The Parable of the Sacred Grove

Xia on the true meaning of sangha (TempleoftheGoddess.org)
(shinra-sanne.deviantart.com)

A solitary man journeyed about the world. When he met others on the road, he looked down, grunted a passing greeting, hunched his shoulders, and continued on his way.

In each village he passed, he saw the people gathering beneath the trees, the "Sacred Groves" they called them. They entered the wood by twos, threes, sometimes alone. They danced, sang, laughed, ate, and watched the cycles of the Moon together.

The man wondered what it would be like to walk beneath those trees. Each time he passed their wood, he wondered if the people would welcome him or turn him away.

He wondered why they met in their Sacred Groves, beneath the trees, instead of the village square. He wondered what drew them to those places. But the man never went into the woods. Having decided long ago that he needed no one, he walked alone. It was better that way. Still, he wondered. More