The 3 jewels
In Buddhism, a meditator is invited to take refuge in the 3 jewels which are:
- The Dharma
- The Buddha
- The Sangha
The Dharma is the theoretical map of the Path that each meditators explores on the way to awakening. Without it, one can sit for hours without fully understanding the depth of the experience. Insight would be hard, and progress limited.
A sangha is a spiritual community that supports the meditation on his path. The community can be physical but not necessarily, as I explored in my reflection on Losing what is dear.
The Buddha manifests every time a skill action is taken in the face of suffering.
So to sum it up, one can think of the 3 jewels as process:
- Every time we engage with the sangha, we have a chance to practice the 8 fold path
- When we react skilfully, a buddha manifests, and then goes away.
This process and cycle is explained by the Dharma. But only practice of meditation leads to insights culminating in this awakened experience of life.