The Three Jewels:Buddha, Dharma and Sangha
About Buddhism
It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies. They are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.
~ Jacob Bronowski
The Tacoma Buddhist Center is part of the Triratna Buddhist community - a network of friends and centers across the world that was first established in England by Urgyuen Sangharakshita. After spending decades in the east as a Buddhist monk, Sangharakshita wanted to make the teachings accessible to westerners and help us discover how they could be applied to our modern lives.
Buddhism can be described as a way of living. It spans many cultures and traditions. Its breadth, as well as its depth, is an aspect that can be exciting and interesting to explore.
The Buddha taught many things to countless people. However, his teachings can be summarized by this quote:
“Just as the ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, so too all my teachings have one taste - the taste of freedom.”
Do the teachings lead to more joy, contentment, and happiness? Are they leading to less self-clinging, greater connection, and more compassion for ourselves and others? The Buddha never asked us to believe him on blind faith, but to rigorously test the teachings to find out if they are helpful in our own experience. Each person is free to choose. Only then can the teachings lead to true transformation. We become the instrument of change instead of simply understanding the teachings intellectually.