Question

Is it beneficial to have a short form for reflection when bowing to the Triple Gem? If so, what may the short form include?

Answer

Yes, it is beneficial to have a short form for the Triple Gem because we may be in situation when we can not reflect in a long form, and it would be impolite if we did. As an example, say I am about to give a talk and an old student slowly comes in, slowly goes to their mat, slowly starts to bow very slowly, once... twice... three times. Everybody is waiting, this would not be very polite. So a short form of bowing would be very helpful at that time.

The shortest form that I have is "Homage to the Buddha, homage to the Dhamma, and homage to the Sangha". That is the shortest form that I have. Another comes from a chant. "Whatever diverse precious gems there are in the universe, there is no gem equal to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha." It has a personal theme for me, you can develop your own. I like this short form of reflection on the Triple Gem because it talks about the value of a refuge, compared to material things. There is no refuge and preciousness in material things, so for me this reflection is helpful. For someone else, it maybe not be. They may wish to do a full sentence about the Buddha, Dhamma Sangha.

In the old students' talk, I talk about the Dhamma "To be seen here and now, not a matter of time, inviting one to come and see, leading inward, to be seen by the wise each for themselves." That is fairly long, it comes from a chant, as well.

You can make up your own, it is very helpful to have a powerful short form of reflection. It should include something about the value of the Triple Gem, that it can lead you inward to a refuge. A refuge that you can depend upon, when you can't depend on others. So maybe this will get your creative mind going and you can make a short form that is helpful to you.

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