Quiz Time - The Three Jewels

buddhafoot

I believe this has been covered before - but I thought I would post it again in keeping with my little Quiz Times I've been putting up.

What are the Three Jewels?

What are their significance?

What are we supposed to do with them?

Do they go with these earrings?

Everyone can post their answers on Monday!

-bf

YogaMama

Do we have to wait until Monday? I actually know this one!

federica

Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!Me too!!

buddhafoot

YogaMama wrote:

Do we have to wait until Monday? I actually know this one!

Well, since it is YOU and you know how special you are... I guess I'll have to cave on this one and say, "No."

-bf

not1not2

Okay, nobody look at my sig.






ha ha, made you look

_/\_
metta

federica

(I obviously have my hand higher, and am more insistent..at this point, the teacher would pick me, on account of the fact that they'd do anything for the quiet life....)

The three jewels - also referrred to as The Triple gem....

I go for refuge in the Buddha
I go for refuge in the Dharma
I go for refuge in the sangha

A person wishing to follow, or to devote themselves to the Buddhist path, would earnestly recite these three once, twice and a third time, to indicate their sincere intention and devotion.

I will now graciously take a breath, and permit someone else a chance to add something.




Big of me.



Isn't it?

not1not2

federica wrote:

(I obviously have my hand higher, and am more insistent..at this point, the teacher would pick me, on account of the fact that they'd do anything for the quiet life....)

The three jewels - also referrred to as The Triple gem....

I go for refuge in the Buddha
I go for refuge in the Dharma
I go for refuge in the sangha

A person wishing to follow, or to devote themselves to the Buddhist path, would earnestly recite these three once, twice and a third time, to indicate their sincere intention and devotion.

I will now graciously take a breath, and permit someone else a chance to add something.




Big of me.



Isn't it?

Hey it's not monday yet!

Cheater! :P

_/\_

YogaMama

Cheater!!!

YogaMama

buddhafoot wrote:

Well, since it is YOU and you know how special you are... I guess I'll have to cave on this one and say, "No."

-bf

Do you have PMS or something?

federica

If men had PMS....Who'd notice....?

YogaMama

LOL!! Good one, Federica!

buddhafoot

Basil Fawlty would.

You never hear stories about men with flames shooting out their eyes and who can toast bread with their scathing tongue at 50 paces.

I wish men did have PMS - it would serve you women right.

-bf

buddhafoot

So, since I was gone yesterday, which happened to be the MONDAY I was talking about...

I can assume this thread is dead?

-bf

not1not2

They go to many a refuge,
to mountains, forests,
parks, trees, and shrines:
people threatened with danger.
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.

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:
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


Here's some links I found:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel282.html

http://buddhism.about.com/library/weekly/aa080102a.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Jewels

http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/refuge.html

From the first link:

Going for Refuge & Taking the Precepts
by
Bhikkhu Bodhi

...

Going for Refuge

The Buddha's teaching can be thought of as a kind of building with its own distinct foundation, stories, stairs, and roof. Like any other building the teaching also has a door, and in order to enter it we have to enter through this door. The door of entrance to the teaching of the Buddha is the going for refuge to the Triple Gem — that is, to the Buddha as the fully enlightened teacher, to the Dhamma as the truth taught by him, and to the Sangha as the community of his noble disciples. From ancient times to the present the going for refuge has functioned as the entranceway to the dispensation of the Buddha, giving admission to the rest of the teaching from its lowermost story to its top. All those who embrace the Buddha's teaching do so by passing through the door of taking refuge, while those already committed regularly reaffirm their conviction by making the same threefold profession:

Buddham saranam gacchami
I go for refuge to the Buddha;

Dhammam saranam gacchami
I go for refuge to the Dhamma;

Sangham saranam gacchami
I go for refuge to the Sangha.

