The Buddha awoke, taught the Dharma for 45 years, and gathered the sangha of bhikkus and lay people around him. Each of these three is a Treasure giving us refuge from Samsara, the suffering from our greed, hatreds, and delusions, which have no beginning. This is obvious in the ordinary way, but each is also a koan, because we want to understand it fully as the Buddha did, as the Dharma points to, and as the Sangha carries on. Many great masters have explained that otherwise Buddhism could not last.
These are also matters of ceremony and symbol, like the Triratna above. In Theravada practice one regularly recites the Tisarana, beginning
Buddham saranam gacchami.
Ti-Sarana: The Three Refuges: The Three Jewels Of Buddhism (Pali & English)
In English, it can also be
I go to the Buddha for refuge.
I go to the Dharma for refuge.
I go to the Sangha for refuge.
Or, in Zen,
Homage to the Buddha; Homage to the Dharma; Homage to the Sangha
In Chinese characters, but Japanese pronunciation,
namu kie butsu 南無歸依佛 namu kie ho 南無歸依法 namu kie so 南無歸依僧
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