The
Three Jewels
The ideals at the heart of Buddhism are collectively known as the Three
Jewels, or the Three Treasures. These are the Buddha, the Dharma, and
the Sangha. It is by making these the central principles of one's life
that one becomes a Buddhist.
The Buddha
The Buddha refers both to the historical Buddha and to the ideal of
Buddhahood which is open to all.
The Dharma
The Dharma primarily means the teachings of the Buddha, or the truth
he understood. Dharma has many meanings but most importantly it means
the unmediated Truth (as experienced by the Enlightened mind) and Buddhist
Teachings, the Truth as mediated by language and concepts. In the second
sense Dharma is the teaching that was born when the Buddha first put
his realisation into words and communicated it to others at Sarnath
in Northern India. The occasion is traditionally referred to as `the
first turning of the wheel of the Dharma' and the eight-spoked Dharma
wheel is a common emblem of Buddhism.
As well as this Dharma, refers to the entire corpus of scriptures which
are regarded as constituting the Buddhist canon. These include
records of the Buddha's life (known as the Pali Canon), scriptures
from a later date, and the written teachings of those people who have
attained Enlightenment over the centuries. The whole canon is many hundred
times as long as the Bible and it represents a literature of unparalleled
riches. It includes works such as The Dhammapada, The Diamond Sutra,
and The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
Another meaning of Dharma is the practices which are outlined within
the scriptures. Despite the wealth of its literature the essence of
Buddhism is very simple: it is finding ways to transform oneself. It
could be summed up as 'learning to do good; ceasing to do evil; purifying
the heart' (as the Dhammapada says).
The Sangha
The third of the `Three Jewels' is the Sangha or the spiritual community.
Buddhism is not an abstract philosophy or creed; it is a way of approaching
life and therefore it only has any meaning when it is embodied in people.
So Buddhists place great value on the fellowship of others who are treading
the same path, and those who embody its goal. In the broadest sense
the Sangha means all of the Buddhists in the world and all those of
the past and of the future. In practice it particularly refers to other
Buddhists with whom one is in effective contact.
Buddhism being a path, some people are further advanced along it than
others, and particular respect is paid to the lineage of great teachers
down the millennia. Beyond this, the ideals of Buddhism find their embodiment
in archetypal figures known as Bodhisattvas. For example, Avalokitesvara
is the embodiment of Compassion, and he is depicted with four, eight,
or a thousand arms with which he seeks to help sentient beings; Manjusri
is the embodiment of Wisdom and he is depicted carrying a sword with
which he cuts through ignorance. Together the Bodhisattvas and the other
Enlightened teachers are known as the Arya Sangha or community of the
Noble Ones.
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