As slight and commonplace as this step might seem, especially in comparison with the lofty achievements lying beyond, its importance should never be underestimated, as it is this act which imparts direction and forward momentum to the entire practice of the Buddhist path. Since the going for refuge plays such a crucial role it is vital that the act be properly understood both in its own nature and in its implications for future development along the path. To open up the process of going for refuge to the eye of inner understanding, we here present an examination of the process in terms of its most significant aspects. These will be dealt with under the following eight headings: the reasons for taking refuge; the existence of a refuge; the identification of the refuge objects; the act of going for refuge; the function of going for refuge, methods of going for refuge; the corruption and breach of the going for refuge; and the similes for the refuges.

I. The Reasons for Taking Refuge

When it is said that the practice of the Buddha's teaching starts with taking refuge, this immediately raises an important question. The question is: "What need do we have for a refuge?" A refuge is a person, place, or thing giving protection from harm and danger. So when we begin a practice by going for refuge, this implies that the practice is intended to protect us from harm and danger. Our original question as to the need for a refuge can thus be translated into another question: "What is the harm and danger from which we need to be protected?" If we look at our lives in review we may not see ourselves exposed to any imminent personal danger. Our jobs may be steady, our health good, our families well-provided for, our resources adequate, and all this we may think gives us sufficient reason for considering ourselves secure. In such a case the going for refuge becomes entirely superfluous.

To understand the need for a refuge we must learn to see our position as it really is; that is, to see it accurately and against its total background. From the Buddhist perspective the human situation is similar to an iceberg: a small fraction of its mass appears above the surface, the vast substratum remains below, hidden out of view. Owing to the limits of our mental vision our insight fails to penetrate beneath the surface crust, to see our situation in its underlying depths. But there is no need to speak of what we cannot see; even what is immediately visible to us we rarely perceive with accuracy. The Buddha teaches that cognition is subservient to wish. In subtle ways concealed from ourselves our desires condition our perceptions, twisting them to fit into the mould they themselves want to impose. Thus our minds work by way of selection and exclusion. We take note of those things agreeable to our pre-conceptions; we blot out or distort those that threaten to throw them into disarray.

From the standpoint of a deeper, more comprehensive understanding the sense of security we ordinarily enjoy comes to view as a false security sustained by unawareness and the mind's capacity for subterfuge. Our position appears impregnable only because of the limitations and distortions of our outlook. The real way to safety, however, lies through correct insight, not through wishful thinking. To reach beyond fear and danger we must sharpen and widen our vision. We have to pierce through the deceptions that lull us into a comfortable complacency, to take a straight look down into the depths of our existence, without turning away uneasily or running after distractions. When we do so, it becomes increasingly clear that we move across a narrow footpath at the edge of a perilous abyss. In the words of the Buddha we are like a traveler passing through a thick forest bordered by a swamp and precipice; like a man swept away by a stream seeking safety by clutching at reeds; like a sailor crossing a turbulent ocean; or like a man pursued by venomous snakes and murderous enemies. The dangers to which we are exposed may not always be immediately evident to us. Very often they are subtle, camouflaged, difficult to detect. But though we may not see them straightaway the plain fact remains that they are there all the same. If we wish to get free from them we must first make the effort to recognize them for what they are. This, however, calls for courage and determination.

On the basis of the Buddha's teaching the dangers that make the quest for a refuge necessary can be grouped into three general classes: (1) the dangers pertaining to the present life; (2) those pertaining to future lives; and (3) those pertaining to the general course of existence. Each of these in turn involves two aspects: (A) and objective aspect which is a particular feature of the world; and (B) a subjective aspect which is a corresponding feature of our mental constitution.

...

There's a lot more to that article, but I figured that was a good intro

federica

Sorry BF.... this particular monday was a national holiday here in Europe, and everything, but everything stopped...
Nick and I had gone down to our Yacht in St. Tropez.....You know how life can be!


Back O/T:

I take Refuge every day....
I'm gradually memorising it in Pali, as it feels more 'meaningful and authentic' but in actual fact, the moment I stand in front of my Buddha-table, I know, even before I've opened my mouth, that my Refuge is secure....

not1not2

federica wrote:

I take Refuge every day....

Oh yeah, well I take refuge every time I post. So there! :tonguec:

_/\_

buddhafoot

I take refuge whenever "they" are after me.

