Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

In the Buddhist texts, the Saṃgha is often expressed in terms of samagga-saṃgha (和合僧), “a harmonious saṃgha”. This shows that the main concept of Saṃgha is ‘harmony’ and that harmony is the best ideology to pursue in Saṃgha. If so, what are the specific criteria of harmony and how should it be realized? This paper will explain the meaning of harmony, the method of the realization of harmony, and the significance of the Dhammena (如法) in the realization of harmony, based on the early Buddhist literature. Harmonization is often accepted as compromising and staying in peace. However, in the early Buddhist literature including the Vinayapiṭaka, harmony is a technical term referring to the state that bhikkhus or nuns belonging to the same sammukhībhūta-saṃgha (現前僧伽) conduct kamma (羯磨) together. Therefore, if we follow this definition, the method of realizing harmony is clear; that all the members (bhikkhus or nuns) of a sammukhībhūta-saṃgha gather together in one place and execute kamma in the way established by the Buddha. And in Saṃghabheda-khandhaka (破僧犍度), saṃghabheda (破僧) is the opposite of samagga-saṃgha, harmony should be based on the Dhamma and Vinaya. If you practice kamma in procedural or contextual contradictions to the teachings of the Buddha, it is a false kamma. The Vinayapiṭaka expresses this as a dhammena samaggakamma (如法和合羯磨). In principle, all members of the sammukhībhūta-saṃgha should be present and make decisions unanimously based on the Dhamma and Vinaya. In short, the samagga-saṃgha can be achieved by operating the Saṃgha based on the agreement of the members in the lawful way.