The Sangha Kommune (僧伽公社) – A Place of Spiritual and Physical Growth! (Founded 16.2.2010)

The Chinese Buddhist monastic community is referred to as a ‘Sangha’ (Sanskrit for ‘spiritual community’), whereby men and women form a voluntary association premised upon following a strict set of rules known as the ‘Vinaya Discipline’. Within this community, there is ‘equality’ between all members, with the leaders being those who have followed these rules for the longest times. This is because such people are thought to have more experience at adhering to the Vinaya Discipline (which includes celibacy and vegetarianism), and are therefore able to effectively advise all others through the difficult times they my face in their practice. As those with little experience have less to share, they are not considered leaders whilst more experienced practitioners live in the vicinity.

The Bourgeois State and Feminism

Bourgeois feminism is very different. This is the feminism of the middle class, and already socially privileged women. These women, as wives of the rich and famous, have had historically a remarkable amount of leisure time and relative freedom compared to their working class counter-parts. This apparent ‘freedom’ exists only within the framework of an unquestionable bourgeois patriarchy. It is freedom at a cost and the cost is humanity living free of oppression. Middle class women have had access to a greater array of educational facilities, be they teachers, books, or academic instruction. Middle class women fought for, and finally secured the vote because their privileged socio-economic conditions allowed them the insight to see partly beyond their own negative conditioning. Bourgeois feminism is nothing more than the exercise of political compromise as whatever concessions are granted to a middle class woman, they can not be allowed to directly challenge or alter the essential framework of the bourgeois exploitative state. Exploitation and class difference must be allowed to continue unopposed, in the old way.

An Encounter with the British Working Class

The men themselves, being the good working class thugs that they are, see themselves as superior to women and other ethnic groups, blame all the unfairness they experience in life on immigrants, fight amongst themselves, work for a pittance, vote Tory and read the Sun Newspaper. They are despicable examples of ignorance as a virus that spreads through minds and bodies soon after birth (and probably before), as historical materialism makes its presence felt. This ignorance has to stop and the working class must make every effort to raise its own consciousness. Although there are many progressive working class people, the movement is only as strong as its weakest link.

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