The Buddhists begin every religious, cultural, matrimonial or funeral activity or any inaugaration ceremony with paying homage to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha – the NobleTriple Gems. This includes even daily worship. For activities other than religious, this is considered auspicious. The majority chant the relevant Pali recitals, some with no idea as to what they stand for and some with the idea of taking refuge in the Triple Gems. The ‘taking refuge’ is as taught by the conventional teaching, which goes as follows.
Conventional Meaning
To the Enlightened One I go for refuge.
To the Path of the Enlightened One I go for refuge.
To the Enlightened Community I go for refuge.
From the conventional meaning what one could gather is that the Buddha and Sangha are revered individuals while Dhamma is a sacred teaching from all of which one has to seek refuge. This is contrary to what the Buddha taught and is misleading because no one can provide salvation from suffering for another. The Buddha and the Sangha can only show the way while Dhamma is only the teachings of the Buddha which one has to follow. As such, seeking refuge from the outer world is not possible and according to the teachings of the Buddha the refuge is within us.
The Sangha
The term ‘Sangha’ literally means ‘community’. This refers generally to the order of monks. The 3rd one of the Triple Gems - ‘the Sangha’, means the ‘Aryans’. An aryan is a person who has embarked on the Noble Eightfold Path. He may still be on the path (Magga) on any one of the four Higher Mental States that is, ‘Sovan’, ‘Sakuradagami’, ‘Anagami’ or ‘Arahant’ or he may have already been enlightened on any of these States (Palaya). This makes eight Great Persons or – ‘Atta Purusha Puggala’ in Pali. So an Aryan or a Sangha is one of these eight persons. They can be either layfollowers or monks. Therefore, it is clear that a non-Aryan or a mundane person in saffron robes with a shaven head does not make a Sangha. In otherwords clothes does not make one a member of the Sangha. This is a misinterpretation of the conventional teaching according to which those who wear saffron robes having their heads shaven are termed Sangha.
An individual who practises Buddha’s teaching i.e. Dhamma along the Noble Eightfold Path is a Sangha. Thus actually it is one’s mind that walks the Noble Eightfold Path practising the Dhamma which is ‘letting go’ of defilements, is the Sangha. In other words the actual meaning of Sangha is the Aryan mind which follows the Noble Eightfold Path, learning and practising Dhamma as a follower or a student. If the mind becomes Sangha, that gives true refuge to the person.
The Dhamma
The 2nd of the Triple Gems is the Dhamma or the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha was enlightened on the four Noble Truths of this world. The first of these is the universal suffering. Birth, disease, decay and death are all suffering, as are all other aspects associated with life. The second Noble Truth is that suffering is due to ignorance which brings about craving or attachment. All things and events are related as causes and effects. Therefore, they are transitory which again gives rise to suffering. The cause of suffering is within us and it is the self centered craving. This selfish craving is based on egoism, the main cause of worldly turmoil. The suffering can only be eliminated by the removal of attachment. The cessasion of suffering is the attainment of the Noble Bliss or Nirvana. This is the third Noble Truth. The fourth Noble Truth is the way or the path to achieve Nirvana. The Buddha discovered that extremes of sensual pleasure indulgance and self mortification do not lead to liberation from suffering. Only by adopting the Middle Path could one achieve Nirvana. This Path of self conquest is eightfold and it is the Eightfold Path. This fundermentally is the Dhamma.
To seek protection and safety from the Dhamma in books is absurd. It is some teaching that you have to follow to attain the final goal – the Nirvana. In following the Path , the Dhamma is principally ‘letting go’of difilements and latent tendencies of the mind purifying it. During the passage of the Path, wisdom develops and the Dhamma is preached, heard and realized by the mind itself, all these happenings taking place at the same moment. The follower awakens to the Noble Truth as if he is waking up from a deep slumber. This again is an achievement of the mind. As such, Dhamma is a quality of the Aryan’s mind developed by practising the Path and not something external. By practising ‘letting go’ there will be true refuge to a person.
The Buddha
Now let us see the actual meaning of the 1st of the Triple Gems. The term ‘Buddha’generally means realization or enlightenment; i.e. enlightenment of the Dhamma. In other words it is the enlightenment one achieves by following the Path. The Lord Buddha was enlightened this way. He was enlightened by omniscience, by seeing all in their true perspective, without being led by any other and so He called Himself the Buddha. Thus, the Buddha saw suffering in life, the impermanence of life and that the death is not the end of suffering since there is rebirth; an unending cycle of birth, death and rebirth. The Great Teacher was enlightened on the Dhamma which shows what causes suffering – the attachment -, what brings the cessasion of suffering and the way to end it. That is the Buddha was enlightened on the four Noble Truths. What is the sense in asking protection and blessing from Him? The Buddha has shown us the Path to Enlightenment but He cannot make us enlightened. What the Buddha taught was, “Follow the Dhamma and you will see me.” This means that if you follow the Dhamma you also can get enlightened acquiring the Buddha quality within you. So this also, like the Sangha and the Dhamma is a quality that manifests in the mind of the follower of the Path.
An Aryan does not and doesn’t need to go for refuge to any other, for he gets the blessings of the qualities acquired in the form of due benefits from these and as a result he lives a happy and peaceful life. The actual meaning of refuge in the Triple Gems is as follows.
Refuge in the Buddha: I embark upon the Path to attain Enlightenment
(Which is achieved through the 4 stages culminating in Arhant).
Refuge in the Dhamma: I practise non-attachment (which is achieved through the 4 stages culminating in Arhant).
Refuge in the Sangha: I travel on the Path practising non-attachment in order to attain Enlightenment.
Therefore, Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha are qualities of an enlightened mind and they are from the
mind, for the mind and of the mind and not some without it.
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