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Refuge in the Three Jewels
Footprint of the Buddha with Dharmachakra and triratna, 1st century CE,
Gandhāra.Main articles: Refuge (Buddhism) and Three Jewels
Acknowledging the Four Noble Truths and making the first step in the Noble
Eightfold Path requires taking refuge, as the foundation of one's religious
practice, in Buddhism's Three Jewels (Sanskrit: त्रिरत्न Triratna or रत्नत्रय
Ratna-traya, Pali: तिरतन Tiratana). Tibetan Buddhism sometimes adds a fourth
refuge, in the lama. The person who chooses the bodhisattva path makes a
vow/pledge. This is considered the ultimate expression of compassion.
The Three Jewels are:
The Buddha (i.e., Awakened One). This is a title for those who attained
Awakening similar to the Buddha and helped others to attain it. See also the
Tathāgata and Śākyamuni Buddha. The Buddha could also be represented as the
wisdom that understands Dharma, and in this regard the Buddha represents the
perfect wisdom that sees reality in its true form. Other Mahayana visions of the
Buddha see him as the Great Self (mahatman), who alone possesses genuine
immortality and eternity.
The Dharma: The teachings or law as expounded by the Buddha. Dharma also means
the law of nature based on behavior of a person and its consequences to be
experienced (action and reaction). It can also (especially in the Mahayana)
connote the ultimate and sustaining Reality which is inseverable from the
Buddha.
The Sangha: This term literally means "group" or "congregation," but when it is
used in Buddhist teaching the word refers to one of two very specific kinds of
groups: either the community of Buddhist monastics (bhikkhus and bhikkhunis), or
the community of people who have attained at least the first stage of Awakening
(Sotapanna (pali) - one who has entered the stream to enlightenment). According
to some modern Buddhists, it also consists of laymen and laywomen, the
caretakers of the monks, those who have accepted parts of the monastic code but
who have not been ordained as monks or nuns.
According to the scriptures, The Buddha presented himself as a model and
besought his followers to have faith (Sanskrit श्रद्धा śraddhā, Pāli saddhā) in
his example of a human who escaped the pain and danger of existence. In some
Mahayana sutras, the Buddha (no longer viewed as human, but as the "god of
gods") urges faith in his eternity and indestructibility as the Dharmakaya. The
Dharma, i.e. the teaching of the Buddha, offers a refuge by providing guidelines
for the alleviation of suffering and the attainment of enlightenment. The Saṅgha
(Buddhist Order of monks) provides a refuge by preserving the authentic
teachings of the Buddha and providing further examples that the truth of the
Buddha's teachings is attainable.
In certain Mahayana sutras, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are viewed essentially
as One: all three are seen as the eternal Buddha himself.
Many Buddhists believe that there is no otherworldly salvation from one's karma.
The suffering caused by the karmic effects of previous thoughts, words and deeds
can be alleviated by following the Noble Eightfold Path, although the Buddha of
some Mahayana sutras, such as the Lotus Sutra, the Angulimaliya Sutra and the
Nirvana Sutra, also teaches that powerful sutras such as the above-named can,
through the very act of their being heard or recited, wholly expunge great
swathes of negative karma.
The
Four Noble Truths
Noble Eightfold Path
Bodhi
Refuge in the Three Jewels
Sila
Samadhi,
Vipassana, and Buddhist meditation
Prajñā
Wisdom
Early
Buddhism
Rise of Mahayana Buddhism
Emergence of
the Vajrayāna
Decline of Buddhism in India and
Central Asia
Southern Buddhism
Eastern Buddhism
Northern Buddhism
Buddhist
Texts
Hinduism and Buddhism
Similarities between Hinduism and
Buddhism
Buddhism and Eastern Teaching
God in
Buddhism
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