What is the meaning of Refuge? In the Buddhist tradition Refuge is the central and foundational principle. In fact it is so important that in his great work 'The Single Intent', Jigten Sumgon said that the Refuge is what truly defines a Buddhist practitioner. In reality during our normal lives we take refuge in many things. When someone has an headache they take refuge in an aspirin. When someone is thirsty, they take refuge in a glass of water. This is a simple, but very useful way to start to understand the meaning of Refuge. An object of refuge is something that we trust fully in that it will provide us with relief, a solution or help for a particular situation. So in this way refuge starts with trust, a deep trust. Every person feels a deep trust that a glass of water will satisfy their thirst. This trust in the Buddhist teachings is also often called devotion. In this sense we could say that when someone is thirsty they feel a profound devotion towards a glass of water. If we do not have that trust then perhaps we will not have much interest or motivation to truly find the glass of water. In the case of the entrance to the Buddha Dharma, and during the path, what is then the object of refuge? Well, there are three of them, usually referred to as the Three Jewels. The Three Jewels are the object of refuge, and they are the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. They are called jewels because they are very rare, hard to find; and also because once we find them they will grant peace and happiness, so they are extremely valuable.
In this way someone entering the Buddha Dharma takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and in the Sangha. There are however several ways to understand the Three Jewels, at different levels of subtlety. This is generally explained as the outer, inner and ultimate understanding of the Three Jewels. In the general sense, or the outer sense, the Buddha can refer to Buddha Shakyamuni who attained total awakening, or any other Buddha, however the Buddha also means your own ultimate nature. The term Buddha really means the ultimate empty-luminous great expanse of reality, the true nature of being and reality.
It is unconditioned and spontaneously present;
It is not known through outer causes;
Endowed with knowledge, love, and power
It is buddhahood, the fulfillment of the twofold aim.
If we want to satisfy our thirst we drink a glass of water, if we want to be liberated from Samsara and suffering and reach awakening where should we look for an example, a reference, and assistance? In which "direction" should we set our gaze? In this way the Buddha, in the fullness of the meaning of that term, is an object of Refuge. This means that we set the aspirations of our life towards Buddha, and not some other result. When we take refuge in the Buddha, the traditional texts say that we make the vow not to pay homage, or take refuge in other worldly deities. But what does that exactly mean? Understanding the meaning of this vow actually illuminates the meaning of the taking of refuge in the Buddha and why its really such a crucial and fundamental point.
Traditionally the vow is that once having taken refuge in the Buddha one does not take refuge in worldly deities; such as Isvara, or the 'Sun God' and so on; nowadays for modern people perhaps that is not so much relevant, however the vow has a much more profound meaning. Perhaps in some cultures if someone has a migraine headache they would take refuge in the spirit of the wind, and make some sort of ritual to request to the spirit of the wind to remove their migraine. Nowadays most people will simply take a pill, the object of refuge is different. In this case the refuge is the pill. However in this case the issue is not that of a headache, for which we of course can take a pill; when it comes to this aspect of refuge the issue that is being considered is that of ultimate happiness, liberation, the end of all suffering. In some cultures perhaps they would pray to the gods in order to go to some heavenly place where all their suffering would end. In our modern society perhaps many people do not even have any refuge at all in this sense, which would explain so many of the problems we see. So the real meaning here is that once taking refuge in the Buddha we do not look for ultimate happiness anywhere else because we understand the principle of Samsara and Nirvana, of conditioned existence and Buddhahood, and we understand that the only total resolution for the situation of Samsara is the noble path and total awakening. These days perhaps some people take refuge in politics, or in science. Perhaps they think that it is possible to create some political or social system that will resolve all problems and bring total happiness, and in that way they take refuge in the political system for the goal of happiness. Perhaps others take refuge in science, thinking that through scientific development a final solution to suffering will be found, or just a better anti-depressant pill. Some people perhaps take refuge in drugs, searching for that happiness there. So in this sense in our modern days, taking refuge in 'worldly deities' can also be understood as taking refuge in things such as 'political systems', science and so on, with the idea that such things are the way to resolve the sufferings of living beings in some real and permanent sense.
Someone who takes refuge in the Buddha has no such delusions; they know fully well that even though it is very helpful, and totally fine, to have an aspirin for headache, there is no ultimate happiness to be found in any of those systems. In that way they set the direction of their life towards the noble path and towards discovering the Buddha mind that is their own nature, following the example of Buddha Shakyamuni who is the ultimate guide. That is because the noble path and all the teachings of the Buddha have one single purpose - the discovery of the true nature and condition of being and reality. There is no other solution other than that.
