In Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels, the venerable Śāriputra wonders how much merit accrues to someone who takes refuge in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. He therefore seeks out the Buddha Śākyamuni and requests a teaching on this topic. The Buddha proceeds to describe how even vast offerings, performed in miraculous ways, would not constitute a fraction of the merit gained by someone who takes refuge in the Three Jewels.
The Translation
Homage to the Three Jewels!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing at Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park at Śrāvastī, together with a great saṅgha of 1,250 monks.
At that time, while the venerable Śāradvatīputra was alone in the forest, this thought arose in his mind: “I should go before the Teacher so that I can ask the Well-Gone One, the Dharma Lord, this question: ‘How much merit is accumulated by faithful noble sons or noble daughters who take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha of monks?’ ”
At dusk the venerable Śāriputra emerged from his meditative seclusion and went to see the Blessed One. When he arrived, he bowed his head to the Blessed One’s feet and sat to one side. While seated to the side, the venerable Śāriputra asked the Blessed One, “Honored One, while I was staying alone in the forest in meditative seclusion, this thought arose in my mind: ‘How much merit is accumulated by faithful noble sons or noble daughters who take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha of monks?’ ”
The Blessed One replied to the venerable Śāriputra, “Śāriputra, you have asked this question in order to benefit and bring happiness to many beings. Out of love for the world, you seek to help a vast number of beings, [F.174.b] gods and humans alike, by accomplishing their welfare and happiness. That is excellent, excellent! Śāriputra, as you have thought to come and question the Thus-Gone One about this matter, I will reply with an analogy to make you understand.
“Imagine that someone endowed with magical powers were to transfer into another world all the beings that live in Jambudvīpa—the land of Jambudvīpa and its subcontinents, which measure seven thousand leagues across and lengthwise. Having made the ground even like the palm of a hand, that person would then build a stūpa made of the seven precious gems—gold, silver, beryl, crystal, red coral, emerald, and white coral. It would be the size of Jambudvīpa, and its summit would reach the Brahmā realms. That person would then worship that stūpa with offerings of divine incense, divine flowers, divine garlands, and divine parasols, banners, and flags. This person endowed with these magical powers would then pour all the water of the four great oceans into another world system and replace it with four oceans filled with maruka oil.4 He would then place a wick the size of Mount Sumeru into the oceans so that for many eons this oil lamp would continuously burn.
“Śāriputra, tell me, would that person accumulate a lot of merit on that basis?”
“Blessed One, yes, a lot! Well-Gone One, yes, a lot! This is beyond all the hearers and solitary buddhas. Blessed One, this is the domain of the thus-gone ones. Well-Gone One, this is the domain of the thus-gone ones.”
“Śāriputra, that amount of merit would not match even a hundredth, [F.175.a] a thousandth, or even a hundred thousandth of the merit created by a noble son or noble daughter who takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. This difference could not be illustrated by any numbers, examples, or calculations.”
When this Dharma teaching was given, the whole great trichiliocosm began to quiver, tremble, quake, wobble, rock, sway, vibrate, shudder, and reel. Great lightning flashes struck, and the gods caused the sound of drums to be heard.
The venerable Ānanda asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, what is the name of this Dharma teaching? How should it be remembered?”
The Blessed One replied, “Ānanda, you should remember this Dharma teaching as Accomplishing Limitless Gateways.5 This is how you should see its meaning, and this is how you should remember it.”
When the Blessed One had spoken, the venerable Śāriputra and the other monks praised the Blessed One’s words.
This concludes the noble Great Vehicle sūtra “Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels.”