THIS TIME WE ARE EXCEEDINGLY fortunate in that not
only have we all obtained a precious human body, a precious
human birth, but based upon this, we have actually entered
the door of the Dharma, have given rise to faith in the teaching,
and actually practiced it.
The entrance into the door of the teachings of Buddhadharma
is the taking of refuge in the Three Jewels. If one does not
go for refuge with faith to the Jewels, but rather goes for
refuge to worldly deities, and is unaware of the qualities
of the Three Jewels, then one is not a practitioner of Buddhadharma.
Therefore, it is said that the root of the Buddha's teaching
is faith in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Because
without faith in these, one will have no conviction about
the validity of the teachings, and lacking this conviction,
as well as lacking the conviction about the qualities of the
Sangha, one will be unwilling or unable to study the teaching.
Even if one does study them, to some extent, it will be like
the games of children.
The word in Tibetan for the Three Jewels, "konchok," literally
means "rare and supreme." The first syllable, "kon," means
"rare." It points to the fact that the Buddha, the Dharma,
and the Sangha are like the rarest of diamonds in that only
someone with the karmic connection and the necessary merit
will even hear their names, let alone be able to develop faith
in them and receive teachings from them. The second syllable,
"chok," means "supreme" or "best," and again, like the diamond
in the example, the Three Jewels are supreme in that by relying
upon them, all of one's needs and wishes as well as ultimate
freedom can be accomplished.
The essence of the mind is emptiness; the nature of the mind
is actually the integration of emptiness, clarity, and awareness.
The name that is given to the actual nature of mind is "yeshe"
or wisdom, something that all beings possess. However, sentient
beings do not recognize the actual nature of their mind to
be what it is. This lack of recognition is like throwing mud
or sand into pure water; it becomes sullied or defiled. When
the lack of recognition is present, one no longer speaks of
"yeshe" or wisdom, one speaks of "namshe" or consciousness.
But the distinction between these two states of mind is nothing
other than the presence or lack of recognition by the mind
of the mind's own nature.
The failure of the mind to recognize its own nature is what
is meant by the term "ma-rik-pa," or ignorance, the first
level of obscuration or defilement in the mind. As a result
of this ignorance, there arises in the mind the imputation
of an "I" and an "other," something that is other than the
mind. This dualistic clinging, something that we have had
throughout beginningless time and that never stops, is the
second level of obscuration, the obscuration of habits. Based
upon this dualistic clinging arise the three root mental afflictions:
mental darkness, desire, and aggression. Based upon those
three afflictions are the 84,000 various mental afflictions,
the third level of obscurations, called the obscuration of
mental affliction. Under the influence of this, we perform
actions that are obscured in their nature--the fourth level,
called the obscuration of actions or karma. These four levels
or types of obscurations are the cause for all sentient beings
to wander in samsara. If these are removed or cleaned, then
the inherent qualities of mind's nature, which we refer to
as wisdom or "yeshe," will naturally manifest and spread like
the rays of the sun. The word in Tibetan for the removal of
these obscurations, "sang," means "cleansing," and the word
for the spreading of the inherent qualities of the mind that
occurs as a result of that is "gye," or "increasing." "Sang-gye,"
these two words together, is the Tibetan word for a Buddha.
Therefore what is meant by Buddhahood is the recognition and
realization of the complete purity of the mind.
When the nature of the mind becomes fully manifest, it possesses
what are usually enumerated as twenty-seven extraordinary
qualities, such as complete unchanging emptiness and great
In order to benefit those to be trained, the mind of a Buddha
exhibits what are usually enumerated as thirty-two qualities,
which are outlined as the ten powers, the four kinds of fearlessness,
and the eighteen qualities of unmistakenness. A Buddha, for
instance, knows the nature and situation of all of samsara
and all of nirvana. He knows the past, present, and future
of every sentient being.
