Mini-Reflection #87 (21st July 2024 at Essex Church / Kensington Unitarians)
This morning’s service marks the festival of Dharma Day (otherwise known as Asalha Puja) – particularly associated with the Theravadan Buddhist tradition – a day which marks the Buddha’s first sermon and thus the founding of Buddhism as a religion. There is, of course, much wisdom to glean from the Buddhist tradition (or we could say the Buddhist traditions as there are many different strands), and I could have picked any number of teachings to highlight today, but I’ve long thought that ‘The Three Jewels’ offer some insight which can really speak to us Unitarians, so that’s the teaching which we’re going to focus on in this morning’s service.
If you’re not yet familiar with ‘The Three Jewels’, fear not, as we’ll hear several perspectives on them during the next hour, but as an introduction I’ll just share this quote from the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chagdud Tulku who said: ‘We take refuge in the Three Jewels – the Buddha, the dharma, and sangha. The Buddha is like one who has walked a certain road and, by virtue of having reached the destination, knows the route and can show us the way. The road itself is the dharma. And those with whom we travel, those who offer us support and on whom we rely, comprise the sangha.’
As I said at the top of the service today, we’re marking this festival of Dharma Day by focusing on one particular bit of Buddhist wisdom, this idea – this framework for understanding – known as ‘The Three Jewels’. It’s always wise to tread carefully when introducing concepts from traditions that aren’t your own – and so our two readings came from Buddhist teachers – putting across the teaching in their own words and in their own context (albeit tailored for western ears).
What I want to do in this mini-reflection is offer just a little bit of commentary on how ‘The Three Jewels’ might offer a useful framework for Unitarians too. I see it as a really helpful way of thinking about religious life – how we might live religiously and live well – how we might chart our course through life in a way that balances the different spiritual dimensions (rather than living out-of-balance, perhaps paying too much attention to one or the other of them, and neglecting the others).
In that last reading we heard, from the Lotus Zen Meditation Group, they drew interesting parallels between The Three Jewels as understood in their own Buddhist tradition, and equivalent aspects of the Christian tradition. And – whatever our own particular spiritual outlook might be – I reckon we can probably each do our own internal translation of ‘the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha’ – to make sense of the wisdom of this teaching in the context of our own time, place, and religious path.
Thich Nhat Hanh said something very interesting about this in ‘The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching’. He wrote: ‘At first, our Buddha may be a book we’ve read, our Dharma a few encouraging words we’ve heard, and our Sangha a community we’ve visited once or twice. But as we continue to practice, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha reveal themselves to us more fully.’
So I ask you to consider this: At this point in your life, who or what is your ‘Buddha’? Who or what is at the spiritual centre of your religious life? Who is the key teacher, or exemplar – what is the touchstone of goodness, or your north star? I think of this as the most inwardly-focused of the three jewels. It’s about the heart, it’s about relationship, maybe it’s about devotion and trust. As Thich Nhat Hanh puts it: ‘I take refuge in the Buddha, the one who shows me the way in this life.’
And consider this: At this point in your life, what is your ‘Dharma’? What are the teachings and practices that you are deeply engaged with or committed to? What is the way you are following? This one seems to be more about engagement with a particular path and way of living – it involves ethics, values, and conscience – think of the Buddhist eightfold path about ‘right action, right speech, right livelihood, right understanding, and so on’. This is about how we conduct ourselves in the world. As Thich Nhat Hanh puts it: ‘I take refuge in the Dharma, the way of understanding and love.’
And consider: At this point in your life, what is your ‘Sangha’? What is your community of practice? (Of course I hope at least some of you are going to say it’s here with Kensington Unitarians!) To call it a sangha I think it has to be a community where we’re truly engaged – somewhere we’ve got stuck in and rolled up our sleeves – where we see ourselves as being in covenant with others, working through difficulties together, committed to stay in relationship even when the going gets tough. I think the idea is that committing to a community like this is a kind of crucible for our transformation – it is challenging, it stretches us spiritually and ethically, to bump up alongside other imperfect humans – even as we all try to do the right thing, live according to our values, keep each other on track. Thich Nhat Hanh says: ‘I take refuge in the Sangha, the community that lives in harmony and awareness.’
The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha – however we might make sense of those concepts – they point to three dimensions of the religious life that are important for all of us to honour. We might find that we are more drawn to one of them, or more averse to another one, just through our natural temperament. Perhaps the heart-centred life, the life of devotion, comes most naturally. Perhaps the life of practice, discipline, and action is what calls to us. Or maybe it’s community that we’re drawn to and what really matters most to us. At different times of our life each of us may give more weight to one or another of these dimensions of religious life – and that’s OK. But it seems important to me that, over the course of our lifetime, we do pay attention to all of the ‘Three Jewels’ and make the effort to cultivate and develop those dimensions we’ve perhaps been neglecting.
I want to close this mini-reflection with some with words from Thich Nhat Hanh’s ‘The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching’ – a kind-of affirmation of the three jewels – or perhaps a prayer. Considering your own understanding of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, see how this lands with you.
Buddha is the teacher showing the way,
the perfectly awakened one,
beautifully seated, peaceful and smiling,
the living source of understanding and compassion.
Dharma is the clear path leading us out of ignorance,
bringing us back to an awakened life.
Sangha is the beautiful community that practices joy,
realizing liberation, bringing peace and happiness to life.
I take refuge in the Buddha, the one who shows me the way in this life.
I take refuge in the Dharma, the way of understanding and of love.
I take refuge in the Sangha, the community that lives in harmony and awareness.
Dwelling in the refuge of Buddha,
l see clearly the path of light and beauty in the world.
Dwelling in the refuge of Dharma,
l learn to open many doors on the path of transformation.
Dwelling in the refuge of Sangha,
I am supported by its shining light that keeps my practice free of obstacles.
Taking refuge in the Buddha in myself,
I aspire to help all people recognize their own
awakened nature and realize the mind of love.
Taking refuge in the Dharma in myself,
I aspire to help all people grasp the way of practice
and walk together on the path of liberation.
Taking refuge in the Sangha in myself,
I aspire to help all people build fourfold communities
and encourage the transformation of all beings. (pause)
May it be so for the greater good of all. Amen.
Reflection by Jane Blackall
An audio recording of this sermon is available: