The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (457 page)

, the continuing process of reappearance (
punabh
va
).
Buddhist commitment can be summarized in the
Three Jewels
or Refuges: I take refuge in the Buddha; I take refuge in the Dhamma (P
li for Skt., dharma); I take refuge in the
Sa
gha
. The sa
gha is the communal organization of the
bhik
us
(bhikkhus), or monks.
The Buddha's teaching was gathered, over a long period, into canonical collections, especially the
Tripi
aka
and the
S
tras
, though the status, particularly of the latter, may be disputed (see
BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES
). From about the end of the 4th cent. BCE, different interpretations of the teaching were leading to different schools, and especially to the major difference between Therav
da (‘teaching of the elders’), with its eighteen schools, and Mah
y
na (‘great vehicle’, hence their derogatory reference to Therav
da as H
nay
na, ‘minor vehicle’), with its innumerable styles and divisions; for these, see
BUDDHIST SCHOOLS
. The spread of Buddhism was greatly accelerated during the reign of
A
oka