Buddha

Sri Sri:

In the spiritual path, there are three factors: the Buddha - the Master or the Enlightened, the Sangha - the commune or the group, and the Dharma - your nature, your true nature. One of the main things in the Buddhist practice is taking refuge in all these three. Buddham Sharanam Gacchami means ‘I take refuge in Buddha’. Sangham Sharanam Gacchami means ‘I take refuge in the assembly, the Sangha’. And Dhammam Sharanam Gacchami means ‘I take refuge in the true nature of things as they are’.

Buddha or the Master is the Enlightened. The closer you go to Him the more charm you find. You will never be tired of the Enlightened. The closer you go the more newness, the more charm, the more love you feel. It’s like a depth without a bottom. Buddha’s company will always be new and charming.
Master is the Presence. World is relativity. And relativity has limitations. Presence is unlimited. Presence is vast, infinite, and all comprehensive, all inclusive. And the presence of the Master in one’s life will bring fulfillment to all relations. Every relationship will become complete with the presence of the Infinity if the Master is in your life.



Sangha has a reverse nature than Buddha - completely different. Once you are used to a Sangha you lose the charm in the Sangha. That is essential because while Buddha makes your mind one-pointed, Sangha, because it is of so many people, can scatter your mind. It will fragment it. Sangha’s nature will be such though it is very supportive. If it is only repulsive all the time then nobody will be in the Sangha because our nature is not to be in repulsion. Buddha uplifts you. Just by Grace, by Love, by Knowledge He pulls you up. The Sangha pushes you up from down below. Buddha from above pulls you up and the Sangha pushes you up. And the Dharma is to be in the middle. Your nature is not to go to extremes. Your nature is to be in balance. Your nature is to smile from the depth of your heart. Your nature is to accept this entire existence totally as it is. Do not crave or be averse. Often you crave for Buddha and you are averse to the Sangha. And you try to change. By changing Sangha or Buddha you are not going to change.



The main purpose is to come to the centre deep within you which means to find your Dharma. This is the third factor. What is Dharma? Knowing this moment is what has been offered to me and that is how I take it. A sense of deep acceptance for this moment, for every moment is Dharma. When this has come up then there is no problem at all. All the problems generate from our mind; all negativity comes in from our mind.

The world is not bad; the world is beautiful. It is our world that is bad because our world has ‘us’ in it. We make our world ugly or beautiful. So when you are in your Dharma, in your nature, you won’t blame the world and you won’t blame the Divine.

The difficulty of the human mind is that it cannot be part of the world totally and it cannot be part of the Divine. It feels a distance from the Divine. It’s its own creation and yet it feels like blaming the world. It’s not comfortable with the world. Dharma is that which puts you in the middle and which makes you comfortable with the world. It causes you to contribute to the world, be at ease with the Divine, and feel that you are a part of the Divine. That is true Dharma.