Arya sangha
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Arya sangha. (Skt. āryasaṃgha; P. ariyasaṅgha; T. ’phags pa’i dge ’dun འཕགས་པའི་དགེ་འདུན་; C. shengseng; J. shōsō; K. sŏngsŭng 聖僧) is translated as "noble sangha", "noble community", "commumity of noble ones", etc.[1] It refers to the community of noble persons (arya pudgala) -- those disciples of the Buddha who have reached the highest stages of realization.
Traditionally, all of the arya sangha are said to have reached one of the four stages of the supramundane path. Thus, there are said to be four or eight types of individuals within this community:
| Four types | Eight types |
|---|---|
| (i) stream-enterer | (1) one who has entered the path to stream-entry (2) one who abides in the fruition of stream-entry |
| (ii) once-returner | (3) one who has entered the path to once-returning (4) one who abides in fruition of once-returning |
| (iii) non-returner | (5) one who has entered the path to non-returning (6) one who abides in the fruition of non-returning |
| (iv) arahant | (7) one who has entered the path to arahantship (8) one who abides in the fruition of arahantship |
In the context of going for refuge in the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, it is the arya sangha that is the object of refuge.
See also
- Sangha
- Arya pudgala
- Four stages of the supramundane path
- Śrāvaka#The community of disciples
- Three Jewels
References
- ↑ Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. āryasaṃgha