Awareness of the self as the three treasures (Buddhism)

The three treasures are venerated in the life of the Buddhist as basic to his faith. In [Hinayana]

Buddhism the treasures are [Buddha]

himself, [dharma]

(the law, the truth, in other words the teaching) and [sangha]

(the Buddhist community). In Zen, knowledge of the three treasures as [sambo]

is an integral part of the way. Having been trained in [koans]

, the student is introduced to the meaning of the [sambo]

at three levels: (i) As [ittai sambo]

- one body - the unity of Buddha awareness of nothingness, [sunyata]

, [bussho]

, with the law, [dharma]

, governing the conditions for forms and appearances, this unity being reality as experienced by the enlightened. (ii) As manifest in Sakyamuni, the Buddha of history, his spoken words and teaching on the three precious ones in the [dharma]

, and his contemporary followers who realized his teachings in their lives. (iii) As verified in the images of Buddha, in the records of teachings of fully enlightened buddhas available now in the texts of the sutras and other scriptures, and in the lives of those who now practice the truth of the three precious ones as one, first revealed by Sakyamuni. All three, the body, the manifestation and the verification, are interdependent. Enlightened realization of the one body permits appreciation of the enlightenment of Sakyamuni and his teaching, of his living reality in images and representations; the revelation of the one body in the body and mind of Sakyamuni; and of the need for enlightened ones at the present time so that the life and teaching of Sakamuni are a living reality and not an abstract theory. Since each person embodies the one body, [ittai sambo]

, the fully realized person knows the ground of the three treasures to be himself.