Explore/Chapter 2 - Confession of Negativity: Difference between revisions
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:These are the three main places of refuge for Buddhists. In his ''White Conch Dictionary'' (Tib. ''Dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo''), Dungkar Rinpoche says that, simply put, the Buddha Jewel is the one who speaks/declares the teachings, the Dharma Jewel is what he taught, and the Sangha Jewel is made up of those who put those teachings into practice. | :These are the three main places of refuge for Buddhists. In his ''White Conch Dictionary'' (Tib. ''Dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo''), Dungkar Rinpoche says that, simply put, the Buddha Jewel is the one who speaks/declares the teachings, the Dharma Jewel is what he taught, and the Sangha Jewel is made up of those who put those teachings into practice. | ||
:The Tibetan etymology uses the word "དཀོན་," which means rare or hard to find, and then "མཆོག་," meaning supreme, outstanding , or distinguished. Dungkar Rinpoche says the meaning here of being a "Jewel" is taken in terms of something which appears very rarely in this world, which we therefore can consider as more precious than any ordinary diamond or jewel. In terms of being a field of merit, they are the best of all fields and therefore supreme. | :The Tibetan etymology uses the word "དཀོན་," which means rare or hard to find, and then "མཆོག་," meaning supreme, outstanding, or distinguished. Dungkar Rinpoche says the meaning here of being a "Jewel" is taken in terms of something which appears very rarely in this world, which we therefore can consider as more precious than any ordinary diamond or jewel. In terms of being a field of merit, they are the best of all fields and therefore supreme. | ||
:Technically, the Buddha Jewel is the place of refuge which has taken to its final limit the two aims, of oneself and others. The Dharma Jewel is considered the most important of the three because it includes both the scriptural teachings and the actual path of realizations. The scriptures are those teachings which were spoken to guide us on the path, the actual words of the Buddha. Taking those teachings to heart and practicing them, we develop in our continuum the truths of the path and then the truth of cessation, which is the result of practicing that path. The Dharma Jewel is anything which is a fully purified truth of an ''ārya'' being which is subsumed within the truth of cessation or the truth of the path. The Sangha Jewel is often taken to mean the wider community of ordained sangha members or even the wider diaspora of fellow Buddhists, whether ordained or not. But technically the Sangha Jewel means an ''ārya'' being who has the qualities of wisdom and liberation. | :Technically, the Buddha Jewel is the place of refuge which has taken to its final limit the two aims, of oneself and others. The Dharma Jewel is considered the most important of the three because it includes both the scriptural teachings and the actual path of realizations. The scriptures are those teachings which were spoken to guide us on the path, the actual words of the Buddha. Taking those teachings to heart and practicing them, we develop in our continuum the truths of the path and then the truth of cessation, which is the result of practicing that path. The Dharma Jewel is anything which is a fully purified truth of an ''ārya'' being which is subsumed within the truth of cessation or the truth of the path. The Sangha Jewel is often taken to mean the wider community of ordained sangha members or even the wider diaspora of fellow Buddhists, whether ordained or not. But technically the Sangha Jewel means an ''ārya'' being who has the qualities of wisdom and liberation. | ||
