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Faith in the Three Jewels
We need to recognize that the positive seeds, talents, and insights within ourselves have been transmitted by our ancestors, grandparents, parents, and teachers. This acknowledgment helps us not to be proud of a separate self, while also not falling into an inferiority complex or seeking value outside like the destitute son looking for a treasure. For monastics, when receiving reverence, one must be careful to avoid nourishing arrogance. Besides the four traditional offerings, reverence becomes the fifth item, creating a list of offerings to be mindful of:
- Robes
- Medicine
- Food
- Bedding
- Reverence
Suffering and happiness, the negative and the positive, are likened to garbage and flowers; they rely on each other to manifest in the spirit of non-duality. The practitioner acts as a gardener, not afraid of the garbage (suffering, pain, and irritation) but using it as compost to nourish the flowers. We need to maintain faith in the capacity to transform garbage into flowers, believing in our Buddha nature or the fundamental truth, goodness, and beauty within us. This faith is also a scientific trust in the body’s capacity for self-healing and self-regulation, and most importantly, trust in the collective insight of the Sangha to transcend the narrow views of the individual.
Beginners need to take refuge in the Sangha and the teacher to wear away worldly habit energies, rather than rushing to criticize the fine manners or methods of practice based on their own separate understanding. Through the practice of mindfulness in every step, speech, and action, we protect our energy and receive the spiritual heritage from our teacher, the one who gives birth to our Dharma body. The greatest success of a practitioner lies not in external achievements but in the capacity to nourish Bodhicitta and maintain firm faith in the Three Jewels.