(triple jewel) symbol or
Madhya Pradesh,
Shunga Period,
Cleveland Museum of Art and his followers, holding begging bowls, receive offerings. In the
Pāli Canon, the
Buddhist monk is given a significant role in promoting and upholding faith among
laypeople. Since the period of
Early Buddhism,
devotees expressed their faith through the act of taking refuge, which is threefold. These are the three supports or jewels in which a Sutrayana Buddhist takes refuge: • The
Buddha, the fully enlightened one (i.e. the figure of
Sakyamuni Buddha) • The
Dharma, the Buddhist teachings expounded by the Buddha • The
Sangha, the
monastic order of Buddhism that practices and preserves the Dharma. In this, it centres on the authority of a Buddha as a supremely awakened being, by assenting to a role for a Buddha as a teacher of both humans and
devās (heavenly beings). This often includes other Buddhas from the past, and Buddhas who have not yet arisen. Secondly, the taking of refuge honours the truth and efficacy of the Buddha's
spiritual doctrine, which includes the characteristics of
phenomenon () such as their
impermanence (), and the
Noble Eightfold Path to liberation. The taking of refuge ends with the acceptance of worthiness of the
community of spiritually developed followers (the saṅgha), which is mostly defined as the monastic community, but may also include lay people and even
devās provided they are
nearly or completely enlightened. Early Buddhism did not include
bodhisattvas in the Three Refuges, because they were considered to still be on the path to enlightenment. Early texts describe the saṅgha as a "
field of merit", because early Buddhists regard
offerings to them as particularly karmically fruitful. Lay devotees support and revere the saṅgha, of which they believe it will render them merit and bring them closer to enlightenment. At the same time, the Buddhist monk is given a significant role in promoting and upholding faith among laypeople. Although many examples in the canon are mentioned of well-behaved monks, there are also cases of monks misbehaving. In such cases, the texts describe that the Buddha responds with great sensitivity to the perceptions of the lay community. When the Buddha sets out new rules in the
monastic code to deal with the wrongdoings of his monastics, he usually states that such behavior should be curbed, because it would not "persuade non-believers" and "believers will turn away". He expects monks, nuns and novices not only to lead the spiritual life for their own benefit, but also to uphold the faith of the people. On the other hand, they are not to take the task of inspiring faith to the extent of hypocrisy or inappropriateness, for example, by taking on other professions apart from being a monastic, or by courting favours by giving items to the laypeople.
Faith in the three jewels is an important teaching element in both
Theravada and
Mahayana traditions. In contrast to perceived Western notions of faith, faith in Buddhism arises from accumulated experience and
reasoning. In the
Kalama Sutra, the Buddha explicitly argues against simply following
authority or
tradition, particularly those of religions contemporary to the Buddha's time. There remains value for a degree of trusting confidence and belief in Buddhism, primarily in the spiritual attainment and salvation or
enlightenment. Faith in Buddhism centres on belief in the Three Jewels.
In Mahayana Buddhism In
Mahayana Buddhism, the three jewels are understood in a different sense than in
Sravakayana or non-Mahayana forms of Buddhism. For example, the Buddha is usually explained through the Mahayana doctrine of the three bodies (
trikaya). According to the Mahayana treatise titled
Ratnagotravibhāga (
Analysis of the Jeweled Lineage), the true meaning of the triple gem is as follows: • The
Buddha is without beginning, middle and end. The Buddha is peace. The Buddha is uncompounded (
asamskrta), and spontaneous (
anabhoga)
Dharmakaya. The Buddha is self-enlightened and self arisen wisdom (
jñana), compassion and power for the benefit of others. • The
Dharma is described as the reality which is
cessation. This is described as neither existence nor non-existence. It is non-conceptual reality as well as the reality of the path which consists of luminous and stainless
jñana that removes all defilement. It is also equated with the
dharmakaya. • The
Sangha refers to those beings who realize the true
luminous nature of the mind and the "full extent of what is" (
yavad bhavikataya) as well as the supreme qualities that make them a refuge. According to the Tibetan Buddhist master
Longchenpa: According to the Mahayana approach, the
buddha is the totality of the
three kayas; the dharma encompasses scriptural transmission (contained in the
sutras and tantras) and the realization of one’s self-knowing timeless awareness (including the views, states of meditative absorption, and so forth associated with stages such as those of development and completion); and the sangha is made up of
bodhisattvas,
masters of awareness, and other spiritually advanced beings (other than buddhas) whose nature is such that they are on the paths of learning and no more learning. Thus, for Mahayana Buddhism, the Buddha jewel includes innumerable Buddhas (like
Amitabha,
Vajradhara and
Vairocana), not just Sakyamuni Buddha. Likewise, the Dharma jewel includes the
Mahayana sutras and (for certain sects of Mahayana) may also include the
Buddhist tantras, not just the
Tripitaka. Finally, the Sangha jewel includes numerous beings that are not part of the monastic sangha proper, including high level bodhisattvas like
Avalokiteshvara,
Vajrapani,
Manjushri and so on. delivering his first sermon in the deer park at
Sarnath,
Varanasi with his right hand turning the Dharmachakra, resting on the
Triratna symbol flanked on either side by a deer. Statue on display at the
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in
Mumbai.