The second object of refuge is the Dharma. Generally the Dharma refers to the teachings, and to the path. If someone truly wants to become free from conditioned existence and attain the supreme state, they must know how to? Where to go? What to do? People usually live their lives in a haphazardly sort of way. They learn some examples from their family and culture, they base themselves in their own past experiences, and try to make decisions on how to live, what is good, what is bad and so on. And in this way, for the better or worse, they try the best they can to be happy. However in this way they never manage to escape the cycle of rebirth and confusion. As an example we could think in this context of the Dharma as being a map of a very dense forest. If you are walking in a very large, dense and unknown forest, you are very happy, grateful, and fully devoted to that beautiful map that you bought in the tourist shop. You protect the map inside a plastic cover so that it does not get wet, you keep it safe in your bag. That map is the most important thing you carry with you. The Dharma is the Map on how to get out of delusion, suffering, out of Samsara. In a more ultimate sense, the Dharma is the nature of reality itself - the clear primordial-wisdom awareness of the Primordial State, that is the final Dharma and what Buddhists rely upon as refuge in the sense of the Dharma.
There are other aspects here also. Usually as mentioned before, people live as they learned, influenced by their own culture, families etc. However all that refers to cultural tradition, that is to say, how a culture traditionally lives, is not necessarily always positive, and rarely actually helpful. In some cultures it is considered very positive to kill an animal every year in a certain special days. They consider that if they kill the animal and offer it to a deity, that they will get some reward. If someone were to live by the tradition of this culture they would only get themselves deeper into suffering because they are committing the act of killing and rejoicing in it. Also it is very common today and it's considered very important if a person grows up to become very powerful and rich, and if someone is not rich or of some high standing, they are somehow less valuable as persons. If we observe most of the cultural habits we will find that they are based on great delusion, self-grasping, hedonism, materialism and often very perverted values. If we are to rely on cultural traditional values as a way to guide our lives, not only we will not find our way out of Samsara, but very often we will get deeper into trouble. In that way we take refuge in the Dharma, and by doing so, from that moment on, we take the vow never to hurt any living being deliberately, and to take the Dharma as our map towards liberation. It is the way out, and with deep respect we protect it at all costs!
The third object of Refuge is the Sangha. The Sangha in general refers to the assembly of followers of the Buddha Dharma. There are two types of Sangha: the realized Sangha and the common Sangha. The realized Sangha refers to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who attained wakening and freedom from Samsara. The common sangha refers to practitioners on the path who are still not free and still under the influence of disturbing emotions and ignorance, to a lesser or greater extend. In this case the object of refuge refers only to the Realized Sangha, for those are already outside of Samsara and can be a genuine example, aid, and support. The common Sangha even though they are the Dharma brothers and sisters that help and support each other, cannot be relied as refuge because they are still under the influence of ignorance. What is the meaning here? The meaning here is quite simple really - You will become like your friends and like the people you admire! The people you keep company with and rely upon as friends, or the people you feel admiration towards, eventually you will become like them. So chose wisely. That is in essence the meaning of taking refuge in the Sangha. It means to look upon the incredible qualities and example of the Buddha and all the Bodhisattvas and awakened masters of the past, and take them as examples. Aspire to become like them, and learn from them. So with this understanding it is important to keep attention, and try as possible to surround ourselves with good spiritual friends who nurture our best qualities such as generosity, kindness, patience, wisdom and who are an inspiration, and support, for our spiritual path and life. In this way even the common sangha of practitioners becomes a fertile ground where everyone can grow together.
The teachings and reflection upon Refuge and the Three Jewels is extremely profound. Very often this can be brushed off as something very simple, and maybe only for first time beginners, but that is not true. A practitioner should never be separated from Refuge; depending on their level of experience, being at the outer level, inner level or ultimate level. In the end the final refuge is the Dharmakaya, the luminous essence of Buddha-mind, as it says in the Uttaratantra:
Because the one will be forsaken and the other is deceptive,
Because [cessation] is a simple absence, and because there is still fear,
The twofold Dharma and the noble Saṅgha
Are not the highest, everlasting, refuge.
In the final sense, the refuge of all beings
Is buddhahood alone.
For the Sage embodies Dharma and is
The final goal of the Assembly.
and the Showing Gratitude Sūtra says,
The Venerable Ānanda asked, “What is the Buddha in which we take refuge?” The Buddha replied, “You take refuge in the dharmakāya; you do not take refuge in the rūpakāya.”
Ānanda then asked, “What is the Dharma in which we take refuge? And the Buddha replied, “You take refuge in the ultimate Dharma, not in the relative Dharma.”
Ānanda then asked, “What is the Saṅgha in which we take refuge?” And the Buddha answered, “You take refuge in the ultimate Saṅgha, not the relative Saṅgha.”
In these way it should be clear how important it is to learn, understand and reflect on the principle of refuge at all levels, finally understanding the ultimate meaning of refuge, the union of essence, the primordial purity, clarity and dynamic energy, which in the end are subsumed under the essential point of refuge, the Dharmakaya.
In this sense, from a Dzogchen point of view, the Refuge is the nature of the mind, the primordial state. The Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are all subsumed, or included within the realization of primordial awareness - so ultimately the primordial state, or intrisic awareness is the authentic and ultimate refuge for those seeking total freedom.
, by Ajanatha