By the way, thanks for these great tidbits of information. That is really my goal here - to get people posting about basics for all of us newbies.

-bf

YogaMama

I agree, these posts are great. Gives me lots of great info. I am still definitely a "newbie" and have so much to learn. I don't have much time to post much these days, but I still try to read everything!

BF - you are hardly a "newbie". You seem to know a lot about Buddhism.

buddhafoot

Ummm.... no, not really.

I had to tailor down the Eightfold Path to the Twofold Path cuz it cut into my promiscuity and drinking too much.

-bf

not1not2

buddhafoot wrote:

Ummm.... no, not really.

I had to tailor down the Eightfold Path to the Twofold Path cuz it cut into my promiscuity and drinking too much.

-bf

May I ask which two survived?

_/\_

YogaMama

What the heck is the Eightfold Path???

not1not2

Some further excerpts from the Access to Insight link:

The Buddha
The Buddha as refuge can be considered first. On one level the word "Buddha" refers to a particular figure — the man Siddhattha Gotama who lived in India in the fifth century B.C. When we take refuge in the Buddha, we take refuge in this person, for he is the teacher of the Dhamma and the historical founder of Buddhism. However, in going to him for refuge, we do not take refuge in him merely in his concrete particularity. We rely upon him as the Buddha, the enlightened one, and this has a significance transcending the limits of what can be given by empirical, historical fact. What enables the Buddha to function as a refuge is his actualization of a supramundane attainment. This attainment is the state of Buddhahood or perfect enlightenment, a state which has been realized by other persons in the past and will be realized again in the future. Those who realize this state are Buddhas. When we take refuge in the Buddha we rely upon him as a refuge because he embodies this attainment in himself. It is his Buddhahood that makes the Buddha a refuge.

But what is the Buddhahood of the Buddha? In brief the Buddhahood of the Buddha is the sum total of the qualities possessed by that person named Gotama which make him a Buddha. These qualities can be summed up as the abandonment of all defects and the acquisition of all virtues.

The defects abandoned are the defilements (kilesa) together with their residual impressions (vasana). The defilements are afflictive mental forces which cause inner corruption and disturbance and motivate unwholesome actions. Their principle members are greed, hatred, and delusion; from these all the secondary defilements derive. In the Buddha these defilements have been abandoned totally, completely, and finally. They are abandoned totally in that all defilements have been destroyed with none remaining. They are abandoned completely in that each one has been destroyed at the root, without residue. And they have been abandoned finally in that they can never arise again in the future.

The virtues acquired by the Buddha are very numerous, but two stand out as paramount: great wisdom (mahapañña) and great compassion (maha-karuna). The great wisdom of the Buddha has two aspects — extensiveness of range and profundity of view. Through the extensive range of his wisdom the Buddha understands the totality of existent phenomena; through his profundity of view he understands the precise mode of existence of each phenomenon.

The Buddha's wisdom does not abide in passive contemplation but issues in great compassion. Through his great compassion the Buddha comes forth to work for the welfare of others. He takes up the burden of toiling for the good of sentient beings, actively and fearlessly, in order to lead them to deliverance from suffering.

When we go for refuge to the Buddha we resort to him as the supreme embodiment of purity, wisdom and compassion, the peerless teacher who can guide us to safety out of the perilous ocean of samsara.

_/\_

not1not2

The Dhamma
The Dhamma too involves a double reference. At the elementary level the word "Dhamma" signifies the teaching of the Buddha — the conceptually formulated, verbally expressed set of doctrines taught by or deriving from the historical figure Gotama. This teaching, called "the transmission" (agama), is contained in the Tipitaka or three collections of scripture and in the commentaries and expository works which explain them. The three collections are the Vinayapitaka, the Suttapitaka, and the Abhidhammapitaka. The Vinayapitaka collects together all the monastic rules and regulations detailing the discipline for Buddhist monks and nuns. The Suttapitaka contains the discourses of the Buddha expounding his doctrine and the practice of his path. The Abhidhammapitaka presents an exposition of the sphere of actuality from the standpoint of a precise philosophical understanding which analyzes actuality into its fundamental constituting elements and shows how these elements lock together through a network of conditional relations.

