Whether or not you are a Buddhist is determined by whether or not you have taken refuge in the Three Jewels - Buddha, Dharma and Sangha - purely, from the depths of your heart. Simply reciting Buddhist prayers, playing with a rosary or walking around temples does not make you a Buddhist. Even a monkey can be taught to do these things. Dharma is a matter of mind and spirit, not external activities. Therefore, to be a Buddhist, you must understand exactly what the Three Jewels of Refuge are and how they relate to your spiritual life.

With respect to refuge in Buddha, we talk about the causal Buddha refuge - all the buddhas of the past, present and future, of whom the most relevant to us is Buddha Shakyamuni - and the resultant Buddha refuge - refuge in our own potentiality for enlightenment, the buddha that each of us will become. As for refuge in Dharma, there is the Dharma that was taught in the scriptures and that which is the spiritual realisation of what was taught. Finally, we take refuge in Sangha, in both ordinary monks and nuns, who are symbols of the Sangha, and the Arya Sangha - those beings who have gained meditational experience of the ultimate mode of truth. Therefore, we say that Buddha is the teacher, Dharma is the way and Sangha are the helpful spiritual companions.

Of these three, the most important to us as individuals is the Dharma, for ultimately only we can help ourselves - nobody else can achieve our enlightenment for us or give it to us. Enlightenment comes only to the person who practises Dharma well, who takes the Dharma and applies it to the cultivation of his or her own mental continuum. Therefore, of the Three Jewels, Dharma is the ultimate refuge.

This teaching is given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Courtesy of Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

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