Refuge in Buddhism

Its object is typically the Three Jewels (also known as the Triple Gem or Three Refuges, Pali: ti-ratana or ratana-ttaya; Sanskrit: tri-ratna or ratna-traya), which are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

In early Buddhist scriptures, taking refuge is an expression of determination to follow the Buddha's path, but not a relinquishing of responsibility.

Since the period of Early Buddhism, all Theravada and mainstream Mahayana schools only take refuge in the Triple Gem.

[4] In 1880, Henry Steel Olcott and Helena Blavatsky went through a ceremony called "the Three Refuges and Five Precepts" to become Buddhist.

[5] Since the period of Early Buddhism, devotees expressed their faith through the act of taking refuge, which is threefold.

[9] Lay devotees support and revere the saṅgha, of which they believe it will render them merit and bring them closer to enlightenment.

In such cases, the texts describe that the Buddha responds with great sensitivity to the perceptions of the lay community.

He expects monks, nuns and novices not only to lead the spiritual life for their own benefit, but also to uphold the faith of the people.

[12] There remains value for a degree of trusting confidence and belief in Buddhism, primarily in the spiritual attainment and salvation or enlightenment.

According to the Mahayana treatise titled Ratnagotravibhāga (Analysis of the Jeweled Lineage), the true meaning of the triple gem is as follows:[13] According to the Tibetan Buddhist master Longchenpa: According to the Mahayana approach, the buddha is the totality of the three kayas; the dharma encompasses scriptural transmission (contained in the sutras and tantras) and the realization of one’s self-knowing timeless awareness (including the views, states of meditative absorption, and so forth associated with stages such as those of development and completion); and the sangha is made up of bodhisattvas, masters of awareness, and other spiritually advanced beings (other than buddhas) whose nature is such that they are on the paths of learning and no more learning.

[4] These alternative refuge formulations are employed by those undertaking deity yoga and other tantric practices within the Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana tradition.

[4] The Triratna (Pali: ti-ratana or ratana-ttaya; Sanskrit: tri-ratna or ratna-traya) is a Buddhist symbol, thought to visually represent the Three Jewels of Buddhism (the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha).

A number of examples of the triratna symbol appear on historical coins of Buddhist kingdoms in the Indian subcontinent.