The verbally transmitted Dhamma contained in the scriptures and commentaries serves as the conduit to a deeper level of meaning communicated through its words and expressions. This is the Dhamma of actual achievement (adhigama), which comprises the path (magga) and the goal (attha). The goal is the final end of the teaching, nibbana, the complete cessation of suffering, the unconditioned state outside and beyond the round of impermanent phenomena making up samsara. This goal is to be reached by a specific path, a course of practice bringing its attainment, namely the noble eightfold path — right views, right intentions, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. The path divides into two stages, a mundane path and a supramundane path. The mundane path is the course of application developed when its factors are cultivated in daily life and in periods of intensified practice. The supramundane path is a state of wisdom-consciousness that arises when all the requisite conditions for realization are fully matured, usually at the peak of intensified practice. This path actually represents a state in the experience of enlightenment, having the dual function of realizing nibbana and eradicating defilements.

The supramundane path comes only in momentary breakthroughs which, when they occur, effect radical transformations in the structure of the mind. These breakthroughs are four in number, called the four paths. The four divide according to their ability to cut the successively subtler "fetters" causing to samsara. The first path, the initial breakthrough to enlightenment, is the path of stream-entry (sotapattimagga), which eradicates the fetters of ego-affirming views, doubt, and clinging to rites and wrong observances. The second, called the path of the once-returner (sakadagamimagga), does not cut off any fetters but weakens their underlying roots. The third, the path of the non-returner (anagamimagga), eliminates the fetters of sensual desire and ill-will. And the forth, the path of arahatship (arahattamagga), eradicates the five remaining fetters — desire for existence in the spheres of fine material and immaterial being, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance. Each path-moment is followed immediately by several moments of another supramundane experience called fruition (phala), which comes in four stages corresponding to the four paths. Fruition marks the enjoyment of the freedom from defilement effected by the preceding path-moment. It is the state of release or experiential freedom which comes when the fetters are broken.

Earlier it was said that the Dhamma is the actual refuge. In the light of the distinctions just drawn this statement can now be made more precise. The verbal teaching is essentially a map, a body of instructions and guidelines. Since we have to rely on these instructions to realize the goal, the teaching counts as an actual refuge, but it is so in a derivative way. Thus we can call it an actual but indirect refuge. The mundane path is direct, since it must be practiced, but because it serves principally as preparation for the supramundane path its function is purely provisional; thus it is an actual and direct but provisional refuge. The supramundane path apprehends nibbana, and once attained leads irreversibly to the goal; thence it may be called an actual, direct, and superior refuge. However, even the supramundane path is a conditioned phenomenon sharing the characteristic of impermanence common to all conditioned phenomena. Moreover, as a means to an end, it possesses instrumental value only, not intrinsic value. Thus its status as a refuge is not ultimate. Ultimate status as a refuge belongs exclusively to the goal, to the unconditioned state of nibbana, which therefore among all three refuges can alone be considered the refuge which is actual, direct, superior, and ultimate. It is the final resort, the island of peace, the sanctuary offering permanent shelter from the fears and dangers of samsaric becoming.

_/\_

not1not2

The Sangha
At the conventional or mundane level the Sangha signifies the Bhikkhu-Sangha, the order of monks. The Sangha here is an institutional body governed by formally promulgated regulations. Its doors of membership are open to any candidate meeting the required standards. All that is needed to enter the Sangha is to undergo ordination according to the procedure laid down in the Vinaya, the system of monastic discipline.

Despite its formal character, the order of monks fulfills an indispensable role in the preservation and perpetuation of the Buddha's dispensation. In an unbroken lineage extending back over twenty-five hundred years, the monastic order has served as the custodian of the Dhamma. The mode of life it makes possible permits it to exercise this function. The Buddha's dispensation, as we suggested, possesses a twofold character; it is a path of practice leading to liberation from suffering, and also a distinctive set of doctrines embedded in scriptures expounding the details of this path. The Sangha bears the responsibility for maintaining both aspects of the dispensation. Its members assume the burden of continuing the tradition of practice with the aim of showing that the goal can be realized and deliverance attained. They also take up the task of preserving the doctrines, seeing to it that the scriptures are taught and transmitted to posterity free from distortion and misinterpretation.

