Until I am enlightened, I take refuge

In the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

Through the merit I create by practising giving and the other perfections

May I attain Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. 

- Traditional Tibetan Buddhist prayer 

The three Jewels, three refuges or the three gems are the heart of Buddhism. They are the guiding light into your journey 

They are:
I take refuge in the Buddha (fully enlightened being)
I take refuge in the Dharma (teachings)
I take refuge in the Sangha (community)

By taking the refuges you are vowing to centralise them into your everyday life, by taking the vowels you are a Buddhist.

You can formally do this with a teacher for a more formal approach or for a more secular approach keep them to yourself by using them in daily life appreciating them as you go about your day.

To take refuge is to seek shelter away from the dissatisfaction life creates, to help ease pain and suffering. Taking refuge is trying to find an escape from samsara (Never-ending cycle of rebirth, life and death)

I take refuge in the Buddha

Committing to reach enlightenment for the sake of all beings and to look at the Buddha as the ultimate teacher and spiritual guiding light.

Taking refuge in the Buddha is simply to see things how they are and understand the nature of reality by following the steps laid out by the historical Buddha. It means to take control of your thoughts and to live in no thought. It means to be a better you.

The Buddha was the same as us at one point he knew the pain and suffering and spent a long time experimenting before he discovered an enlightened state. We don't have to work that hard. All we have to do is follow the Buddha and take shelter in him. He is an example of what we can reach and should be the one we follow.

The Buddha has laid out an easy path for us to follow, you could say the goal is enlightenment, but from a more secular standpoint I would say the path is all we need. Not all of us will be Buddhas, Bodhisattva's or monks, yet we all have a Buddha nature we can discover and utilise.

If we follow the Buddhas path using our own natural compassionate and loving way, we will be better people. There is nothing permanent in this world everything is in constant change so every moment is an opportunity to better are self's and unlock are natural state of compassion for yourself but most importantly for those around us.

I take refuge in the dharma

To uphold the teachings of the Buddha and follow them to help us achieve a sense of release of dukkha (Suffering/ dissatisfaction) and help end the suffering we are wrapped up in. Using life's challenges as a tool to help cultivate a deeper understanding of the world as it truly is.

The dharma is the teachings laid out by the Buddha. They comprise the eight-fold path, four noble truths and so on. They are there so we can learn and grow. They are there to help us discover that there is an end to life's suffering.

Our lives are wrapped up in blaming everything and everyone and a never-ending quest to be fulfilled. We think we are I and the others are them. We work for ourself but not others. We need better things, a bigger house, a new job and a fancy car to make us happy and be fulfilled, but that is a lie.

A new car will create a sense of enjoyment for a while then it disappears, an influx of money onto a person of relative wealth won't do much. Their happiness can't come from material possessions. It can only come from within all of us.

That's what the Buddha taught, and that is what we take refuge in. Taking in the teachings as are own and applying it to are life's can help us reach a much deeper sense of joy. not this false sense of joy temporary things give us. It gives us a deep joy that no one can disturb but yourself.

All of life's suffering and pain is a learning tool to develop and cultivate a deeper understanding of the world. Taking the teachings as are refuge means to accept life as it is and find that joy, compassion and happiness in everything we do. Take life as it comes and use it as a tool to unlock are true Buddha nature.

It's about taking refuge in the present to present moment and taking up a regular practice in whatever capacity suits you.

I take refuge in the sangha

Seeking out the dharma from ones who know more then yourself, helping one and another on our jouney, being there in what ever way you can and surrounding yourself in the dharma.

Taking refuge in the Sangha is surrounding yourself in the people who are on the same path as you. It is about accepting we are all in this together, riding the stream to reach the same end of the river. We are all on separate boats, some of us will float in different directions, some will hit rocks and some will fall out of the boat and have to find it once more, but we are all heading the same way and should surround are shelfs with like-minded people and when someone falls down get down there and pull them back up again.

A Sangha has several meanings, one being the monastic order of Buddhist. This compromises of monks, nuns, laymen and laywoman.
Another meaning for Sangha and the one I will talk about it is the community of Buddhist.
Surrounding yourself in books, videos, podcasts, in-person meetings and online community's such as Facebook. Sharing are struggles and questions has to be a critical point for any person on their journey to bettering our shelf or on the journey of enlightenment.
There are plenty of online ways to reach out to the community, Facebook has plenty of pages such as Buddhist bootcamp, every day Buddhism, secular Buddhism, Buddhism and many more. Reddit has several subreddit's such as r/Buddhism and r/secularbuddhsim. Youtube is packed full of insightful videos , and there is a plethora of online sanghas. These are just some ways to be around the community.
Not all of us can get to a physical Sangha but that doesn't mean we can't do it virtually or through the power of the internet or just reading books as long as you are looking for guidance in theses places I truly believe that is what it means to take refuge in the Sangha.
Taking refuge in the Sangha means to accept and give feedback to guide people in the right directions. It means to help each other to practice and share the dharma in any means you can.

I know some of you are reading this and going "'that's not what it means to take refuge', This is just my understanding, and that is what It means to me. If I have got it way wrong, please let me know so I can grow. I believe the teachings of the Buddha are groundwork and need to be tailored like a suit. Some people are tall, some are small, some are large and some skinny. The suit won't fit us all first time around but if we tweak it a bit, it might just fit.