Download Three Jewels

Three Jewels
Buddhism: The Means
Taking Refuge
O They go to many a refuge, to mountains, forests, parks,
trees, and shrines: people threatened with danger.
O That's not the secure refuge, that's not the highest
refuge, that's not the refuge, having gone to which, you
gain release from all suffering and stress.
O But when, having gone for refuge to the Buddha,
Dhamma, and Sangha, you see with right discernment
the four Noble Truths — stress, the cause of stress, the
transcending of stress, and the Noble Eightfold Path,
the way to the stilling of stress:
O That's the secure refuge, that, the highest refuge, that is
the refuge, having gone to which, you gain release from
all suffering and stress. — Dhammapada, 188-192
The Three Jewels
O The Three Jewels are:
O Buddha,
O Dhamma
O Sangha
O Also known as Three Treasures, Three
Refuges, or the Tiratana.
O The Dhamma could not have been taught
without the Buddha, and could not have
been followed without the Sangha, so the
three are inseparable.
O
They are known as the Three Refuges, because
the Buddhist promise of devotion says:
“I take refuge in the Buddha,
I take refuge in the Dhamma,
I take refuge in the Sangha.”
Theravada Buddha
O Theravadins believe the Buddha was
superior to Arhats because the Buddha
discovered the path all by himself and
taught it to others .
O Arhats, on the other hand, attain Nibbana
due in part to the Buddha's teachings.
O Theravadins take refuge in the historical
Buddha, Siddartha Gotama, but also
recognise the existence of other such
Buddha's in the past and future.
Mahayana Buddha: Trikaya
O Trikaya = Three Bodies (of the Buddha)
1.
2.
3.
Human form: sent to teach humans, many
different bodies (Siddhartha Gotama was
one).
Eternal Buddha ie what gets embodied in
human form, eg in a ‘future Buddha’.
Ultimate reality: Buddha nature (is in all
beings, we just have to discover our
Buddha nature ).
Dhamma
O The Buddha has a special status because
he discovered the Dhamma (he wasn’t
taught about it by someone else).
O The Buddha discovered the ‘truth’ so the
Dhamma is sometimes understood as the
eternal truth of all things.
O The Buddha taught the Dhamma, so it also
means the teachings of the Buddha
including scripture.
Sangha
O World wide community of Buddhists.
O World wide monastic community.
O A specific monastic community.
Questions
What is dhamma?
4 KU
What is the sangha?
2 KU
Compare and contrast Theravada and Mahayana
understandings of the Buddha. 8AE
Which of the Three Jewels are most important to
Buddhists?
8 AE