Excerpt "The fellowship is our training ground in our practice.  It is where we come as we are and that means there is lots of opportunities to practice the virtues of patience, humility, compassion, deep listening, letting go of views and expectations  The practice of sangha can be very difficult because your come as you are is really screwing with my come as I am are right now.   The spirit of come as you are or sonomama in Japanese keeps us steadfast and open.  Over the years you have heard me compare the Sangha to a Rock Polisher, it is one of my favorite analogies.  The practice of Sangha is like an old rock polisher where all our sharp edges are crashed against one another until we both become smooth and shiny.  Come as you are opens our practice up to all within the sangha within the fellowship family, accepting each other as we are means we are taking responsibility for our own shit." Christopher Kakuyo Sensei