rejecting the way the society, the way of living in that society, so basically, they're trying to take themselves out of a normal way of life so that they can focus, just focus on becoming awakened.

And what they want to do.

I mean, this had happened before in Hinduism.

You've got this long history of people doing this, taking themselves out of society and just becoming very, very focused on trying to become enlightened.

And so often, they move into a monastery, and they have to kind of adhere to lots of rules in order to help them on this journey.

And that's what the Sangha is.

That's what the Sangha is.

It's a community of monks and nuns.

The Buddha, very quickly, once he realised that he was starting to get a following, he started to kind of put some rules together for the Sangha.

And it means the community.

So he started to ordain them.

So ordained meant.

being ordained means joining into this community of monks and nuns.

They're known Bhikku and women are known as Bhikkhuni.

So monks are called Bhikku, Bhikkhuni are nuns.

And the ordination ceremony requires that you shave your head and you kind of get rid of your normal clothes and you start to wear robes.

Now, there are reasons for that, I think the obvious one with hair is to kind of renounce any kind of vanity, this idea of beauty, renounce any idea of.

Because it's all linked to Anicca, Anatta, this sense of being a certain person.

And if you're serious about becoming a monk and a nun and becoming enlightened, then all of those things are only temporary, so they're not going to help you come out of enlightenment.

So this is for really serious people.

These people really decided to take this on and go, "Right, okay, I'm moving towards enlightenment." Not like most Buddhists, what we call lay Buddhist, who are just normal people living their lives, taking on the teachings of the Buddha to kind of help them just live a better life.

And we know that some of these rules were written down for monks in the Vinaya Pitaka.

So the rules are different for Buddhist monks and nuns because they're quite serious.

It's different to, as I mentioned, lay Buddhists who are just normal Buddhists.

They're not expected to do the same kind of things.

And ultimately, it's a choice.

To become a Buddhist, the Buddha believed that you can't compel anyone to do anything.

And he's not God or anything like that, so if you choose to follow the teachings of the Buddha, then that's your choice.

But if you join the Sangha, then you're making a deliberate choice to follow these rules for the purpose of enlightenment, so it's slightly different.

They have two different ways of behaving really.

Okay, so have a quick go at.

Just move my face over here.

Have a quick go at matching the key terms, Bhikkhu, Bhikkhuni, and the Sangha, and join me again when you're ready.

Okay, Bhikkhuni means a Buddhist Nun.

Sangha is a community of Buddhist Monks and Nuns.

And Bhikkhu is a Buddhist Monk.

So well done, I'm sure you nailed that.

I'm sure you did really well.

Okay, another thing you can think about is stages of life.

So in Indian traditions, particularly Hinduism, they talk about different stages of life that you are born and.

The first couple of stages are really about being a student.

Then the next stage is about becoming a carer.

And the final stage is about moving yourself towards more spiritual truth for your next life.

That's what happens in Hinduism.

In Theravada, the traditions are mostly in the southeast of Asia, so definitely places like Thailand.

Cambodia used to have the tradition as well, I think it's starting to come back as well.

In Sri Lanka, you have this.

Some countries run this tradition that children, usually between 8-12, they go and join the.

They become monks for a year or two, so that they learn how.

So they join this monastic community and they become educated in Buddhism, but not just Buddhism, but they can learn to read and write, and they learn mathematics and other things, and it just kind of helps them start.

Remember, we all go to school here, it's the law, but other countries have different rules about education, so one of the ways that people have their education is by joining a monastery.

I think it's quite popular in southeast of Asia because it helps kids, children, help discipline their minds as well, so that they're more in control.

After two years, they are allowed to stay.

So the students themselves, they are allowed to choose whether they stay on and become full members of the Sangha, or whether they go back into being a lay Buddhist, so it's completely up to them.

Now, taking refuge.

Taking Refuge.

When you think about refuge, it generally means asking for safety from persecution or danger.

Now, in Buddhism, refuge comes up quite a lot and it means kind of making a commitment, working towards the end of suffering, working towards becoming an awakened being and taking refuge in three things.

And the reason why they're taking refuge is escaping pain and suffering, effectively.

So remember, refuge means escaping persecution or pain and suffering.

For Buddhists, that escape of pain and suffering is for being in the cycle of Samsara, distortion, desire, all of those kind of things that they're trying to take refuge from.

You can see in this image, this is actually from a Bodhi tree in Sri Lanka, the Bodhi tree that was bought by Mahindra from India.

So in Sri Lanka, they claim to have a Bodhi tree.

And you can see, they've got umbrellas there, and again, it just kind of shows this idea of refuge.

And this links us to the Three Jewels.

So the Three Jewels is taking refuge in the Buddha, so the role model of the Buddha, taking refuge in the Dhamma, which is the teachings of the Buddha, taking refuge in the Sangha.

And all this means is that Buddhists, people who are quite serious.

It could be for lay Buddhists, but mostly it's for monks and nuns, it's this idea that they are going to use the Buddha as a role model, the teaching of the Dhamma, and the guidance of the Sangha, monks and nuns, to help them escape suffering.

That's effectively what it means.

Because basically, the Sangha then becomes a place that other Buddhists and Buddhist monks and nuns can go to be supported in their journey towards enlightenment.

Because it's not an easy thing, it's an extremely difficult thing to do.

