There
are three jewels in Buddhism. Meaning that there are three primary
components that form the basis of our educational process as students
of Buddhism.
What
is Buddhism? Is it a religion? No, Buddhism is not a religion, but
rather a system of education and a way of life. Originally, Buddhism
was based on the 49 years of teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni. Since
then, Buddhism has expanded to include the teachings of other great
enlightened teachers, such as Padmasambhava, Bodhidharma, and others.
Buddhism is the study of continuation. Buddhism has taken many forms,
and it has adapted to fit in within the time and culture of each location
where it has taken form.
The
main objective of Buddhism is help sentient beings to understand the
truth of the dharma. The dharma is defined as the teachings of the
Buddha.
The
highest goal in Buddhism is complete enlightenment, whoever obtains
it will be able to intuitively know and sense every aspect of the
true reality of life and the Universe. Obtaining this wisdom and ability
is the ultimate goal of all the Buddha students.
The
Buddha teaches us that the ultimate perfect wisdom is innate. The
Buddha said, "Every being possesses the same wisdom and virtuous
capabilities as Buddhas."
Why
don't we have this wisdom now? It's because of wandering thoughts
and attachments. These are the two causes of why we have lost temporarily
our original capabilities. Wandering thoughts and attachments are
not part of our basic nature. Therefore they can be discarded.
Rama
told us one time that meditating is like looking at the sky. Your
mind is the sky, but then you get all these noisy birds flying around.
The birds are your thoughts. You have to get rid of the birds. But
then, you see a beautiful bird, and you start looking at the bird.
You start playing with it, and then you get attached to the bird…
You need to get rid off all the birds, and just look at the sky and
let the sunshine in.
By
removing your wandering thoughts and attachments, you begin to restore
your Buddha nature, thus completely recovering your innate abilities.
How
do we do that? Well, it's hard to do it all by yourself. That's why
we have the three jewels in Buddhism. We need to have something that
we can rely on. In Buddhism a person takes refuge in the three jewels,
that's the first step.
Taking
refuge means to find a shelter that we can return to and rely on.
What do we return to or rely on?
In
the first step we return and rely on the Buddha. Buddha is a Sanskrit
word that means awareness and understanding. When we take refuge in
the Buddha, we are returning from our diluted state of mind and relying
upon an awakened understanding.
A
Buddha is a person who has awakened from the dream of life, and has
come to the understanding of unlimited awareness. The Buddha has loving
kindness and compassion for all sentient beings and teaches them in
order to liberate them from suffering.
In
Zen, they do not use the words, Buddha, dharma, and sangha. They don't
use them because they don't want people to have misconceptions about
the triple jewels. When you say Buddha, dharma, and sangha, people
think of a statue of the Buddha, a sutra, and a group of Buddhist
monks. However, that's a very basic understanding of the three jewels.
There is a deeper understanding.
When
we take refuge or rely on the Buddha, we are not talking about worshipping
some kind of god. The Buddha was not looking for disciples. He was
not interested in forming a religion where people would vow at his
feet. The Buddha was looking for colleagues upon the pathway to Enlightenment.
When we take refuge on the Buddha we are actually taking refuge or
relying on our own self-nature. We have to rely on our own Buddha-nature.
The Buddha Shakyamuni said, "I have shown you the methods that
lead to liberation, but you should know that liberation depends upon
you." (From Journey to Enlightenment - The Life and World
of Khyentse Rinpoche, Spiritual Teacher from Tibet).
Rama
used to tell us, "Just be yourself. Everything is within you.
You have your own Buddha-nature."
So
the first step is knowing that someone was able to reach enlightenment,
and then realizing that you have the same potential. Rama said, "I
am what you will become." We all have the potential to be enlightened.
The
second jewel is the dharma. The dharma has two aspects. One is the
teachings of the Buddha. In traditional Buddhism, the sutras are records
of the Buddhist teachings that describe the truth of the Universe.
These teachings are used as a guideline. If our thinking coincides
with them, then our comprehension is correct. The second aspect of
dharma is the Dharma of realization, which is classified into three
kinds of training: the training of discipline, the training of meditation
and the training of wisdom. We are not relying on just the teachings
of the Buddha, but we are also relying on our daily practice. The
Buddha Shakyamuni said, "You should only believe in what you
can perceive."
If
you see that your daily practice is working, then you know that your
practice is something that you can rely on.
The
third jewel is the sangha. Sometimes sangha is explained as those
practitioners who have already reached levels of liberation, very
high level Lamas or Monks. But our friends whom we work with at our
centers are also very important for our path. How can we develop without
friends on the path? To come together and practice is something very
valuable. We can work together, learn from each other, and in this
way we can train our qualities and learn something about our selves
or non-selves.
Now,
sangha also refers to harmony in living. In other words, sangha is
not just a small spiritual community, but society as a whole. Every
person you meet, you should treat as a spiritual partner who is also
on the pathway to Enlightenment. Every person in your life is your
sangha, because you can learn from every person in life. Provided
that you are in the right state of mind.
In
Tantric Buddhism there is an inner level of refuge, we call it the
secret refuge. If you are accepted by a teacher of Buddhism, he will
give you his blessing.
What does blessing mean? It is the teacher's ability to give us moments
of insight -moments where we can look through all the veils which
cover our mind and "see what cannot be seen." This is possible
only because we all have Buddha nature, and because the teacher is
channeling a lot of energy to bring us to a higher level.
The
teacher does not show us anything new, neither is he presenting us
with insight. It is rather through the coming together of our own
openness and the teacher's blessing that we can grasp the true nature
of our mind. The teacher opens the door and then we can be amazed.
Actually,
the teacher promises a lot when he takes us on as students. He promises
to guide us on the path and to use all his skills to liberate us from
suffering. Rama said, "Someday I might not be in the physical
body, but I continue to help you on the path."
You
see, the secret meaning of refuge is understanding that our teacher
is the essence of the refuge. His mind is Buddha, his speech is dharma,
and his body is sangha.
When
we receive a blessing from our teacher, his mind melts with ours.
Rama called it, "The transmission of the lamp."
Jamgön
Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye, the famous 19th century master, said, "If
the teacher's blessing comes together with the openness of the student,
you will meet your mind like an old friend" (from Cloudless
Sky.)
In
this context, we are taught to see the teacher as the Buddha. It is
easy to claim being able to perceive our teacher as the Buddha, but
it is difficult to really do it. Actually, the ability to do so is
proportional to our inner development.
If we understand that we are not separate from the Buddha, from our
teacher, this is the absolute meaning of refuge. When we see that
we have a direct connection with the Buddha, with our own Buddha nature,
with the dharma and the practice of the dharma, and with our sangha,
then we realize that we are not alone. We are all part of the One
Mind. Everything is mind. The absolute refuge is our mind itself.
As
students of Rama, it is our responsibility to keep alive the teachings
our teacher. We all took an inner refuge with him. He made us see
our own Buddha nature. He blessed us with great teachings, and he
created a great community of American Buddhist. It is up to us now
to continue his work, to make his blessing count in our lives, and
to dedicate ourselves to benefit all sentient beings. This is the
true meaning and importance of the three jewels.