# 1 - THE TRIPLE GEMS (Geshe Lobsang Sherab - May 23, 2004)

The Triple Gems was the first teaching given by Geshe Lobsang Sherab at LDC, translated by Ven Dechen after spending much time preparing with Geshe-la on the day before the teaching. Why The Triple Gems? Some of you may wonder after having received so many teachings, isn’t it the time to listen to something different? Well, it is never enough to listen to any teaching just once or twice because every teacher presents the teaching in different ways. As they present it through their own understanding, experience and insight, there are always something new to learn, for example, as Geshe la put it, “if I don’t have refuge in my mind, just by wearing the monk’s robe and giving a Dharma teaching do not automatically qualify me as a Buddhist.”

In one of His texts called Zawa Sherab, Arya Nagarjuna said:

“He who sees and completely feels the plights of others,

Has disclosed the Path which eliminates all ignorance,

To Gautam, head of the Shakya,

I pay homage.”

It is entirely up to us to decide whether we want to adopt the practice of Dharma or not. And if we choose to practice Dharma, then we need to first take refuge in the Three Jewel. It is said that taking refuge in the Three Jewel is the “supreme gateway to the Dharma”, in other words, it is an entrance leading us to the practice of Dharma. Without refuge, there is no way to enter into the practice of Dharma.

Very often when we say we are Buddhists, it is because our father is a Buddhist or our mother is a Buddhist, that’s why we called ourselves Buddhists. This is not how it should be. What makes us Buddhists depends on whether we have refuge in our mind. Our father could be a Buddhist but if we don’t have refuge in our mind, then we are not Buddhists. The criterion is whether we have generated refuge in our mind.

For example, I’m a monk and I wear the monk’s robe. When I go out to give teaching, as soon as people see me, they see me as a monk and naturally they would think that I am a Buddhist. However, if I don’t have refuge in my mind, just by wearing the monk’s robe and giving a Dharma teaching do not automatically qualify me as a Buddhist.

The teachings under REFUGE are grouped into four:

1) Identifying the objects of refuge;

2) The causes of going for refuge;

3) The benefits of taking refuge;

4) Having taken refuge, the stages of training.

Identifying the Objects of Refuge

1. Buddha

The “Buddha Jewel” in Tibetan is Sang-gye Kon-chog. Kon-chog are two words put together which literally mean “rare” and “precious”, respectively. If we don’t understand it correctly, we may think it refers to anything which is rare and unusual, like in the story of how an old man had thought that the ball of light within the crystal house in the empty space is the Buddha Jewel! Sang-gye has two parts in a word: Sang means “having absolutely been free from all faults” and gye means “having accomplished all qualities”. Together it means the “Buddha”. So Sang-gye Kon-chog refers to the Buddha Jewel, which is Lord Buddha Himself.

Furthermore, the Buddha has four types of qualities which made Him the fitting object of refuge:

a) the qualities of His body, that He has freed Himself from all misdeeds;

b) the qualities of His speech, that He is skilled in the means of subduing His disciples;

c) the qualities of His mind, that He has equal compassion to all sentient beings, whether they are close to Him or not;

d) the qualities of His activities/ deeds, that He works for the sake of all, whether they have helped Him or not.

Je Tsongkhapa explained in one of His works, that just as an eagle flies high and far in order to reach to the other end of space, no matter how hard it tries it would never come any closer to the edge of space. Similarly, the qualities a Buddha possesses are way, way beyond our comprehension. There is no exhaustion to a Buddha’s qualities and merit, and hence there is no way we’ll ever be able to explain all of a Buddha’s qualities in words.

When we say “Buddha”, it does not refer to the statues sitting on the altar; it refers to the wisdom in the Buddha’s mental continuum: the realization of cessation of all suffering, and the realization of the path to cessation through which the Buddha destroyed all delusions and perfected all qualities.

2. Dharma

Of the Three Jewel, the real refuge, the real protection is the Dharma Jewel. When we say “protection”, it is not meant in the same way as our stomach being protected from hunger after eating a meal nor the protection from heat when the fan blows wind on us. Dharma Jewel, in its real sense of being able to protect, is able to protect us from falling into the lower realms, to protect us from the sufferings of cyclic existence, and ultimately to lead us to the state of Enlightenment. That which gives this protection is the Dharma Jewel, the actual protector.

