Taking refuge in the three jewels or tri-ratna of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, is different than what is usually understood by Buddhists. These three refuges are separate.

Going to the Buddha refuge is the highest and the most difficult refuge, which begins with the attainment of buddhatā, the direct intuition of our true nature that goes beyond the sphere of the non-self or anātman, consisting of the five grasping aggregates (upādāna‑skandha) that make up the illusory person. This is the beginning of becoming a Buddha, which is not a person but a transfiguration into an unbounded, radiant bulk. The former somatic body is a mirage-like projection.

Going to the Dharma refuge is deep reliance and faith (śraddhā) in the teachings of the Buddha whereby we shed the accumulations of erroneous thinking coming to the true (avitathatva). This causes an orientation to the mysterious principle (dharmatā) that underlies the teachings of the Buddha that transcends the human world. It is like a living algorithm that re‑codes the nervous system until the default program of dual knowing (vijñāna) collapses into non‑dual knowing (jñāna).

Going to the Sangha refuge refers to the community of those beings who follow the Dharma and aspire to realize the Buddha-nature (buddhatā). 

The tri-ratna, as three autonomous gateways, highlights specific competencies—direct gnosis, correct view, communal resonance. Upon fulfillment, however, the very separateness collapses, revealing a single jewel facetting itself into Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha for the sake of beings still entranced by duality.