Arising from these qualities of the mind of a Buddha are
qualities of speech, traditionally sixty qualities, possessed
only by a Buddha and not by any human or god. One such quality
is that if a Buddha gives one teaching at one time to 1,000
people, each of whom speaks a different language and is from
a different place, each single person will understand what
the Buddha is saying. Beyond that, a Buddha has the capacity
to teach in such a way that each single person receives the
particular kind of teaching, at the same time, that the individual
needs to receive. So, with one teaching of Dharma, a Buddha
can give the remedy to each person for his or her particular
strongest mental affliction.
The qualities of the body of a Buddha are experienced at
various levels. Particularly the sambhogakaya, or body of
complete enjoyment of a Buddha, is experienced only by bodhisattvas
residing upon the eighth, ninth, and tenth levels of realization.
It is a bodhisattva residing upon one of those levels who
sees the forms of the sambhogakaya, Vajradhara, Vajrasattva,
Avalokiteshvara, and so forth. The sambhogakaya is actually
experienced as possessing the appearance with which we are
familiar, the glorious silk garments, jewel ornaments, the
pure form, and so forth. The actual appearance of the sambhogakaya
is an expression of the complete possession by a Buddha of
all qualities of the world and beyond the world.
In order to train ordinary beings, the Buddhas manifest as
nirmanakaya, as in the case of the Buddha Shakyamuni. Such
a nirmanakaya possesses what are called the 32 major and 80
minor marks of full Buddhahood. These include the "ushnisa"
on the top of the head, the thousand-spoked Dharma wheels
on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, and so forth.
These qualities only arise on the body of a Buddha and not
upon the body of any human or worldly god. They arise in such
a way that anyone who sees the form of a Buddha immediately
delights in it and finds it beautiful to see.
In this way, the qualities of the body, speech, and mind
of a Buddha are superior to anything and anyone else. The
actual excellence or superiority of a Buddha consists of the
fact that a Buddha has the wisdom, compassion, and ability
to give beings exactly what each needs in order to become
free from the sufferings of samsara. So, in order to benefit
beings, the Buddha teaches the Dharma, the second of the Three
Rare and Supreme Ones, or the Three Jewels. And as sentient
beings possess 84,000 mental afflictions (kleshas), the Buddha
taught 84,000 teachings of the Dharma.
There are two aspects to the Jewel of the Dharma. The first
of these is the actual words by which the Dharma is transmitted,
the words of the Buddha, and the words and text which record
them. The transmission of these is called the Dharma of transmission.
But the meaning of these words, the realization of this meaning--whether
it be the meaning of emptiness, the meaning of compassion,
or from the tantric point of view, the meaning of the development
and fulfillment stages--is called the Dharma of realization.
So the Dharma of transmission and the Dharma of realization
are the two aspects of the Jewel of the Dharma.
Those who listen to the teachings of the Dharma, study them,
and put them into practice to an extent to which they can
guide others are the Sangha. Among the Sangha, those who,
through the practice of Dharma, have reached the first level
of bodhisattva realization and reside in the first up to the
tenth level of realization are called the "exalted ones."
Those who, having listened to the teachings, studied them,
and put them into practice, and residing on the two paths
that are preliminary to the ten levels of bodhisattva realization
and application, are called the "Sangha of ordinary individuals."
Therefore one must begin by becoming aware of the qualities
of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, and by understanding
exactly what they are. By means of that, one will give rise
to faith in them. One will be able to feel one's faith and
go for refuge to them. It is necessary that this occur as
a basis for the practice, but beyond that, the going for refuge
must be something that is continually practiced and renewed
in one's daily practice; this is extremely important.
The reason why the taking of refuge is so important is that
at present we are immersed in samsara, which is an experience
of suffering, an experience of impermanence, and an experience
of constant change. If we wish to free ourselves from this,
we cannot do so simply by ourselves. However, we can travel
the path to liberation by relying upon the compassion of the
Three Jewels. That is why it is necessary to go to them for
As ordinary beings, we do not know or understand the methods
that we must engage in to obtain Buddhahood. For that reason
we need a guide or a companion on the path to Buddhahood.
