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The Nine Special Qualities of the SanghaBy U Jota Lankara

The Sangha (the Community of Noble Ones ) has the nine special qualities asfollows: (1) practicing the good (right) way, (2) practicing the straight way, (3)

practicing the true way to Nibbana, (4) practicing the proper way, (5) beingworthy of gifts, (6) being worthy of hospitality, (7) being worthy of offerings, (8)being worthy of reverential salutation, and (9) being an unsurpassed(incomparable) field of merit for the world.

(1) Practicing the Good (Right) Way

The Sangha (The community of the disciples) of the Blessed One has practicedthe good (right) way because it has practiced in accordance with the instructionsof the well-proclaimed Doctrine and Discipline, and because it has practiced theimmaculate way.

(2) Practicing the Straight Way

The Sangha has practiced the straight way because it has practiced the middlepath avoiding the two extremes (the constant attachment to sensual pleasuresand the constant addiction to self-mortification) and because it has practiced theway of the abandonment of faults of bodily, verbal, and mental crookedness, andtortuousness.

(3) Practicing the True Way to Nibbana

The Sangha has practiced the true way because Nibbana is what is called truth,and because it has practiced the way to Nibbana.

(4) Practicing the Proper Way

The Sangha has practiced the proper way because it has practiced the way ofthose who are worthy of proper acts.

The Four Pairs of the Noble PersonsThe Four Pairs of the Noble Persons are as follows:

The first pair of the one who stands on the First Path and the one whostands in the First Fruition, the second pair of the one who stands on the Second Path and the one

who stands in the Second Fruition, the third pair of the one who stands on the Third Path and the one who

stands in the Third Fruition, and the fourth pair of the one who stands on the Fourth Path and the one who

stands in the Fourth Fruition.

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(5) Being Worthy of Gifts

The Sangha is worthy of gifts (four requisites) which are brought even from faraway because it makes this any gift bear great benefit. Four requisites are food,clothing, medicine, and lodgings.

(6) Being Worthy of Hospitality

The Sangha is worthy of hospitality (things given to visitors like dear and belovedrelatives and friends who come from all quarters) because there is no object ofhospitality so suitable to receive hospitality as the Sangha since it is encounteredafter an interval between Buddhas and endows with the constantly endearingand lovable qualities.

(7) Being Worthy of Offerings

A gift that is given out of faith in the next world (life) is called offering. Because ofpurifying that offering by making it great fruitful, the Sangha is worthy of offerings.

(8) Being Worthy of Reverential Salutation

The Sangha is honored with both hands above the head by the whole world, thusit is worthy of reverential salutation.

(9) Being the Unsurpassed Field of Merit for the World

The Sangha is the place for growing the whole world's merit. Depending on it, theworld's various kinds of merit leading to welfare and happiness grow, thus theSangha is an unsurpassed field of merit for the world.

The Benefits of Recollecting the Special Qualities of the Sangha

As long as someone recollects the special qualities of the Sangha, his mind isinvaded neither by greed, nor by anger, nor by delusion. He has a right state ofmind being inspired by the Sangha. And when he has suppressed thehindrances, the Jhana-factors arise in a single mind-moment. But because of theprofundity of the special qualities of the Sangha, or because of his being

engrossed in recollecting special qualities of various kinds, the Jhana (he attains)is only access (the conditionof concentration just before entering any of the absortion) without reachingabsorption (the condition of concentration existing during absorption).Furthermore, when a person recollects the special qualitaies of the Sangha,he/she is respectful and deferential towards the Sangha. He/she attainsfaithfulness and has much happiness and gladness. He/she also overcomes fearand dread. He/she is able to bear pain and comes to feel as if he/she were living

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in the Sangha's presence. The body of whodwells in the recollection of the Sangha's special qualities becomes as worthy ofveneration as Uposatha house (a chapter house) where the Sangha assembles.When he/she encounters an opportunity for wrong-doing, he/she has a strongawareness of conscience and shame as if he/she were in the presence of the

Sangha. If he/she comprehends no higher, he/she will be at least born in a happystate.

(This article is based on Visuddhimagga, Vol. 1, THE PATH OF PURIFICATION,and THE PATH OF PURITY.)