What are the Three Treasures？
The three treasures of Buddhism refer to Buddha, Dhama, and Sangha, which are the objects of conversion for Buddhists. The Buddha is all the Buddhas who have achieved perfect Buddhism and Taoism; The Dharma refers to the teachings of the Buddhas; Sanghas are a group of monks who practice truthfully according to various Buddhist teachings. Buddhists can only truly attain the path of liberation by taking refuge in the Three Treasures.
Buddha
The first treasure among the three treasures of Buddhism is the Buddhist treasure. Buddha is the abbreviation of the Sanskrit transliteration of Buddha, and the free translation is the Awakened One, who fully realizes the reality of the universe and life and can guide all beings to achieve complete enlightenment.
The Buddha Treasure is all the Buddhas who have achieved perfect Buddhism and Taoism. Perfect Buddhism and Taoism mainly have two conditions: Buddha’s body and Buddha’s virtue:
- The Buddha’s body refers to the Buddha’s fruit, including the Dharma body, the retribution body, and the response body, who has achieved all kinds of wisdom and achieved all kinds of miraculous merits through the relentless pursuit of the Infinite Amitabha.
- Buddha’s virtue refers to the virtues of the Buddhas who have achieved the fruit of the Buddha, including the full ten powers, the four fearlessness, the eighteen incompatibilities, the four immeasurable minds, the freedom of life, and the freedom of divine powers, including wisdom, decisiveness, and grace.
Dhama
The second treasure among the three treasures of Buddhism is the Dharma Treasure, which is the core of the three treasures. Dharma is a transliteration of Dharma in Sanskrit, meaning the fundamental principles of Buddhism. The so-called Dharma refers to the teachings of various Buddhas, mainly based on the teachings of Shakyamuni.
The magic weapon mainly has three elements:
- Taking Nirvana liberation and constant happiness and self purification as the body nature;
- Taking thirty-seven items as a convenience;
- Using 84000 Dharma gates as a sweet dew medicine to subdue sentient beings.
Sangha
The third treasure among the three treasures of Buddhism is the monk’s treasure. Monk is the abbreviation of Sanskrit transliterated Sangka, which means “he zhong” or “fa zhong”. It generally refers to a group of monks composed of four or more members of a family. Monks are a group of monks who practice truthfully according to various Buddhist laws.
Monks and treasures can be divided into three types: righteous monks, virtuous saints, and Futian monks:
- Yiseng refers to the Buddhas who live in the world according to the Dharma, and manifest their differences according to the opportunities and enlightenment of sentient beings. However, in reality, their differences are invisible, intangible, indestructible, and unimaginable, making them a blessed land for all sentient beings;
- The sage monk refers to a sage above the level of the Tao, in Mahayana Buddhism it refers to a state of enlightenment above the initial fruit, and in Mahayana Buddhism it refers to a bodhisattva above the initial mind and dwelling;
- Fukuda Monk refers to a monk who becomes a monk in the mortal realm. Although he has not yet achieved enlightenment, he can still provide shelter for all beings and provide them with peace and happiness.
The most used recitation in Pali
Buddham saranam gacchami.
I take refuge in the Buddha.
Dhammam saranam gacchami.
I take refuge in the Dharma.
Sangham saranam gacchami.
I take refuge in the Sangha.
Dutiyampi Buddham saranam gacchami.
For the second time, I take refuge in the Buddha.
Dutiyampi Dhammam saranam gacchami.
For the second time, I take refuge in the Dharma.
Dutiyampi Sangham saranam gacchami.
For the second time, I take refuge in the Sangha.
Tatiyampi Buddham saranam gacchami.
For the third time, I take refuge in the Buddha.
Tatiyampi Dhammam saranam gacchami.
For the third time, I take refuge in the Dharma.
Tatiyampi Sangham saranam gacchami.
For the third time, I take refuge in the Sangha.
