The Structure of Buddhism

Generally speaking, human consciousness is composed of three parts: emotions, intellect, and will. Every kind of pain or pleasure comes from our emotional nature; understanding comes from our intellectual nature; and action comes from our will. But how do we make these three functions harmoniously to help this world? That is a very important point. 

So Buddhism also has three medicines for human consciousness. These medicines help human beings take away their thinking sickness which causes suffering, so that we can return to our original nature. The names for these medicines are Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. We also call them the Three Treasures.

-ZM Seung Sahn <The Compass of Zen>