The Three Refuge Flashcards
What are the three refuge?
- Buddha
- Dharma
- Sangha
What is the yellow jewel?
Buddha
What is the blue jewel?
Dharma
What is the red jewel?
Sangha
How are the Three Jewels compared to a medical analogy?
The Buddha is the doctor, the dharma is the medicine and the sangha helps you take the medicine (nurse)
Why are the Buddha, dharma and sangha are known as the Three Jewels?
It’s what Buddhists hold most dear in life because they help a Buddhist to transform the mind, to free the mind from suffering (Dukkha)
What do Buddhists take refuge in?
- Take the three jewels as the refuges and chant them in pali
- The three jewels can be somewhere to be safe and grow
- Buddha: Not a God or saviour , but an extremely extraordinary human being
- Dharma: 1) External Truth 2) Teachings of the Buddha
- Sangha: Community of Buddhists; embody the Buddha’s teachings and practises
Why Buddhists ‘go for refuge’?
- Safe
- Somewhere you can grow and develop
- Seek refuge from fear and ignorance
- Expression of faith (shraddha) or making a commitment
- Protection from:
- Dangers pertaining to the present life
- Dangers pertaining to future lives
- Dangers pertaining to existence in samsara.
The Buddhist procedure for taking refuge
- Chant in pali
- Buddham saranam gacchami (I go for the Buddha for refuge), Dhammam saranam gacchami (I go to the Dharma for refuge) , Sangham saranam gacchami (I go to the sangha for refuge)
- Chanted 3 times
- This is because the orientate themselves away from worldly things like money, ambition etc
Case study 1: Dalai Lama (Tibetan Buddhist)
- A buddhist is defined as one who who seeks ultimate refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha
- Dharma, we are taking refuge in both prospect and freedom from suffering and in the path or method to gain state
- Attained total freedom from negative states of mind
Case study 2: Dr Along Tulku Rinpoche
- “Taking refuge” is a serious commitment
- The greatest sense of commitment is to learn to tame your mind
- You may be too involved in your own problems to give or feel compassion for others
- Lineage of transmission
- Actual commitment depends on yourself
Main principles of being a Buddhist are:
- Don’t harm anyone
- Pay attention to YOUR mind and ACTIONS and do NOT judge those of others
- Constantly seek to improve yourself so you can help others
Case study 3: Triratna Buddhist community (Non sectarian)
- Non sectarian (neither Theravada or Mahayana)
- Unified sangha
- It calls itself “ecumerical” rather than “eclectic” because it is founded on the premise that there is underlying unity to all schools
- Sangharakshita (founder of Triratna) emphasises that refuge is an ongoing orientation rather than a one off event
- He says ‘commitment is primary, lifestyle is secondary’
How is the Dharma described in Theravada?
- Pariyatti- body of teaching
- Patipatti- practising teaching
- Pativedha- realisation, nirvana
How is the Dharma described in Mahayana?
- Dharmakaya- truth body
- Bodhisattvas- embody and symbolise different aspects of dharma
- Buddha nature