This is something that can be explained by an example that
is easily understood by Westerners. If one wanted to get from
here to New York City and one tried to walk, one would either
not get there at all or it would take a very long time. However,
if one were to stand by the side of the road and put out one's
thumb, then eventually some good minded individual would stop
their car; one could get in and one would reach the city.
It's the same way if we want to reach the City of Enlightenment.
We have to hitchhike or take refuge in the Three Jewels.
The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha are beings or things
that are separate from us, distinct from us. We are individuals
and we are quite a distance from them. One might ask how it
is possible to establish a connection. First of all, all phenomena
arise through interdependence through the actions of causes
and conditions. In the case of the path, what must occur is
the coming together of the conditions of one's own faith,
and the compassion and blessing of the Three Jewels. If these
two come together, then the connection is established and
one can travel the path.
The presence of the faith on one's own part and the compassion
and qualities on the part of the Three Jewels is sufficient
to create the connection. It does not depend on distance,
like a television station that is sending out a TV program.
If one has the box and the set, one can see the program. If
the TV station isn't sending it out, then even if one has
the TV set one can't see it. If the TV station is sending
it out but one does not have the TV set, then one also can't
see it . But in either case, if these two things are present,
then regardless of the distance that separates the two, although
there is no direct physical connection that one can see, the
TV program still arrives somehow. In the same way, the actual
blessing and compassion of the Three Jewels can be received,
and one can enter through one's faith.
Another example is that the compassion, blessing, and power
of the Three Jewels is like a hook, and one's faith is like
a ring. If these two are present and connect one with another,
then the hook will lead the ring and oneself, held by the
ring, from suffering to happiness and finally to liberation.
This is the reason why all the lamas of the Golden Rosary
of the Kagyu have always given and continue to give Refuge
as the basis for the transmission of teachings; why, at any
time when one receives teaching of Buddhadharma, one begins
by reciting the Refuge; and also why when one practices the
preliminaries, ngondro, the first of these is the 100,000
recitations of the Refuge accompanied by prostrations.
The root or basis is going for refuge to the Buddha, the
Dharma, and the Sangha--the Three Jewels. This could be called
external Refuge. Beyond this, from the point of view of the
Vajrayana, one goes for refuge to the guru as the root of
all blessing, the yidam as the root of all attainment, and
the dakini as the root of all activity. This is the internal
form of going for refuge. Beyond that, to go for refuge to
one's root guru alone--recognizing that he is the embodiment
of the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha, and the gurus, yidams,
and dakinis, the embodiment of all these in one form, and
possessing all of their qualities--is the secret form of Refuge.
The form of going for refuge that we use as Kagyupas is called
the sixfold Refuge because it has six lines to it, three of
which are devoted to the Three Jewels, and three of which
are devoted to the Three Roots. The first two and the last
of the six lines are devoted to the Three Roots and read:
Line 1: I go for refuge to the glorious sacred
Line 2: I go for refuge to the assembly of deities in the
mandalas of the yidams.
Line 3: I go for refuge to the dakas, dakinis, and Dharma
protectors who possess the eye of wisdom.
There is also an abbreviated form of the Refuge:
I go for refuge to the guru. I go for refuge to
the Buddha. I go for refuge to the Dharma.
The first line, "I go for refuge to the guru," expresses
one's conviction that the guru or lama is the embodiment of
the Three Roots because his actual form, his body, is the
guru; his speech is the activity of the dakinis and Dharma
protectors; and his mind is the nature of the yidams. Following
that, one goes for refuge externally to the Buddha, the Dharma,
and Sangha. Therefore this shorter form of taking refuge also
contains both the Three Jewels and the Three Roots.
It should be understood that the taking of refuge is not
a process whereby the Buddha takes those who appear to have
devotion to him and leads them to his side. Through taking
refuge, one begins a process oneself which, going through
various stages, will lead to one's own realization of the
same state, the same experience as the Buddha.
Taken from a teaching given at Karma Triyana
Dharmachakra on the weekend of October 24, 1986. Translated
by Lama Yeshe Gyamtso and edited by Krista Schwimmer.