The Three Jewels: The Cliff Notes
I can remember listening to numerous dharma talks about taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. I would sit and stare at the Buddha statue and wonder why it was such a big deal. I would look around at everyone silently sitting and wonder if they felt as alone as I did, and then I would barely listen to the dharma talks because I was stubborn and didn’t want to listen to anyone. I was there to learn about my own mind and Insight Meditation kept proving to be helpful in this process. Now, as I reflect I can see that over the years these three jewels have provided a sense of protection and I now view them as a natural and integral part of both individual and collective transformation.
First of all, let’s look at the Buddha. He lived over 2,500 years ago, made up a bunch of rules and wasn’t keen on letting women in the monastic order. And, to me, it seemed as if the Buddhist tradition couldn’t even make up its mind about what he said. Right there, he wasn’t very appealing to me. Then all of a sudden, I fell in love. I can still remember the moment. I had been on a silent meditation retreat for over a month. I had hit a point that I didn’t think I could do it. Awaken? What was the point? What did that mean? What was I doing spending thousands of dollars to sit on a cushion? I was caught in fear, doubt, and confusion. I thought I was going crazy. The mind kept spinning and spinning. Then one of my teachers told me the story of the Buddha’s enlightenment. How it was our birthright and how the myth symbolized all the obstacles that came before he saw through duality (separation). Then it clicked. These stories cut through the spinning. They were like a map and the Buddha was a dude that had been sitting in my place those thousands of years ago. He did it, so could I. As Lama Surya Das says, “Why be a Buddhist, when you can be a Buddha?” After that, I started listening to the dharma talks.
It turns out there is a lot to the dharma. There are thousands of theories, books, and models. Humans have argued for centuries about what interpretation is correct or incorrect. To me, it isn’t really that hard. Truth is beyond right and wrong. It just IS. And this is what the Buddha taught. This is the dharma. Find it for yourself. It is here. It is our birthright. From this place, I can read the theories and models and see that it is possible and I am appreciative for the reflection. I can test it and see if it holds up in my own experience and this is what matters to me. The protection comes from knowing I am not alone. There have been others that speak the truth of this moment. As Jack Kornfield says, “Great spiritual traditions are used as means to ripen us, to bring us face to face with our life, and to help us see in a new way by developing a stillness of mind and a strength of heart.” This is how we are transformed and how we can then change our community—Sangha.
Now, when I look around, I see a bunch of Buddhas listening, investigating, and remembering dharma. Step by step together. As we learn more about our own minds and about who we really are, we naturally learn about true compassion. When this is extended outward, change is made. As Hafiz wrote, “Love says, I will take care of you to everything that is near”. This is Sangha—family—the human tribe. It starts with the Buddha discovering the dharma and then coming into world. We don’t have to draw a line in the sand and I have found the support from others on the path of discovery invaluable—since we are all in this life together.
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Well said Emily.
The Dharma is not words in a book. The Dharma is the feeling in your heart when words spoken or written stroke truth to life.
The Dharma is there any time a pain or joy registers in awareness, rises and passes of its own accord.
May we all see the Dharma, love the Dharma, and live the Dharma in this moment.
Dharmam Saranam Gacchami.
Thanks for the feedback and Metta!
Great post, Emily. The slight alienation from the Three Jewels concept that you describe is very familiar to me as well. These days, the tension I seem to feel in relation to traditional approaches has mostly to do with the necessary critiques of tradition now that we're in the modern era, and my own affection for tradition and wish to see Buddhism thrive and continue to be viable. If a basic concept like the Three Jewels is something that we don't immediately get but then later come to deeply appreciate–well, that seems like a cautionary tale to me. It's so easy to throw out this or that convention or practice or teaching as outdated. I suppose the key is whether a person has truly tested and retested and honestly come to the conclusion that, no, this particular aspect of the dharma doesn't work for me as traditionally taught. Anyway, thanks!
It took me a minute to see how this seems to be a "cautionary tale." For me, I think all the teachings seem to change in their implications and meaning– as I have continued to explore. Some seem to be more relevant at times than others. Growing up I tended to be anti-religious and scientific, so it took me a while to see the deeper parts of the tradition and how I can hold both (science and religion). I appreciate your reflection on this as well! I too, want to see the tradition carried forward and change.
Right. In fact, you can almost see certain dualities or dichotomies as flip sides of the same coin. Someone who is a staunch scientific materialist, as I have been at times, might became reactive or "activated" by the more heart-centered and religious or devotional aspects of the tradition precisely because they have disowned this aspect of themselves. Eventually, I realized that this was precisely why I sometimes rolled my eyes at certain extremely devoted types who didn't seem to exercise enough skepticism. Lo and behold, as I've embraced more of who and what I am, I see that some kind of balance between rational and non-rational can work just fine, and that a balance of faith and wisdom is a good thing. But if I were to have created a dharma in my own image, so to speak, back when I was a total logical positivist, I would have thrown out all kinds of stuff: the doctrine of rebirth, chanting, the Three Jewels, who knows? As you point out, we're all going through these different evolutions and stages. Nothing is fixed–especially not our perspective…