For these reasons the institutional Sangha is extremely vital to the perpetuation of the Buddha's teaching. However, the order of monks is not itself the Sangha which takes the position of the third refuge. The Sangha which serves as refuge is not an institutional body but an unchartered spiritual community comprising all those who have achieved penetration of the innermost meaning of the Buddha's teaching. The Sangha-refuge is the ariyan Sangha, the noble community, made up exclusively of ariyans, person of superior spiritual stature. Its membership is not bound together by formal ecclesiastical ties but by the invisible bond of a common inward realization. The one requirement for admission is the attainment of this realization, which in itself is sufficient to grant entrance.

Though the way of life laid down for the monastic order, with its emphasis on renunciation and meditation, is most conducive to attaining the state of an ariyan, the monastic Sangha and the ariyan Sangha are not coextensive. Their makeup can differ, and that for two reasons: first, because many monks — the vast majority in fact — are still worldlings (puthujjana) and thence cannot function as a refuge; and second, because the ariyan Sangha can also include laymen. Membership in the ariyan Sangha depends solely on spiritual achievement and not on formal ordination. Anyone — layman or monk — who penetrates the Buddha's teaching by direct vision gains admission through that very attainment itself.2

The membership of the ariyan Sangha comprises eight types of persons, which unite into four pairs. The first pair consists of the person standing on the path of stream-entry and the stream-enterer, who has entered the way to deliverance and will attain the goal in a maximum of seven lives; the second pair of the person standing on the path of the once-returner and the once-returner, who will return to the human world only one more time before reaching the goal; the third pair of the person standing on the path of the non-returner and the non-returner, who will not come back to the human world again but will take rebirth in a pure heavenly world where he will reach the final goal; and the fourth pair of the person standing on the path of arahatship and the arahant, who has expelled all defilements and cut off the ten fetters causing bondage to samsara.

The eight persons can be divided in another way into two general classes. One consists of those who, by penetrating the teaching, have entered the supramundane path to liberation but still must practice further to arrive at the goal. These include the first seven types of ariyan persons, who are collectively called "trainees" or "learners" (sekha) because they are still in the process of training. The second class comprises the arahats, who have completed the practice and fully actualized the goal. These are called "beyond training" (asekha) because they have no further training left to undertake.

Both the learners and the arahats have directly understood the essential import of the Buddha's teaching for themselves. The teaching has taken root in them, and to the extent that any work remains to be done they no longer depend on others to bring it to its consummation. By virtue of this inner mastery these individuals possess the qualifications needed to guide others towards the goal. Hence the ariyan Sangha, the community of noble persons, can function as a refuge.

I realize these quotes were quite long, but I do think they were worthy of posting, as they bring some real depth to our understanding of the Triple Jewel. Hope you find some personal value in them.

_/\_
metta

buddhafoot

My interpretation...

Right Intention - I intend to drink that drink.
Right Mindfulness - don't accidentally call Cathy, "Karen". That would be bad

-bf

not1not2

buddhafoot wrote:

My interpretation...

Right Intention - I intend to drink that drink.
Right Mindfulness - don't accidentally call Cathy, "Karen". That would be bad

-bf

Hmm... perhaps another quiz is in order...

_/\_
metta

buddhafoot

Not... this is good stuff.

Thanks for posting this. It should be a good read for all of us.

-bf

not1not2

You are very welcome, fine supersquirrel... I mean sir.

_/\_
metta

federica

It is a darned good read... I actually understood it, which is not bad going for a certified Doofus... and have copied it to a word.doc. so I don't lose it in all the mail....!

(Please believe me when I tell you this is progress....!)

Brigid

Yes, this is really good. I think I'm going to add them to my blog on MySpace. I just posted a thing on going for refuge and The Five Precepts, but it was very general. Since I'm using my blog as a repository of info for myself if my (or when my) computer goes belly up I think this will be good to add.

Thanks again, Not1.

Brigid