Robert Thurman begins his three-part in-depth lecture series speaking about Buddhism’s first jewel of refuge – the Buddha, the teacher of the teaching of enlightenment. He describes, in the Buddhist tradition, the long, long process of becoming a Buddha, and the impact of a Buddha on a planet. A Buddha is a being that is the evolutionary perfection imaginable by human beings.
The Dharma, Buddhism’s second jewel of refuge, is the teaching. It is enlightenment itself; reality itself. It is Nirvana, which is reality. So, in what Thurman describes as “a nice thing” about Buddhism is that reality is the goal. When the Buddha attained enlightenment, he brought to the Dharma the meaning that it holds you free from suffering.
The Sangha, Buddhism’s third jewel of refuge, is the community. It is the community of those originally formed around the Buddha, and those beings who are trying themselves to implement the dharma and realize reality – who are trying themselves to become Buddhas. We are infinitely connected with all beings through all time, since the beginning of the world. It is an alternative social world, founded on enlightenment, detachment and love.