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Taking Refuge In The Triple Jewels
To The Buddha I return and rely,
returning from delusions and relying upon Awareness and Understanding.
To the Dharma I return and rely, returning from erroneous views and relying
upon Proper Views and Understanding.
To the Sangha I return and rely, returning from pollutions and disharmony
and relying upon Purity of Mind and the Six Principles of Living in Harmony.
What Is Taking Refuge ?
Taking Refuge means to return and rely. From where do we return from and to
what do we rely upon ? When we take refuge in the Buddha, we are returning
from our deluded state of mind and relying upon an Awakened, Understanding
mind.
When we take refuge in the Dharma, we are returning from deviant views and
relying upon proper views and under-standing.
When we take refuge in the Sangha, we are returning from pollution and
disharmony and relying upon Purity of Mind and the Six Principles of Living
in Harmony.
Taking refuge in the Triple Jewels restores the complete wisdom and
abilities of our Self-Nature. We will attain Purity, Equality, Honesty,
Contentment, Compassion, and overall, True Happiness.
The Buddha Jewel
"Buddha" is a Sanskrit word which means 'Awareness and Understanding'. When
we take refuge in the Buddha, we vow to return from blind faith and delusion
and rely upon Understanding and Awareness as a way of life. We are not
relying upon the statues or Buddha-images, but rather the spirit of
Understanding and Awareness they represent.
As students of the Pure Land Teachings, we learn to rely upon Amitabha
Buddha's lessons on wisdom and com-passion. 'Amitabha' stands for Infinite
Light and Infinite Life. When we follow his teachings, we will attain
wisdom, happiness, and longevity.
This is taking refuge in the Buddha.
The Dharma Jewel
"Dharma" means 'Right Under-standing and Views.' Delusion has obstructed us
from seeing the true face of people and the reality behind matters and
objects. This has caused us to look at life and the universe in a distorted
and deviant way. When delusion is cleared and our minds are pure to an
extent, we give rise to wisdom. With wisdom, we are able to see all people
and matters completely and clearly. When our hearts are pure, we can see the
past, present, and future. Only when we have clearly seen the Whole can our
viewpoint and Understanding be considered 'Right'.
The Buddha's mind is pure without the slightest pollution and therefore sees
everything clearly and entirely. We can rely upon the Sutras (recorded
teachings of the Buddha) because they speak entirely of the truths the
Buddha has seen. They teach and show us the way to attain Purity of Mind, to
see life and the universe most clearly, and become just like the Buddhas.
As students of the Pure Land Teachings, we should rely upon the Six Sutras
of Pure Land as guidelines of practice:
1. The Sutra of Amitabha's Purity, Equality, and Understanding.
2. The Amitabha Sutra.
3. The Sutra on Observing Amitabha Buddha and His Pure Land.
4. The Chapter of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva's Conduct and Vows.
5. The Chapter on the Foremost Attainment of Great Strength Bodhisattva
Through Buddha Recitation.
6. Vasubandhu Bodhisattva's Report on the Way to Reaching Pure Land.
This is taking refuge in the Dharma.
The Sangha Jewel
"Sangha" means 'purity and harmony'. Today's world is full of pollution.
Pollution of mind, spirit, views, and body. Even the earth and atmosphere
are hazardly polluted. The Buddha taught, "The environment changes according
to our state of mind." We should return from all these pollutions and rely
upon purity of mind. Purity of Mind is the key to saving our Earth.
There is also great disharmony in our world today, among spouses, families,
friends, societies, and countries which has brought us much suffering and
disasters. The Buddha taught us to rely upon the Six Principles of Living in
Harmony to establish harmonious relationships between ourselves and others.
As students of the Pure Land Teachings, we should rely upon the choice of
wisdom and compassion as our way of treating others and dealing with
affairs. Great Strength Bodhisattva represents wisdom. His choice of the
Buddha Recitation method of practice is wisdom in its highest form. Kuan Yin
Bodhisattva represents compassion; when we help introduce the Pure Land
Teachings to others, we are practicing the complete compassion of Kuan Yin
Bodhisattva.
This is taking refuge in the Sangha.
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