Exploring the meaning behind ‘Buddha, Dharma and Sangha’
By Lewis Gwilt
When we explore Buddhism on any level, the concept of the three jewels is fundamental. They are integral part of understanding and living the teachings. But what are the three jewels, why are they so important and how are they relevant to our lives? Here we explore the introductory meanings of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha – The Three Jewels
Sangha
The meaning of ‘Sangha’ has three layers. The first is the most common, the collective community of both lay and monastic practitioners. The second refers to the more traditional understanding of the community of Buddhist monks and nuns.
The last is the Aryasangha, ranging from practitioners who have attained a degree of enlightenment and begun to sever the fetters of suffering, all the way to the complete perfection of wisdom. The sangha gets its name from the title given to those with such insight, Arya, meaning “noble one”.
Dharma
The Dharma is the Buddha’s teachings, the truth of things, sometimes known as Buddhadharma. It is truth and virtue, encompassing the right way of thinking and living, remaining unafflicted by suffering. For their ability to purify our minds, the Buddha likened his teachings to a raft which helps us ‘reach the shore’ – of liberation from suffering.
Buddha
The jewel of the Buddha covers the events of his life and the example he led as the embodiment of a realised being of our time and the teacher of the Dharma. However, the term it is not limited to the Buddha, Guru Shakyamuni, himself. It extends to all enlightened beings spreading the Dharma and working for the benefit of all sentient beings; pointing to towards all enlightened beings and their infinite compassion to free us from suffering.
The three jewels are the Buddha, his teachings, and the community aspiring to practise and realise the teachings. Buddha’s teachings are concerned with the nature of suffering – what it is, its cause and its cessation.
There was nothing more important to the Buddha than finding the cause of our suffering, the unsatisfactory nature of life, and stopping it at its root. It is for this reason that the three jewels are so fundamental. They are the spirit of Buddhism and together contain all aspects which define our experience as practitioners.
Whether just starting out or are practitioners of many years, we universally seek refuge in the three jewels; a safe direction. We set the intention to devote our lives to the betterment of ourselves and our community by following the Buddha’s teachings embodied by all enlightened beings.
Saying that we take refuge in the three jewels represents much more than just a phrase. We are aspiring to realise our own Buddha-nature which we all have the potential to know for ourselves, freeing us from suffering. By taking refuge in the three jewels, we become part of them.
