The Tibetan word for refuge means “to be protected by.”  Most of the time we focus our energy on “desire.”    We take refuge in comfort, in having things, in being busy.

While there’s really nothing inherently wrong with external pleasures, when we believe that our happiness depends on them, we’re reinforcing an endless process that results in pain, suffering, and disillusionment. This is called samsara. We work hard for what we think we want and when we get it, we don’t feel the happiness we expected.

Buddhists take refuge in the three jewels: the Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha. The Buddha is the teacher, our example of an awakened being. The Buddha also represents the potential for enlightenment that we all possess. Taking refuge in the Buddha is taking refuge in our own enlightened aspect. He’s our role model for someone who went through a personal struggle and came to rest in wisdom and compassion.

We also take refuge in the dharma—the truth that the Buddha shared. This includes his literal words, as well as the inner truth to which the words are pointing. We’re taking refuge in the notion of selflessness or emptiness and luminosity.  The dharma is the fundamental nature of things. It’s the way things are. We discover it through meditation.

The third jewel is sangha, a community of individuals who come together to practice, who know what to accept and what to reject in order to go forward on the path. We come together to cultivate the qualities that take us toward enlightenment. We reject the qualities that take us in another direction.

When we first set foot on the path, we don’t know what to accept and what to reject. We know things aren’t working out, but we’re not sure why. It’s usually because whatever situation we’re in, we’re reacting with aggression, attachment, or confusion.

When we practice  meditation, we look at our minds and see what’s happening. We notice, “Oh, here comes  anger.” We begin to see how we use anger to maintain the solidity of “me,” even if it means hurting others. We also begin to see how often we use anger as a way to work things out: “I’m gonna get angry. Then I’ll get what I want.” But looking at the dharma of the situation shows us that the real result of anger is always more pain.

We see how desire creates duality—a separation of self and others in terms of what we experience and what’s projected. We begin to understand that whatever we’re seeking is conditioned by impermanence; it’s not solid. Neither are we. We work so hard to feel secure, and even when we think we’ve succeeded, it’s falling apart right in front of our face. We can’t really hold on to anything. We experience the process of trying to hold on as suffering—a feeling of agitation and  loss.

That’s how we usually engage with our lives. The Buddha saw this seemingly simple truth and showed us how to open our eyes and see what’s actually going on. Just seeing reality as it is… Is there anything in our lives that’s ever remained permanently? No, there’s only impermanence. Is there anything we experience in which we can find a solid identity? No, we’re always in a state of flux. Is there any situation that isn’t inhibited by suffering?

Our happiness is fleeting. Suffering is always going to catch up with us. The Buddha taught that we need to see the truth of how things are. In fact, as real as it seems, our pain is also empty, and without real form.

Taking refuge in the three jewels, we are open to a larger perspective: living as if aggression, desire, and confusion is going to lead to true happiness is like waiting for the weather to be perfect…and according to your liking. Taking refuge is a moment when we say, “I’d like to do things differently now.” I’m ready….

At that moment the seed of enlightenment may be born in us. It takes great humility to give up being mad, to give up being jealous, to pull our heads out of the sand and acknowledge suffering. It’s not an easy path to follow. But when we take refuge, we aspire to turn our minds away from the samsaric (suffering) way of living and to cultivate compassion, loving-kindness, and wisdom instead. We decide to nurture the seeds of genuine happiness.

It’s difficult to do this on our own. So we take refuge in the sangha. These are people who can support us, to whom we can look for guidance. Together we’re trying to understand that ultimately, dwelling in anger, desire, and confusion is not going to lead to liberation. To get what we want, we need to plant the seeds of virtue: love, compassion, and wisdom.

In order to create that space where we’re not inundated by negativity, we need to settle the mind, settle the body, and begin to breathe. Meditation is how the sangha steps onto the path of virtue. Together we’re taking refuge in the Buddha’s teaching that there’s a way out of the circle of aggression, fixation, and ignorance.

By practicing peaceful abiding together, we’re offering each other the strength and courage to develop our enlightened qualities. We’re tilling the soil, planting the seeds, and watering the love, compassion, and wisdom that sprout forth. We’re acknowledging that before we can better the world, we need to relate to what’s happening within our own minds. Tend our own precious garden…at the same time we’re developing a community through which we can engage the world in a different way, with the view that everyone has the genes for enlightenment.

Peace,

Yoga Jane