Developing Sangha | Alex P #23 | 2.25.22

Alex and Dhammarato discuss the unusual way in which the Dhamma spread in the West, the flaws in English-language translations of the Pali suttas, the need for a Sangha in the West, and efforts underway to provide a richer environment for teachers, prospective teachers, and students.

See the video version of this call on YouTube.

►YouTube Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py8YVyT7bMc

Find the full video chats on the Dhammarato Dhamma YouTube channel.

►YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DhammaratoDhamma

Weekly Sangha calls, everyone is welcome!

►The Sangha US - https://join.skype.com/uyYzUwJ3e3TO

►The Sangha UK - https://join.skype.com/w6nFHnra6vdh

To meet Dhamma friends or volunteer to help spread the Dhamma, join our discord.

►Discord - https://discord.gg/epphTGY

To unite the growing interest in Buddhism with the hundreds of Buddhist wats in the West, we are in the process of starting the Open Sangha Foundation. If you want to learn more or volunteer to help, join the discord link above and navigate to the "open-sangha" text channel.

We are in the process of timestamping and organizing the 1000+ Dhammarato skype calls on this channel. If you would like to help with the process, find more information here - https://bit.ly/3H1EWSA

What do the numbers in the title mean? The number by the name of the student indicates the total amount of recorded calls with Dhammarato. The date in the title indicates the date the call was recorded.

00:00 The lack of Sangha in the West

04:43 The unusual history of Pali translation; bad dictionaries

08:14 Teaching Dhamma in the West is difficult

12:10 Meditation is slow for Westerners because there’s no Sangha

16:29 Building a community of like-minded people

17:51 Wats in the United States would welcome Westerners

20:35 Abbots are open to this development

22:46 A rich opportunity for teachers and students

25:46 Helping teachers to learn from each other

30:30 Looking for volunteers; Zoom calls for teachers and prospective teachers

37:24 A clearing house for donations; making sure donors are informed and appreciated

43:41 Bad feelings about unwholesome thoughts; adrenaline

47:08 Paticcasamuppāda 

48:56 The value of volunteering