What is the Three Jewels?VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH CHAN TANH.

The question may not be worth asking to anyone who has ever been to a Buddhist temple to listen to Buddhist sutras or offerings, but it is very practical for those who have just come to Zen.

Moreover, even if you think you have acquired the knowledge of the Triple Gem, your understanding may sometimes be incomplete, because in Buddhism there are many solutions. like different - but not contradictory - on this issue, depending on the object of practice.

First of all, the Three Jewels are understood as the "three jewels", and are enumerated including Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

The Triple Gem with Buddha is the "first throne", or Buddha said, the first enlightened being, who has found the truth and the method of practice to lead to liberation, alleviating and eliminating suffering. inherent in this life.

Head of the Three Jewels

Buddha is a true historical figure who lived more than 25 centuries ago. With the name Thich Ca Mau Ni, is the son of King Tinh Phan, of Thich Ca family. His birth was also the birth of Buddhism, because he was the first person to enlighten and transmit the teachings that we now call Dharma or Dharma.

Thousands of people believed in the teachings taught by Shakyamuni Buddha, and they left home to follow him to practice in a group called Sangha, or Sangha.

Thus, we have the Triple Gem with Buddha as the "first throne", or the Buddha said, the first enlightened being, who has found the truth and the method of practice to lead to liberation and alleviation. and eliminate the suffering inherent in this life. It is from that meaning that Shakyamuni was called Buddha, because this noun was originally pronounced by the Chinese in Sanskrit as Buddha, which means "enlightened being". When Buddhism first came to Vietnam directly from India in early BC, the Vietnamese transliterated this name as the Buddha. Therefore, according to the Vietnamese call, the Buddha is also Buddha, even though the long and widespread influence of the Chinese scriptures has made the name of Buddha become more popular today. The method of practice taught by the Buddha is called Dharma. Dharma is the means by which we can practice in accordance with and attain enlightenment and attain liberation like Buddha. Apart from the Buddha's teachings, there is no other method that can help us attain ultimate liberation, so the Dharma is called the "second throne", or Dharma.

Dharma is the means by which we can practice in accordance with and attain enlightenment and attain liberation like Buddha.

Those who leave home to devote themselves to the Buddha's teachings, toward liberation, enlightenment, are called monks. They practice together in a collective called Sangha (due to Sanskrit Sangha) or Sangha. In his own practice, the monks also set an example of following the Buddha's teachings and imparting them to others. Therefore, they are called the "third throne", or Sangha.

The Triple Gem in the above sense is very specific, can be heard and perceived by common sense, and in Buddhism calls this concept "the Triple Head".

The Three Jewels began to appear specifically on earth more than 25 centuries ago. But Buddha Shakyamuni after 49 years of propaganda throughout India, finally entered Nirvana, is no longer visible in this world, and therefore the successive form of the Buddha said is jade relics of Buddha leave people worshiped, are images, paintings of Buddha adorned in temples, or Buddhists worshiped at home ... Because when we see and respect these symbols, we will remember Shakyamuni Buddha, who enlightened and taught the teachings that led to enlightenment.

Those who leave home to devote themselves to the Buddha's teachings, toward liberation, enlightenment, are called monks. They practice together in a collective called Sangha (due to Sanskrit Sangha) or Sangha.

Regarding Dharma, when the Buddha entered Nirvana, no one was guaranteed to be able to transmit all the teachings he taught, even though each of his disciples could remember so much. Therefore, after a while the monks gathered together to record all the Buddha's teachings they remembered. This collective record is called the "canonical record", and is the first basis for the formation of the Tripitaka of Buddhism, more commonly known as the Tripitaka, including the Sutta Pitaka. , Vinaya and Abhidharma. Thus, after more than 25 centuries, up to now the Dharma teachings have been handed down with the specific form of the Buddhist Tripitaka.

Regarding the Sangha, we have had a continuous lineage for more than 25 centuries between generations of monks, and the Sangha today is a continuation of the Sangha from the time of the Buddha's existence, including people ordained monks dedicate their lives to the purpose of the practice and teaching of the Buddha's teachings. That is the meaning of the Triple Pillar.

However, Buddha once said that he was not the only Buddha to attain enlightenment. In the timeline from beginningless time to now, the number of the 25 century that we know is only a grain of sand in the desert, a drop of water in the middle of the sea. And so the Buddha taught that in the past he had countless Buddhas who reached enlightenment completely like him. And in the long-term future, there will undoubtedly be countless numbers of people who practice in accordance with the teachings and enlightenment into Buddha. On the other hand, the Buddha also taught that not only is there a world in the world. This lady is where we live, but if we can go far to the east, the west ... until ten directions in space, We will meet countless other worlds. Those realms also have countless Buddhas who have been teaching Dharma.

