The “Three Treasures” of the Buddhist tradition are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Throughout the Buddhist world, Buddhists have these Three Treasures in common. To be a Buddhist means taking refuge in the Three Treasures.
What do the 3 jewels represent in Buddhism?
The Three Jewels (also called the Triratna) are the three essential supporting components of Buddhism. They guide and give refuge (safety and comfort) to Buddhists.
Buddhists take refuge in three different expressions of awakened mind: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Each of these is a precious and necessary element of the Buddhist path, and so they are called the three jewels.
This refers, first, to the historical Buddha, the original teacher. He was not a god but a human being like us, and his example shows us that we too can follow the path to enlightenment. More broadly, the Buddha principle refers to all teachers and enlightened beings who inspire and guide us.
The Buddhist Dharma starts with the fundamental truths that the Buddha himself taught—the four noble truths, the three marks of existence, the eightfold path, etc.—and includes the vast body of Buddhist teachings that have been developed in the 2,600 years since then. It’s worth noting that the Sanskrit word Dharma also means a thing or object in the conventional sense. In either case, the word denotes a basic law or truth. of reality.
Sangha: The Community
The term Sangha has traditionally referred to monastics and arhats in whom lay practitioners take refuge. This has changed in the West, where Sangha has come to mean the community of Buddhist practitioners generally, both monastic and lay. Buddhists here also use the word to describe a specific community or group, and you will often hear people talk about “my Sangha,” meaning the Buddhist community to which they belong.
Why is the Buddha Jewel important?
Since Buddha is believed to have been the first man to truly understand wisdom and the way to enlightenment, this jewel also signifies the fulfillment of enlightenment. Therefore, when a Buddhist claims to take refuge in the Buddha, he's also saying that enlightenment, in itself, is his refuge.
This is our Youtube Buddhist channels: The Tibetan Refuge Prayers to the Three Jewels
Anyone can become a Buddhist. You will need to in the Three Jewels or Triple Gem (and follow a ceremony during which you take a vow to uphold the Five Precepts (to not kill, not steal, not commit sexual misconduct, refrain from false speech and not take intoxicants that lessen your awareness).
What is the Buddhist refuge prayer?
I take refuge in the Buddha, the incomparably honoured one; I take refuge in the Dharma, honourable for its purity; I take refuge in the Sangha, honourable in its harmonious life.
What taking refuge is not
The idea of taking refuge can create some confusion initially, even misconceptions that run precisely opposite to the deeper meaning of this practice.Taking refuge does not mean handing responsibility over to some higher being. When we take refuge in the Buddha, we don’t think that Siddhartha Gautama is going to swoop in from heaven and solve all of our problems.
In fact, we are taking refuge in our own enlightened potential. This actually means accepting a much higher responsibility, since we recognize what we are capable of becoming and commit to reach nothing short of that. It is a reminder to seek our own greatest possibility. Taking refuge also does not mean that nothing that happens in your life matters, because you only care about the absolute.
On the contrary, when we understand the relationship between the ultimate reality and the conventional world, we realize that everything matters so much more.Finally, taking refuge does not mean we only care about some limited community of spiritual people, as if beings at a lower level of consciousness aren’t worth our attention.
It is actually a gesture towards recognizing a universal Sangha, the capacity of every single being to act as our greatest teacher – if we are only willing to listen to what they have to teach us.
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, . You can take refuge in the Three Jewels in a formal way as part of a ceremony, where you also commit to following the Five Lay Precepts: no killing, no stealing, no telling lies, no sensuous misconduct and no consuming intoxicants.This ritual, which must be led by a qualified teacher, is actually the way to become a Buddhist “officially.”
In your daily life, you can begin your meditations by invoking the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, feeling reverence and asking for the support of what they represent.And as you go about your life, take refuge in your higher wisdom as much as possible. Remember why you are here, what you are and what you can become.
Practicing Buddhism or meditation is for us to be serene and happy, understanding and loving. This way we work for the peace and happiness of our family and our society. If we look closely, the Three Gems are actually one. The other two gems always exist in each gem. In Buddha, there is Buddhahood, there is the Buddha body. Within, Buddha there is the Dharma body because without the Dharma body, he could not have become a Buddha. In the Buddha there is the Sangha body because he had breakfast with the Bodhi tree, with the other trees, and birds and the environment.
Without you, the Dharma cannot be practiced. It has to be practiced by someone. Without each of you, the Sangha cannot be. That is why when we say, “I take refuge in the Buddha,” we also hear, “The Buddha takes refuge in me.” “I take refuge in the Dharma. The Dharma takes refuge in me. I take refuge in the Sangha. The Sangha takes refuge in me.”
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Aspiration For Bodhichitta
For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen
May it arise and not decrease
But increase further and further.
Dedication of Merit
By this merit may we obtain omniscience then.
Having defeated the enemies wrong-doings.
May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.
With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness and death.
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