Therefore we say Buddha is the one who shows the Path, whereas Dharma is the actual protector, the actual refuge.

The actual refuge, Dharma Jewel, refers to the last two Noble Truths: the Truth of Cessation and the Truth of the Path. Having said so, it is not implied that if we don’t have the Dharma Jewel (the realization of these two Truths) in our mindstream, we are not protected from having to go to the lower realms. If we can avoid the ten non-virtuous actions, we will be protected from the suffering of the three lower realms.

Having discussed the first two objects of refuge – Buddha and Dharma, now we will talk about Sangha, the helper and the third object of refuge.

3. Sangha

The primary responsibility of the Sangha members is to assist the lay community to practice Dharma, that is: to teach those who don’t know about Dharma, and for those who have learned a little more about Dharma, to help them to develop insight and increase their understanding in the Dharma.

Sangha Jewel refers to those who, either ordained or lay practitioners, have attained direct realization of the Dharma Jewel in their mental continuum: the Truth of Cessation and the Truth of the Path.

Sangha is important because they help us to generate the actual refuge – Dharma – in our mindstream which liberate us from the cyclic existence. In Tibet, among the many disciples of Lama Atisha, Drontompa, being the chief disciple, was in fact the manifestation of Avalokiteshvara. Whenever he saw pieces of yellow or maroon cloth on the roadside, he would pick them up, rub them clean and place them on his crown saying, “Whoever puts on this robe is a very precious being and possesses high knowledge” Even though Drontompa himself is the manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, he respected and gave high regards to the Sangha.

As for those of us who are part of the Sangha community, while others respect and give very high regards to the Sangha, we should try to practice more and help others more whenever it’s possible. We have vows; to become a member of the Sangha we have to take and observe many vows. For example, there are 253 vows for a fully-ordained monk, 364 vows for a fully-ordained nun, and 36 vows for a novice monk and nun. It is said that to hold even 1 vow purely at this time when Dharma is degenerating, one accumulates much more merits than holding all the vows during the Buddha’s time. Taking and holding vows is an individual’s choice; it is not for boosting one’s ego or for showing how good we are; it is simply very humbling practice which assists our spiritual development.

So far we have gone through the three objects of refuge – the Buddha Jewel, Dharma Jewel and the Sangha Jewel. One thing to note is that Buddha Himself is also Dharma Jewel as well as the Sangha Jewel.

The causes of going for refuge

Having explained the external conditions for taking refuge – the objects, now there are two internal conditions – the two causes for taking refuge:

  • Fearing the sufferings of cyclic existence in general and those of the three lower realms in particular, and;
  • Having conviction in that only the Three Jewel has the power and ability to protect us from these sufferings after contemplating on the qualities of the Three Jewels.

When we talk about the three lower realms, we shouldn’t talk as if they have nothing to do with us and as if they are some far, unreachable places. We should think about the plight of those in the lower realms and really put ourselves in their shoes: imagine ourselves being the hungry ghosts with enormously huge stomach and a throat as tiny as a needle; imagine how we would feel if we were to experience the extreme heat and cold in the hell realms. Only when we begin to seriously contemplate on these suffering of the lower realms will we be trembled with fear and want to take our practice seriously.

The reason I say this is not to trouble your mind but rather, it is to alert you on the suffering of the lower realms so that you will see the point to generate fear toward these suffering realms and thus be protected from them.

Having taken refuge, the stages of training

Here we have spoken about the object of refuge and the causes of going for refuge. Now we will talk about the advice after taking refuge.

There are 2 parts in the advice: what we should and should not do after taking refuge in Three Jewel.

After taking refuge in the Buddha, we should revere all statues, pictures and images of Buddha as being the actual Buddha Jewel, even if the qualities or the craftsmanship is poor. We should also avoid seeking other worldly gods as our ultimate refuge. It doesn’t mean we cannot pay respect to these worldly gods; it means we shouldn’t take them as our ultimate objects of refuge. These gods or divine beings are not out of samsara themselves, so they cannot give us thorough protection. We should seek refuge in those who can give us real protection, and they are the Three Jewel.

