What are the Three Jewels and what is Going for Refuge?
The Three Jewels are the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha; that is, the ideal of Enlightenment, the Buddha’s teachings of the path to Enlightenment and the Spiritual community of committed Buddhists. Going for Refuge is the desire to place these Three Jewels at the heart of one’s life, or at least to live one’s life in a way that reflects the increasing influence of the Three Jewels. Going for Refuge is not something done once. As Buddhists within the Triratna Buddhit Community we try to remain in contact with it all the time and re-commit ourselves to it time and time again. Sometimes we speak of deepening our Going for Refuge and this usually refers to bringing these Three Jewels closer to the centre of our lives. Becoming a mitra is an act that expresses our growing confidence in our spiritual practice. It embodies the desire to Go for Refuge to the Three Jewels. Part of this is the practice of the five ethical precepts. When we begin to follow the Buddha’s teachings, we try to lea
