Buddhism: (3 of 3) The Magic of ‘Three’

(hint: start at the beginning) (completed on Dec 27th) I’ve been a lazy boy this past week, relaxing in Helena at my parents’ house. I did write a letter to the local paper’s editor about the ‘war on Christmas’ and how the holiday, which is shared with/borrowed from many other faiths should be about love and sharing with family, friends, and community and not about any one faith claiming monopoly on the season. I’ve also started some new ‘instant immerson’ German software, trying to make actual classes (when I take them) less painful. But enough about that for now.

To incite the magic of ‘3’ in Buddhism we can look at the two central ‘3’s: that of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; and that of sīla (ethics), samadhi (meditation), and pañña (wisdom). There are more ‘3’s, no doubt, but both of these are in the ‘foundational’ teachings of all schools of Buddhistm. I’ll save the second triad for another post for now and simply work through the first.

This first triad (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) is often referred to as the three jewels,those which are most precious; or the three refuges, those to which one may turn in times of turbulence for shelter. The first, the Buddha, made clear that he was no god, no yaksa (spirit), but merely one who is awakened (bodhi, from which the title ‘Buddha‘ is derived). He was the exemplar, the Jungian archetype, the great man who was unique only in having cleared the path on his own, without an awakened teacher. However that path was there for us now to enter upon to likewise become awakened.

The path is synonymous with the teachings of the Buddha. Though not as mere books or sayings, but as lived wisdom. A Buddhist must not merely know or have faith in the teachings, he or she must embody them. Yet Dharma also holds a more ancient meaning, borrowed from the Brahmanic tradition before Buddhism. That meaning is law, or its corresponding duty. The universe in Buddhism is not governed by chance or an independent designer/creator. It is law-bound, through and through. There are physical laws, Buddhism accepts these even in their most current scientific forms. Then there are moral laws, karma, the inescapable balancing of good done with good received. But finally and above all is cosmic law, Dharma, the Absolute Calmness and Equanimity of the universe of which we are one part reflecting all other parts like a giant net with a jewel at each knot in the net. To peer into any one jewel is to look at each and every other jewel reflected through it, layer by layer, level by level, reflection upon compounded reflection. The beauty of a jewel, like any one of us, is our ability to purely reflect the universe which is us without selfishness.

And it is this which gives rise to the Sangha, for it is in other people that we find true, lived Dharma and thus our closest connection to Buddha. Each of us is that jewel, we just need the imperfections wiped away, which isn’t easy, but worth it. As we clear away more of our selfishness we see more clearly our connectedness with others in our lives, from our parents to the 3rd world workers who make most of our cloths and harvest many of our foods. We also come closer to the earth, the sun, water, and air, all of which are within us… though usually unnoticed. Our Sangha is that group of people who realize the purity and goodness within us, who lead and sometimes push us along the path, who gently criticize us when we go astray and in whom we know the same goodness and give the same guidance.