The Unique Taste of the Three Treasures

Then, the Buddha said to Kasyapa: "Oh good man! Do not see the Three Treasures as all the Sravakas and common mortals do. In this Mahayana, there is no distinction between the Three Treasures. Why not? The Buddha-Nature contains within it the Dharma and the Sangha. To teach Sravakas and common mortals, is resorted to discrimination and the three different aspects are spoken about the Three Treasures. Following the way of the world, the distinction is preached regarding the Three Treasures. Oh good man! The Bodhisattva will think: 'This ‘I’ now takes refuge in the Buddha. If this ‘I’ attains Enlightenment and Buddhahood, I shall not respect, worship or make offerings to all the Buddhas. Why not? Because all Buddhas are all-equal. They are taken as a refuge for all beings. If one desires to pay respect to the Dharma-Body and the sharira [relics], one should also pay respect to the stupas of all the Buddhas. Why? To guide all beings. This also makes beings conceive a thought of the stupa in me, to make them worship and make offerings. Such beings will make of my Dharma-Body the place wherein they take refuge. All beings are rooted in what is not true and what is false. I shall now reveal, step by step, the true Dharma. If there are people who take refuge in Monks who are not of the right caliber, I shall become the true refuge for them. If there are those who see the Three Refuges as distinct, I shall become a unique place wherein they can take refuge. Therefore, there can be no any distinction between the Three Refuges. For one born blind, I shall be your eyes, and to Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas, I shall become the true refuge '.”

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 12 - On the Nature of the Tathagata.