When we take refuge in the Three Jewels, we first return to and rely upon the Buddha.  For uncountable eons, we have been wandering helplessly and miserably in the six realms.  Now we have met a good teacher who shows us that we need to return from our delusion and erroneous thinking, and to rely upon the awakening of our true nature that was originally awakened.  So, the Buddha that we rely upon is not to be found outside of ourselves but is innate to our true nature.

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Taking refuge in the Buddha means being awakened and not deluded.  Taking refuge in the Dharma means being proper and not deviated.  Taking refuge in the Sangha means being pure and not polluted.

These are the Three Jewels of True Nature for our practice: awakening, proper understanding, and purity.

From now on, we need to forget our past and return to and rely upon these Three Jewels and use them to correct our thoughts, speech, and behavior.

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Once we attain enlightenment, we attain everything.  Therefore, no matter which method we choose, the key to success is concentration on one method.  So long as we adhere to our chosen method, we will achieve deep concentration, attain wisdom, and uncover the True Nature of Great Perfection.

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From all of this, we can see how important the Triple Jewels are to us, for monks and nuns are the treasure of the Sangha.  We need to respect all of them.  We can learn from the good ones, as well as from those who do not follow the rules and guidelines.  We emulate the former and use the latter to serve as negative examples.

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If we fail to understand that taking refuge in the Three Jewels does not mean following a certain person, then there will be the most serious of consequences, as we will fall into Avici Hell.  Why?  There is only one Sangha in the universe and the Sangha in our world is a part of this whole.  If we take refuge in and follow only one individual monk or nun, regard that person as our only teacher, and refuse to respect others, we will be "splitting and sowing discord among the group.  This is the fifth of the Five Deadly Offenses. 

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The first four are patricide, matricide, intentionally causing a Buddha to bleed, killing a Bodhisattva or an Arhat.  Thus, it would be even worse to choose only a certain monk or nun for refuge than not to take refuge at all.

Furthermore, we only need to take refuge once.  It does not accomplish anything to take refuge from one person this time and then from another later.  We may think that we can get much more protection if we follow many monks and nuns.  But as the saying goes: "A clay idol crossing a river cannot even protect himself."

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Nobody can protect us.  Only when we take refuge in the Three Jewels of True Nature, can we protect ourselves.

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