Ultimate and partial refuges According to the
Śrīmālā Sūtra, the Dharma and Sangha are "partial refuges," while the Buddha, possessed of limitless compassion and not being bound by time, is the supreme and ultimate refuge. The Dharma and Sangha are limited refuges in relation to the Buddha because the Dharma attains the
Dharmakāya while the Sangha, being afraid, looks to the
Tathāgata for refuge. Therefore, to go for refuge in the Dharma and Sangha is ultimately to go for refuge in the Tathāgata, who is thus the supreme truth of the three jewels. Furthermore, the Dharma and Sangha are not separate from the Tathāgata who is identical to the three refuges "because of the path of the One Vehicle" (
Ekayāna). Additionally, according to the
Śrīmālā Sūtra, of the
Four Noble Truths, the noble truth of the extinction of suffering is the one refuge, as it is permanent and separate from the conditioned. It is therefore not false or deceptive in nature. Conversely, the other three noble truths are impermanent, conditioned, and are thus false and deceptive in nature. According to the
Ratnagotravibhāga, the Buddha alone is considered to be a true and permanent refuge. This is because the Dharma (as doctrine) is like a boat that is ultimately abandoned. Also, the Dharma (as realization) is made up of the truth of the path and the truth of cessation, but the former is artificial and impermanent while the latter is, according to
śrāvakas, a mere absence of defilement and suffering. An absence, or nonexistence, can be neither a refuge nor non-refuge. As for the Sangha, it is possessed of fear and has many things still to be done, having not yet attained perfect enlightenment. Being with fear, the Sangha goes for refuge in the Buddha. However, that which goes for refuge in others cannot be a refuge by itself. Therefore, the
Ratnagotravibhāga considers the Dharma and Sangha to be temporary refuges, while the Buddha jewel is an eternal and lasting refuge. This is because the Buddha jewel possesses the Dharmakāya and neither arises nor disappears. In
Chan Buddhism, it is taught in the
Platform Sūtra that, rather than take refuge in external buddhas, one should take refuge in the buddha within oneself. In the
Platform Sūtra,
Huineng urges his listeners to take refuge in the three jewels of their own essential nature. According to this explanation, "Buddha" refers to awareness, "Dharma" refers to truth, and "Sangha" to purity. The
Platform Sūtra says:Learned Audience, each of you should consider and examine this point for yourself, and let not your energy be misapplied. The sūtra distinctly says that we should take refuge in the Buddha within ourselves; it does not suggest that we should take refuge in other buddhas. [Moreover], if we do not take refuge in the buddha within ourselves, there is no other place for us to retreat.
Three Jewels in one substance Mahāyāna sources may speak of the three refuges according to
non-dual interpretations which do not regard them as three separate entities. For example, in the
Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, one reads:Good man, now you should not distinguish among the Three Jewels as
śrāvakas and ordinary people do. In the Mahāyāna, there is nothing that marks the three refuges as separate. Why do I say this? Because the dharma and the sangha exist within the
buddha-nature itself. It was in order to ferry śrāvakas and ordinary people to the other shore that I separately expounded different marks for each of the three refuges. The
Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra also emphasizes that since the Buddha "is permanently abiding and immutable," the Dharma and the Sangha are also permanent. Thus, the sutra affirms that "the Three Jewels all abide permanently." In
Chan materials one also finds definitions according to which the three jewels are inseparable in and as mind, or heart (
xin), such as when the second patriarch
Huike explains, "This Heart is Buddha, this Heart is Dharma; Dharma and Buddha are not two. The jewel of the Sangha is like this too." Likewise, the
Tsung Ching Record of
Dazhu Huihai states:Mind is the Buddha and it is needless to use this Buddha to seek the Buddha. Mind is the Dharma and it is needless to use this Dharma to seek the Dharma. Buddha and Dharma are not separate entities and their togetherness forms the Sangha. Such is the meaning of Three Jewels in One Substance.
Refuge in Vajrayana In
Tibetan Buddhism there are three refuge formulations, the
Outer,
Inner, and
Secret forms of the Three Jewels. The 'Outer' form is the 'Triple Gem', (Sanskrit:
triratna), the 'Inner' is the Three Roots and the 'Secret' form is the 'Three Bodies' or
trikaya of a
Buddha. These alternative refuge formulations are employed by those undertaking
deity yoga and other
tantric practices within the Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana tradition. == Recitation in Pali ==