The word Sangha gets bandied about like nobodies business these days.. and nobody seems to care either.. talk about cultural appropriation! In my opinion westerners who are not ordained and are not true aupasikas have no right to use this word, but alas they do, in droves. I think in this context it means Maha-Sangha .. that is 8 pairs or individuals 4 types of special people:
Supatipanno Bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho. Ujupatipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho. Ñāyapatipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho. Sāmīcipatipanno bhagavato sā- vakasaṅgho. Yadidaṁ cattāri purisayugāni aṭṭha purisapuggalā esa bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho. Āhuneyyo. Pāhuneyyo. Dakkhineyyo. Anjalikaranīyo. Anuttaraṁ puññakkhettaṁ lokassā’ti.
Of pure conduct is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. Of upright conduct is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. Of wise conduct is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. Of generous conduct is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. Those four pairs of persons, the eight kinds of individuals, that is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. They are worthy of offerings. They are worthy of hospitality. They are worthy of gifts. They are worthy of reverential salutations. The incomparable field of merit for the world.
That is where to start in my opinion. find the true Sangha. there are millions of Buddhist Monks, especially in Asia. I have heard though unfortunately there are only a few thousand perhaps, a handful, practising the true way now. That sadly is the times we are living in. The end of days.. But that is where to start in my opinion. Good luck finding them.
_/!\_
rosemary-steve.org
https://www.integrateddaniel.info/
https://www.ecstaticintegration.org/p/daniel-ingram-on-emerg...
If you take everything as a task to be done and life as goals to achieve, then that might be a good book
Otherwise Reddit’s /r/meditation, /r/streamentry or just the Calm app might be better starting points
Love Alan Watts lectures, the way he explains things they just seem to make sense. He’s very good at translating the meaning of eastern philosophies into western concepts