Guidelines for each of the Three Jewels
22 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Volume 4 Following in the Buddha's Footsteps 
Sep 20, 2024 Part of an ongoing series of teachings based on the book Following in the Buddha's Footsteps, the fourth volume in The Library of Wisdom and Compassion series by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron.
- What to avoid and what to do in relationship to the three jewels
- Relating to the images of the Buddha and Dharma texts
- How dharma influences how we interact with others
- Common guidelines
- Repeatedly take refuge, make offerings and encourage others to take refuge
22 Guidelines for Each of the Three Jewels (download)
Contemplation points
- Why are imagination and aspiration so important to our practice as we contemplate the Buddha’s qualities?
- Contemplate the guidelines for each of the Three Jewels. What does each mean in terms of what to adopt and abandon in your daily life? How does keeping each one support the development of deeper refuge for a Buddhist practitioner?
- Having taken refuge in the Buddha, who has purified all defilements and developed all good qualities, do not turn for refuge to worldly deities, who lack the capacity to guide you from all problems.
- Having taken refuge in the Dharma, avoid harming any living being.
- Having taken refuge in the Sangha, do not cultivate the friendship of people who criticize the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha or who have unruly behavior or do many harmful actions.
- When you compare other refuge objects presented in the world to the qualities of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, why is it that you seek refuge in the Three Jewels? Why are we encouraged to take refuge repeatedly?
Venerable Thubten Chodron
Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.