Buddha once said that he was not the only Buddha to attain enlightenment. In the timeline from beginningless time to now, the number of the 25 century that we know is only a grain of sand in the desert, a drop of water in the middle of the sea.

Thus, the Buddha said that not only the Shakyamuni Buddha we know, but also all the Buddhas of the ten directions of the three lifetimes, who are fully enlightened and free from all the constraints of world. And all the teachings taught by the Buddhas are called the Dharma teachings, all the practitioners follow the Buddhist teachings of the Buddhas and attain liberation from all the constraints of the secular life. professed as Sangha.

Export the Three Jewels

Buddha is also a human being, but a fully enlightened person. And therefore, He taught that all sentient beings can practice to attain enlightenment like Him. Or every sentient being has Buddha nature, just because he refuses to practice according to the true Dharma, he cannot reach enlightenment. The Buddha-nature or the enlightened capacity of every being and the Buddhas are equally equal, so this is called the Buddha-homogeneity. The Dharma can also be equally equal, all are Dharma liberation, only because sentient beings do not realize the true nature of all things, so they have to set up training facilities to treat them. this meaning that called the Dharma Security. Buddha and sentient beings inherently have an enlightened nature, so there is also a pure harmony nature such as the Sangha, so this is called the Sangha.

The Three Jewels are the basic foundation for all sentient beings to develop the mind of practicing the right path and attain ultimate liberation. Therefore, the person who wants to practice should first have confidence in the inherently pure and pure nature, or in other words, the ability to cultivate into Buddha himself. In this sense, this is also called Buddha Nature. The process of practice always recognizes the true nature of all dhammas, sees that all dhammas are liberation dhammas, so called Self-Dhamma. Myself, though not yet cultivated, still knows that the Bodhi seed is available, available pure self-nature, also with the monks, so called Self-Increased Self. The Triple Gem is an essential awareness to establish beliefs and wills to attain liberation.

The Three Jewels are the basic foundation for all sentient beings to develop the mind of practicing the right path and attain ultimate liberation. Therefore, the person who wants to practice should first have confidence in the inherently pure and pure nature, or in other words, the ability to cultivate into Buddha himself.

Therefore, people coming to the temple to learn about the Three Jewels must firstly understand correctly and fully about the Three Jewels. Later, when belief was firmly established, it was possible to understand the meaning of the Triple Gem, because this concept can only perceive faith and wisdom, not the common senses. listening awareness. But the concept of the Triple Gem or the Triple Gem can only be truly understood through the actual practice, practice, and experience of the teachings taught by Buddha. If people do not have practical practice, when they hear about this concept, it will feel very abstract and elusive.

Nowadays, many people want to show their wisdom, learn more and understand all of these concepts, but also do not understand that each concept is only suitable for one level of understanding. know, trust and practice. When we understand this, we will see that although there are different concepts, there is absolutely nothing contradictory but only an expansion to suit each different level of reception.

The sacred images of the Buddhas can help us look forward to achieving serenity in our hearts, so we honor that as Buddha said.

In fact, each of us can realize for ourselves the meaning of the Three Jewels through our contact with Buddhism. When we return to the temple to offer incense to the Buddha, we bring all the respect in our souls to worship before the Buddha. That sincere devotion helps us to feel a sacred communion with the Buddhas, to make our souls gentle, relaxed, and at the same time be free from all the implications and bondage of mundane life. The sacred images of the Buddhas can help us look forward to achieving serenity in our hearts, so we honor that as the Buddha said.

Besides, when we hear the teachings of the Buddha, through the scriptures and the teachings of the monks, we can gain a better understanding of life, and know there are ways awake to attain peace, true happiness in life. When we practice in accordance with those methods, we achieve noble spiritual values, which change our lives for the better and better. Because these valuable results come from Dharma practice, we honor them as Dharma teachings.

On the other hand, the meaning of the scriptures and the teachings of the monks are theoretical nonetheless, so the interpretation and practice that follow must inevitably be difficult and sometimes misleading. Therefore, we often have to look at the monks' lives as a vivid illustration of what we have learned from the teachings. Thanks to the monks, it is easy for us to generate strong faith in the Dharma, because we see that they have practiced according to it and have attained peace and liberation. Moreover, by practicing, monks are also able to lead and help us solve problems and puzzling things in the teachings. Because of such a great and respectful leading role, we call it the Sangha. END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).WORLD VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST ORDER=GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.22/12/2019.