Buddha, Dharma, Sanga

I have noticed in my study of Martial Arts that there are 3 aspects.

Buddha – The Teacher. This is the thing that sets the tone and energetics of the transmission.

Dharma – The Teachings. This is the body of information, the canon, techniques and forms historical to the art.

Sanga – The group. This is the group of students that study together, classmates and training partners.

It is this 3rd part I’ve been thinking about lately. The group is bound together and they progress as a group. The different ways that this happens is quite complex. Also sometimes it is the insulation of the teacher from this group process that can hinder the teacher’s progress. Although this is a solitary journey, no one gets there alone. It seems in the end we will not keep getting better in Martial Arts unless we become better individuals, work on our core issues that we hold in our minds and our bodies because these are the quirks that come out under duress and we must separate the quirks that make us driven and interested and those that are impediments to naturalness and relaxed behavior. This happens in class and out of class. The more consciously you can engage this process the more substantial the progress is reflected back into the group collective. This is the classic Star Trek dichotomy. The Borg Collective hive mind versus the Federation’s Individualism. That is the age we live in, the age of synthesis, renewal and integration.

The Boddhisatva works for his own enlightenment because his own achievement helps all mankind or at least his own band of fellow travelers.