A Brief Description of the Three Reliance
三皈依：皈依佛、皈依法、皈依僧。
皈依自性三寶、真實修持、了生脫死，自性三寶，即三自歸。
佛者，覺悟之義。自性佛者，乃即心本具、離念靈知之真如佛性也。法者，軌範之義。自性法者，乃即心本具、道德仁義之範也。僧者，清淨之義。自性僧者，乃即心本具、清淨無染之淨行也。
法的修學，是修自性三寶，覺而不迷。皈是回頭。依，是依靠。從迷惑顛倒，回歸依靠自性覺，這叫皈依佛。這並非皈依外面的佛，而是自己內心本具有的大覺佛性。
每個人要修自性佛，佛經是我們修行的標準，以它來對照我們自己的思想、見解，錯誤的趕緊修正過來，使我們的思想、行為和經典標準一樣，即是正而不邪，捨無明返自性如來藏 此即皈依法。
僧，這裡所說的僧，不是指出家人，而是六根清淨一塵不染、和睦的意思。也有淨、和之義，淨而不染，和而不爭。佛說我們的心，本來是清淨平等與慈悲，所以慈悲的性德本性就有的。
住持三寶：從事相上說，釋迦牟尼佛在世，則為佛寶，佛滅度後，所有範金、合土、木雕、彩繪之佛像，皆宜尊如佛寶，看到它就要想到佛，要禮拜、這不是迷信，它的用意是尊師重道。
佛所說離欲清淨諸法，凡三藏十二部諸經典，皆為法寶。住持法寶就是經典，凡是佛的經典或是祖師大德的佛教論述，即是佛法，也是法寶。佛入滅前囑咐後世弟子，要遵守四依法（依法不依人、依義不依語、依了義不依不了義、依智不依識），就如同在世時一樣，才不會走錯路。
出家受具足戒、修持清淨行者，皆為僧寶。僧，凡是剃頭染衣的比丘、比丘尼便是僧寶。所謂人能弘道，非道弘人，弘揚法，讓人人皆能明瞭佛法而修行，這就僧寶的重要之處。
受持三歸 具足眾戒 不犯威儀
發菩提心 深信因果 修諸淨業
資料來源：心靈甘露(四)，隆門圓通法師著。英文翻譯：張惠平。
A Brief Description of the Three Reliance
The Three Reliance includes reliance on the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Reliance on the Three Treasures of the self-nature (also called the Three Self-Reliance) and realistic cultivation can help one get liberated from life and death.
A Buddha means an enlightened being. A Buddha of self-nature possesses the Buddha nature of True Suchness with the replete mind within and knows that he is without intentions and false thoughts.
Dharma means standards to follow. The Dharma of self-nature is replete with the mind within and is the standards of morals, benevolence, and justice.
Sangha means purity. The Sangha of self-nature is also replete with the mind within and is pure without pollutions.
To cultivate the Dharma is to cultivate the Three Treasures of self-nature and to realize without delusions. The Chinese character皈means turn back, and依means rely. To turn back to rely on the self-awareness from being deluded and inverted is called rely on the Buddha. This means not to rely on the exterior Buddhas but to rely on the Buddha nature of Great Realization possessed within one’s mind.
Everyone has to cultivate the Buddha of self-nature. As the standard for our cultivation, the sutra can be used to examine our thoughts and views. Once we find out mistakes, we should correct them quickly so that our thoughts and behaviors will be congenial to the standard of the sutra. That is, our thoughts and behaviors will be good rather than evil, and we will abandon ignorance and return to the Tathagata treasure of self-nature. This is called reliance on the Dharma.
Sangha here refers not to monks or nuns, but to purity of the Six Senses that are pure and unpolluted as well as clean and peaceful.
The Buddha said that our minds are originally pure, impartial, and compassionate. So the character of compassion is innately possessed.
Abiding by the Three Treasures:
- In terms of course of action, when the Buddha was alive, He was regarded as the Buddha Treasure. After He entered Nirvana, all the Buddha images made of metals, clay, wood, and paints should be respected as the Buddha Treasure. Upon seeing it, we should think of the Buddha and worship Him. This is not superstition, but reverence of the master and his teachings.
- All the dharmas of purity and desire-detachment lectured by the Buddha, including the Three Treasuries and the Twelve Divisions, are the Dharma Treasures and are sutras. All the Buddha’s sutras and Buddhist treatises by ancient sages are Buddhist Dharmas or Dharma Treasures. Before entering Nirvana, the Buddha instructed His disciples to follow the Four Compliances (compliance with the dharma instead of people, compliance with the meanings instead of the language, compliance with the clear meanings instead of the unclear ones, and compliance with wisdom instead of consciousness) as if He were alive so that they wouldn’t go astray.
- Those who become tonsured, accept the replete precepts, and cultivate the pure practice are all Sangha Treasures. The bhiksus and bhiksunis that have their heads shaved clean and wear the civaranis are also Sanghga Treasures. It is people that expound principles, not principles that expound people. What’s important about the Sangha Treasures is that they expound Buddhism and make it convenient for people to know Buddhism and practice it.
We should abide by the Three Compliances, be replete with the precepts, and not violate the precept of stately deportment. Also we should make a Bodhi mind, deeply believe causes and conditions, and cultivate all the pure practices.
Source: Sweet Dew for the Soul (Vol. IV), Written by Master Shih Longmen Yuantong. Translated by Huei Ping Chang.