Having taken refuge in Dharma, we should revere even one letter contained in the texts as the speech of Buddha; every one word is a Path in itself which will lead us to the state of enlightenment. We should not place Buddhist texts on the floor or cushions. I personally had seen people who are new to the Dharma coming to a teaching and during the break time, put the texts under their cushions! This is not right. Any Dharma text or Dharma material should be respected and regarded as the actual speech of Buddha, and therefore should be placed in a clean and high place.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama once said that becoming a monk or nun, having put on this robe, doesn’t mean that we have no more ignorance or that we are perfect. The sangha are still human beings and there is still ignorance, that’s why we need to learn, study and practice Dharma. However if, just because of a few sangha who don’t behave properly and we criticize, “The sangha are bad!” or “The sangha do bad things!” When you mention “sangha”, it includes all the sangha of the ten directions, it also includes His Holiness the Dalai Lama, our Gurus, etc. If we talk badly about the sangha like this, instead of specifying the individual, we create very heavy negative karma. Think about the qualities of the sangha and the many vows they uphold. I’ve told you the story about Drontompa, the manifestation of the Buddha of Compassion, how he revered and paid high regards to even a small patch of robe of the sangha. Respect the monks and nuns as the actual Sangha Jewel.

The benefits of taking refuge

By taking refuge in the Three Jewel, we will receive many benefits such as: not falling to the lower realms, not being harmed by spirits, one’s wishes will be fulfilled, eventually one will reach the state of Enlightenment etc. All these and many other benefits of taking refuge can be found in the Lam Rim texts.

Refuge to the Three Jewel, when properly taken and generated in our mind, brings enormous benefits. Even just by chanting the refuge prayer alone, without any faith in one’s mind, there is also great benefit. Now I will share with you a true story.

Long ago there was a monk who meditated in a cave in a very remote region of Tibet. This monk possessed of a piece of very fine quality shawl which was respectfully offered to him by a very faithful lay student. Unfortunately, this was discovered by a thief who came to threaten the monk on night, “I know you have a very fine piece of shawl with you. You must give it to me now. If you don’t, I will beat you up!”

The monk hesitated. “If I don’t give it to him, I’ll get beaten up, but if I were to give it to him, I will have nothing left with me.”

He pondered for a while, and then said to the thief, “This shawl didn’t come to me easily; it is offered to me by a very faithful benefactor. If you really want it, you should come forward, hold up both of your hands on your crown and receive it with utmost respect.” The thief acted accordingly: he stepped forward, extended both hands atop his crown and waited. Immediately the monk grabbed both of his hands and tied them with rope. Then he gave the thief a good whacking on his back while shouting, “Go for refuge to the Buddha!” and a second whacking, “Go for refuge to the Dharma!” and then a third whacking, “Go for refuge to the Sangha!” After three hard beatings, the monk set the thief free.

The thief, terrified, fled for his life. He ran and ran until he finally reached a bridge. He went under it and sat down, still badly shaken by what had just happened, mumbled to himself, “Go for refuge to the Buddha, go for refuge to the Dharma, go for refuge to the Sangha…. Damn I was lucky there are only three refuges! If there were four refuges, I’ll sure lose my life!”

Normally many spirits would cross that bridge at night. When the thief was talking to himself, a spirit was trying to cross the bridge but was not able to go over. He observed and found out that a person who was sitting beneath the bridge was saying some prayers. So he went over to the thief and begged him to stop saying the refuge prayers just so that he could cross the bridge. The thief, fearing for his life, made the spirit promised that only if the spirit would stop harming people will he stop saying the refuge prayer. The spirit promised. So the thief stopped saying the refuge prayer and the spirit was able to cross the bridge.

From this story and from many other evidences, we know that merely by saying the refuge prayer, protection from spirit harms is guaranteed. Therefore, if we have strong conviction in Three Jewel and practice Dharma accordingly, it is guaranteed that we will not fall to the lower realms.

~ End ~