three refuges

In his day, Gautam Buddha encouraged people to find their own truth, to realise their own enlightenment. The Buddha identified three things which would help people with this difficult task. The first was the sangha, the community of fellow seekers, and those who had already realised their truth. The second, the dharma, the teachings, the truth itself. The third, the buddha, the teacher: the Buddha himself, the person, but also that ultimate truth which is within us all, our buddha nature.

To this day, to become a Buddhist technically, one takes refuge in these three jewels: the sangha, the dharma, the buddha. I am no Buddhist, and I don’t feel to take refuge anywhere, but nevertheless, it is worth us learning something from this teaching of the three refuges.

The sangha: the community of fellow seekers. If we keep good company, if we surround ourself with others who are also sincerely searching for their truth, and wise teachers – those for whom the search has already ended – this will greatly help our own journey. Conversely, if we find ourself surrounded by people who are very materialistic, cynical about spirituality, greedy, frustrated, angry, there’s a whole field of consciousness set out by such mental energy, and it is very difficult for us not to be consumed by it, not to fall into those negative ways of thinking ourself. So spending as much time as possible in the company of fellow seekers and wise masters will greatly help our spiritual search. 

And the dharma, the teachings of the wise ones, not just Gautam Buddha, but all the wise masters from all the different paths of spirituality: we can learn from what they have seen. Yes, it needs to become our own truth, but what would take years for us to discover on our own can happen in a much shorter time if we are open to the teachings of the wise ones. And the dharma does not just refer to the teachings. The dharma is truth itself, what Taoists call the tao; the way things are. If we can come to dwell in truth, the simple truth of what is, then our problems will fade away. Our difficulties in life come from resisting what is, fighting against life, struggling, believing our own fantasies and avoiding the truth. So let us dwell in the truth. Let us dwell in the dharma, and the buddha.

We need not take refuge in Gautam Buddha. He is long dead, although of course his energy continues in his teachings and in the many traditions which have flowed from his being. But there is a buddha in all of us, a buddha nature, our very essence: still, calm, peaceful, a great silence, a great spaciousness, an openness. And once we get in touch with that place within ourself, we can take refuge there at any time. Indeed, we can come to dwell in that place, and meet life from that space of tranquillity. This is the buddha within us all.

So, regardless of whether we consider ourself to be a Buddhist, we can all benefit from dwelling in the sangha that is good company – the company of the wise, the company of fellow seekers – and in the dharma; the way things are – the truth, and the teachings about the truth that have been passed to us – and in the buddha – our essential self, our own enlightened being.