Ratana Sutta Verse 5

The Supreme Buddha extolled a path of purity (the Noble Eightfold Path), calling it the path which unfailingly brings Samadhi. There is nought comparable to this Samadhi. This precious jewel is the Dhamma. By this (asseveration of the) truth may there be happiness.

This verse celebrates the Buddhist meditative state. The entire Ratana Sutta is a testament to how precious the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha are. It was spoken not long after the Buddha’s enlightenment, at a time when many people were still unfamiliar with the teachings.

In this stanza, the Buddha highlights the profound meditative states he discovered. Samadhi is a state of deep mental concentration completely withdrawn from the distractions of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and discursive thought. In ancient India—as well as today—practitioners have trained their minds to achieve this profound stillness.

Such stillness generates a profound sense of peace and bliss. Unbound by the ordinary limitations of human experience, the focused mind can achieve remarkable feats, as taught in the Kevaddha Sutta.

However, unlike the samadhi practiced by non-Buddhists, the samadhi taught by the Buddha specifically leads to liberation from samsara. To cultivate and direct our minds toward this liberating state, we must practice the Noble Eightfold Path.

The Noble Eightfold Path conditions our actions, speech, and thoughts, naturally inclining the mind toward a samadhi that energizes us to break free from the illusions of samsara. To a beginner, the steps of the Eightfold Path may seem disconnected. Yet with continued practice, we gradually discover that seemingly “simple” practices—like Right Speech—fundamentally retrain how we respond to sensory and mental stimuli. In other words, it reprograms our minds for Nirvana.

Ultimately, the deeper our practice goes, the more interconnected the path becomes, leaving us in awe of the wisdom behind the Dhamma. Because none of these liberating teachings existed prior to the Buddha, they remain extraordinarily precious.

Ratana Sutta Verse 6

“The eight persons extolled by virtuous men constitute four pairs. They are the disciples of the Buddha and are worthy of offerings. Gifts given to them yield rich results. This precious jewel is the Sangha. By this (asseveration of the) truth may there be happiness.

In this stanza, the text celebrates the Noble Disciples of the Buddha. This includes both laity and monastics, though it is specifically limited to those who are actively on the path toward Nirvana. To appreciate this fully, we need to remember that the Buddha’s main objective was to share the reality of Nirvana and how we can attain it just as he did. He taught both laity and monastics alike so that all could reach this ultimate state.

To achieve Nirvana, there are four stages of awakening, much like stops along a road or levels in a building. These are the Sotapanna, Sakadāgāmī, Anāgāmi, and the Arahant (Final level). Each of these stages is further classified into two categories: those who are “in training” (working in progress) and those who have “attained” the fruit of that stage. For example, if we aspire to Nirvana, set it as our ultimate goal, and are actively training toward it, we can be considered a work-in-progress Sotapanna moving toward the first stage of enlightenment.

As we can see, anyone who is determined to attain Nirvana and actively lives and practices for it becomes a living part of the Buddha’s legacy for humankind. As long as we practice the Noble Eightfold Path, the Buddha’s Dhamma remains alive in this world. Anyone who truly practices this path deserves respect and veneration, regardless of schools, sects, or traditions within Buddhism.

This naturally raises the question: can we make offerings to laypeople if they are serious practitioners? The answer is a straightforward yes, though we should observe how these individuals handle offerings and put them to use. Because the Right Intention factor of the Eightfold Path states that a practitioner aims to reduce greed, aversion, and harmful thoughts. Therefore, a true practitioner will not hoard resources for themselves. They might even decline offerings; if they do accept them, they are bound to redistribute them for the benefit of others. If someone hoards offerings for personal gain, they no longer qualify as a genuine practitioner. Buddhism is actually very straightforward; we tend to complicate things by overthinking through tainted lenses.

Ultimately, the main point of this stanza celebrates true disciples of Buddha. They are sincere practitioners of what the Buddha taught are a priceless treasure in this world.

Join me in the next post as I explore Ratana Sutta verse by verse.

May all be well and happy.