The Three Jewels Of Buddhism (Episode 3)

The Three Jewels of Buddhism are the essential components of Buddhism. In this talk, we explore each and consider how they relate to the 12 Step Principles. Consider how your spiritual sobriety may be enhanced through an understading of the Three Jewels.

Transcript

Hi and welcome to Spiritual Sobriety.

I'm your host Chris McDuffie.

Today we will discuss the three jewels of Buddhism and how they relate to the principles of AA and the 12-step programs.

I won't go into great detail about the life of the Buddha or his entire path of becoming enlightened.

I will do that more in future podcasts,

But for now here is a brief primer.

Buddha's birth name was Siddhartha Gautama,

Born in a wealthy noble family in India roughly 500 years before the birth of Christ.

The term Buddha is a Hindu term which comes from the root Pali word budd,

Which means to awaken.

In the Hindu religion,

The Buddhas were seen as ranking higher than the Gods.

The term enlightened one comes from the Victorian English translation,

And I find that term doesn't do justice to the original Pali definition and I tend not to use it.

As I introduce each jewel,

Consider how it relates to spirituality.

I'd also like you to consider too how each might correspond to the 12-step principles.

You may recall how I chose to define spirituality in a recent podcast entitled Defining Spirituality.

I choose to define spirituality as bonding in love or simply love.

The first jewel is the Buddha.

Here Buddhists celebrate the man and his triumphant ability to awaken himself to the cause of suffering.

Remember,

In Buddhism,

The Buddha is not considered a God or a saint in any sense.

Rather,

Buddhists celebrate the realization that if this one man could attain awakening,

They too might awaken in the present lifetime.

To be clear,

Awoken refers to being mindfully present and fully aware of one's actions.

Consider the modern day opposite,

Trudging through life drunk,

High,

Or mindlessly marching through a marriage or career,

Feeling numbed and asleep walking through life while fixated on the past and future.

Yes,

They did this too,

500 years before the birth of Christ.

Another key component of the first jewel is the concept of taking refuge in awakening.

Here Buddhists are referring to having a spiritual awakening which allows them to finally see the spiritual essence within all of us.

This includes realizing that we are all born with what Buddha called your Buddha nature.

The Buddha nature could be defined as loving awareness.

The second jewel of Buddhism is the Dharma.

The term Dharma is a Pali word that has many meanings.

In Buddhism,

The Dharma is referred to the canon of public Buddhist teachings that offer Buddha's steps toward awakening and living a spiritual life.

In this second jewel,

We again see the concept of taking refuge.

Here,

Buddhists take refuge in the path of mindfulness,

Understanding,

And love,

Which is accomplished through the learning and practicing of Buddha's teachings.

Consider the image of a refuge as a safe sanctuary.

To be clear,

Buddha's teachings are not considered to be heaven sent,

Or sent from God or the gods.

Also,

It is important to point out that Buddha offered his Dharma teaching as suggestions,

Not moral laws or mandates.

Essentially,

He said,

This is what worked for me.

See for yourself if my suggestions help you too awaken in this life.

Note that I mentioned in this lifetime,

Which refers to the Hindu and Buddhist concept of reincarnation.

Buddha was basically saying,

Why wait?

End your suffering now.

The third jewel of Buddhism is the Sangha.

The word Sangha is Pali for the community.

Here,

Buddhists take refuge in their community,

The family,

Or as we say in A,

The family,

Or the family of the Buddha.

In the Sangha,

Buddhists learn to practice loving awareness and loving kindness in their relationships with one another,

While developing trust in others.

Buddha was asked by his students,

Of the three jewels,

Which is the most important one?

The Buddha replied,

The Sangha.

It is the spiritual bonding and love with others that is the ultimate objective in Buddhism.

Buddha was then asked by his students,

What about a bad Sangha?

Should we leave it or stay?

Buddha is said to have replied,

A bad Sangha is better than no Sangha.

I like to tell this to my clients who don't want to go to Silver Living or attend recovery meetings.

So,

Consider for yourself how you might use the three jewels of Buddhism as spiritual objectives to enhance your sobriety.

Were you able to see the commonalities of the three jewels of Buddhism and the Twelve Step Principles?

I hope that you found today's discussion helpful to your spiritual sobriety.

I look forward to reading your thoughts and comments to today's suggestions and questions.

Thank you.

Reviews

This and the previous podcast crystalized my way of decribing my unerstanding of my ‘higher power’. Epiphany!

I like the implied connection between Buddhism and AA. This is helpful and encouraging. Thank you.

A clear and direct description of the three Jewels of Buddhism and how they may correlate to the modern 12 step program

That was excellent! Thank you 🙏! When Bill W showed the Buddhists our steps they said the only change they would make is God to Good! This talk reminded me of that ! 🙏🙏🙏

Thank you for this helpful insight into the steps which we know so well. It offers another perspective and much food for thought.

I'm new to Buddhism about 15 months and I have found a void in my life do Buddhism there are a lot of these podcast for these talks that better at its ninth or with the three tools I think it's on three how can I get one + 2 that I like to follow this three jewels as far as you go and how do I do that thank you namaste

I loved it! Just beautiful! I absolutely love the walk between Sobriety and Buddhism!♡♡♡♡♡ Please keep coming back!

Gratitude!!

Thank you for sharing this truth.
🙏🏻✨🎇🕊

Thank you for being on this Earth at this time AND at Aton :)

Thanks for posting this serie. My husband is struggling with alcohol and I am having a hard time dealing with him.

The message of community rings loud and clear. I am basically afraid of people, and dont like going to AA meetings. LOL Not afraid of crowds though. LOL.
Thank you for this great message.

Spot on. Thank you

Thank you Chris.

I'm not in recovery, and really enjoyed this. Namaste! 🌼

As a Buddhist in recovery truly appreciated the insight and connections. Thank you !

Thank you. This can help anyone.

Excellent. I can apply this to many areas of life. Thank you. ☮️💟🕉

Excellent overview of the 3 Jewels of Buddhism and very helpful. Thank you for sharing this with us.