What is Buddhism? Buddhism is the Buddhism that teaches in His way. The Buddha was a historical person, not an imaginary being. He lived and died as a human being. He is not God. His teaching is quite practicable, he himself being a practical person. His teaching is not beyond or out of reach but within every person's reach. Even an ordinary person can follow His teaching according to own capacity. Buddha never teaches what He Himself did not see and know. He saw the beginning and the end of every being or becoming. He obtained perfect knowledge and wisdom. He had walked along a right Path. As, He realized and showed a straightforward Path for every one of us. He had already walked along that Path. He proclaimed that He had trodden that Path which every body could look for and try to walk along until reach the final stage. So the Buddha is a Teacher and the Dhamma, His teaching and the Sangha, His close followers usually called the “Community of Brotherhood” or the “Holy Order”. Who is the Buddha? We do not see Him with our own eyes but we know Him from His own words or teachings or, in another words, the Path which He has shown to us, which is called “Dhamma” to use a single term. The Dhamma or the teaching is still in existence in the minds and hearts of His followers. His disciples both lay persons and ordained ones, have been following His teaching from His life time until the present time in an unbroken line, handing it over from one person to another, in an uninterrupted succession. You are, no doubt, aware of the natural state of affairs. Just as in the world of matter events consist of innumerable parts, situated in different places, taking place in different time and having different functions, so also there are many beings of different temperaments, living in different abodes or planes and marching on to different goals. For the different types of mentality and disposition, the Buddha shows the different stages of the Path, e.g., for inferior type of beings the basic virtues to be cultivated; for middling types of beings the higher stages such as concentration to be developed and firmly established; and for superior types of beings the highest stages such as Vipassana Insight and penetrating wisdom enabling super energy to be exerted. What is the Dhamma? Dhamma means truth, righteousness or universal law. That which is true in the ultimate sense, universally accepted to be true and righteous from the ethical point of view, is called Dhamma. We Buddhists take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. To take refuge in the Dhamma means to search for truth, to follow the right path and to embrace ethical principles. So as long as you are true and unblamable as regards ethical values you are virtually taking refuge in the Dhamma. But the Dhamma or truth can be sought properly and acquired adequately only by the right way and by the assistance of the competent and perfect teacher. In this case the Buddha is the foremost perfected teacher. Even though the Buddha is no longer present physically, His teaching is, as I mentioned before, still alive showing the light to His followers. In this sense, the Buddha is actually present as the representative of the Dhamma. We there-fore say 'Buddham saranam gacchami', Dhammam saranam gacchami', meaning 'I take refuge in the Buddha', 'I take refuge in the Dhamma' What is the Sangha? Sangha, the Buddhist Order, is a community of the closest disciples of the Buddha. We take refuge in the Sangha also and say -Sangham saranam gacchami'. Why should we go to the Sangha as our refuge? Because they tried or are trying to tread the right path shown by the Buddha and set an example in purification of the inner state of beings, that is, the minds and hearts of sentient beings including ourselves and because of that they also are instructors of the Dhamma on behalf of the Buddha and thus very helpful to truth-seekers and consequently, they are truly entitled to be the bearers' of the 'Dhamma-banner' 
Buddhist FoundationBuddhist Foundation For school children, Redland High School California , USA 0n October 5, 2007 About 2551 year ago (623 B.C) on full... more
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