So it's like the community comes together and they support each other because they all have the same goals.

Okay, let's have a quick true or false.

You can join the Sangha as young as eight years old.

True or False? That's true.

Taking refuge in Buddhism means escaping a horrible home life.

That's false.

So taking refuge means trying to escape suffering in general, so trying to understand the causes of suffering and try to escape it.

The three refuges of the Buddha, Dhamma, and the Sangha are known as The Three Diamonds.

It's false.

It's known as the Three Jewels.

So monks and nuns, they have really taken this decision to really, seriously go to find enlightenment.

They're serious about this journey and therefore, they are choosing to join the Sangha and with that comes certain rules.

Because you've got people living together, there are certain conflicts that might arise, it always happens when people come together, but they're quite serious about trying to attain enlightenment.

Most religions have rules that you abide by.

So you've got the Ten Commandments in Christianity, which are the classic ones, but those have been sent down by God.

What the Buddha realised is as the Sangha was growing, that he had to put these rules down in order to make sure that the teachings were preserved, but that also the monks and nuns were able to be protected on their journey towards enlightenment.

So these are not really commandments, these are rules in really how to live with each other and how to stay on the path towards enlightenment and avoid vices and things like that.

So you can see they're not really as rules, but kind of guidance and virtues, but that doesn't mean that you can't follow them, that you can pick and choose which ones that you follow.

There are consequences, but it's mostly on your own karma and what happens in the Sangha.

And remember there's no god that's going to punish you.

So joining the Sangha means this real dedication towards compassion and the cessation of suffering.

And the precepts in this way are seen as rule that must be kept to keep people on that path, but also to keep each other on that path as well.

So compassion has to start with you, but also, your fellow members of the Sangha as well.

And here are the Five Precepts.

They do change according to different types of monastic orders, different types of Buddhism, but these are the kind of typical ones that you'll find.

Adhere to no lying, so no lying.

And this you can link.

You can start to think about how you can link this to the Eightfold Path.

Adhere to no sexual misconduct, so Buddhist monks and nuns, they choose to no longer have sexual relationships anymore because that can lead to desire and confusion and all that kind of stuff.

And whilst that's not a bad thing in Buddhism, of course it's not a bad thing, for Buddhist monks and nuns, they really want to achieve enlightenment, so that's something that they decide, "Okay, I just don't need that distraction.

It's going to distract me, so I'm just going to continue." Adhere to no killing, so this brings us back to the idea of ahismsa, non-violence.

No use of any kind of intoxicating substances, so you've got this idea in.

So no alcohol and no drugs or anything like that.

It's interesting it's there because in Hinduism and in India at the time there has always been this history of kind of using different natural things, usually like marijuana and things like that, to help create this altered state of mind.

That happened, historically.

Obviously, it's very, very dangerous, so people just don't do that kind of thing anymore because it is dangerous, but it has existed.

And at the time of the Buddha, it was still going on, and it still happens in some forms of Hinduism in India, but he was definitely like, "No.

Don't do that because it's not good for you," basically, it's going to damage you.

And it can be addictive, so you end up.

and you kind of undo all the good work that you're trying to do.

So that's where that idea comes from.

And adherence to no stealing as well.

Living in a small community, there has to be this idea of respect for each other.

So have a quick pause.

Have a think.

Think about the Eightfold path, how might you link the five precepts that we've seen to the Eightfold path? Okay, so if you think about right speech, so how you speak.

No lying means you need to be careful about what you say.

So having the right view, if you think about stealing.

That could even be being in people's spaces, so making sure people have got space, to have space to meditate.

Right livelihood can be linked to.

Sorry, right effort, making sure that you're not hurting anything as well.

And right contact is knowing how to behave in a small environment, making sure that you are behaving in the right way, particularly with things like sexual misconduct, that kind of thing.

Really, you can start to link those Five Precepts completely to the Eightfold path.

They're a bit stricter, the rules, but they are for a reason.

And remember monks and nuns have chosen this, they've chosen to do this because they're serious about achieving enlightenment.

Right, so I've been telling you about monks and nuns and I think it's important that you actually hear from a monk himself.

It's not uncommon to see monks and nuns in the UK, so it's quite interesting to see what they've got to say.

So you're task for today is to go ahead, at the end, and open the worksheet and watch the video on the Buddhist monk.

And what I'd like you to do is I'd like you to write a diary entry, "A day in the life of a Buddhist Monk or Nun." So you can do some extra research if you want.

Write down what their day is like.

So think about the kind of routine that they have, during each part of the day, what is happening, and why is it happening in that way? Why are they doing that? Why did they join the Sangha? And I want you to use these ideas to help your imagination on what it would be like to live in a monastery.

And then, you can write down your day in the life of a Buddhist monk and nun.

And if you can, get permission, please, but do share it with us because we would love to see it.

Well done, really well done.

So I hope you enjoyed that lesson.

I'm sure you nailed all the tasks and the tasks are looking great.

Do share them with us if you can.

The usual thing, two things, go ahead, do the summary quiz, make sure that you are.

'cause there was some terminology in this lesson, so go ahead and see if you can recall some of that information.

And again, go out and tell people.

Go and tell people what you've learned.

It's very good to help you remember and also makes you very interesting as well.

And I'll see you again next time.

Bye.