Religious motivation and the relationship between the early Sam ≥gha and the laity

The aim of this chapter is to show how the relationship between the Sam ≥gha and the laity originated and were maintained in early Buddhism. I believe that in order to understand the religious motivation that made people join the early Sam ≥gha we need to look at the social processes that formed the relationship between Sam ≥gha and laity. My main source is the Vinaya Pit>aka of the Pa ¤li canon. In the previous chapter I argued that the historical value of the Khandhaka section of the Vinaya Pit >aka may be far greater than previously assumed, and this text is a rich source of information about the growth of the early community of monks and its relationship to the outside world.