"I take refuge in the Buddha,
the one who shows me the way in this life.
I take refuge in the Dharma,
the way of understanding and love.
I take refuge in the Sangha,
the community that lives in harmony and awareness."

Seeking refuge...where you go for safety - a place you can trust and rely on. Taking refuge is not blind faith. It is real. The Buddha taught us to see for ourselves if the path he taught worked. The Three Jewels or the Ti-Sarana Affirmation are the core and seed of the Buddhist faith. When one takes the The Three Jewels of Refuges, one is then a Buddhist. It is at this time also, that one's teacher bestows on one a Buddhist or Dharma name. My first teacher bestowed the name "Kalyana" on me when I took the Ti-Sarana Affirmation. It means "spiritual friend" in Sanskrit. Later, I took the Ti-Sarana Affirmation with my precious root guru, The Venerable Shyalpa Rinpoche, who bestowed on me the name, Sangye Dolma. Sangye means Buddha in Tibetan and Dolma means Tara.

When we take refuge in the Buddha we are saying that we trust not only the path he walked and taught, but that we trust ourselves also. We're also taking refuge in the Buddha in all of us. We all have the Buddha-Nature. This isn't just about bowing or prostrating ourselves before and idol. It's not about following some dogma, either. When one takes refuge in the Buddha, one's making a strong commitment to seek out the truth; to see reality as it truly is - how things truly are. We're seeking the truth deep inside of us - under layers and layers built up in this life and all our previous ones. It is not the superficial thinking and truth of the brain, the outer mind, the ego, or whatever one calls it. This is the ultimate truth deep in the heart of us all; the Buddha in all of us. And that is a wonderful, stable place to go for refuge.

When we seek refuge in the Dharma, we are looking at a life of committing ourselves to seeking a way of life in truth, that reflects truths; a life in the teachings of the Buddha. The Dharma consists of all the Buddha's teachings: the sutras(suttas), treatises, philosophies, monastic vows and discipline. It also includes various essential works and commentaries of texts by Buddhist masters and teachers. Then, there is the aspect of actually living the Dharma. This is even more important and this is the heart of the Three Jewels. We know the Dharma is true and worhty as we follow the Dharma and see and realize it for ourselves. By living it, we see that we can take refuge in it. By taking refuge in the Dharma, we live it and embody it - wisdom, compassion, clarity, lovingkindness...

The Sangha is the spiritual community of Buddhists. In the Sangha we help and support one another and encouraged each other in following the Buddha's path. It consists traditionally of monks, nun, laywomen and laymen. This is the group of fellow kindred spirits who are walking the spiritual with us seeking the truth; seeking enlightenment. These are the people we can always count on. When one is confused or straying off the path, the Sangha is the refuge that always helps you and gets you back on track again. When you're in a sangha, you can feel the energy - the spiritual energy. It invigorates, strenghtens, supports...You can feel the Oneness. It reinforces the truth of the Buddha and of the Dharma. The Sangha can also be people immediately around us - a spouse, parent, sibling, friend, co-worker, the guy who cut you off in traffic. They are all one's teachers on the path. Without them how could we make any spiritual progress? Yes, the Sangha branches out like a huge, sturdy tree to encompass the entire world - even the birds, the fresh air, the rivers, the mountains, the lakes...We're all so interconnected and interdependent that we're all one. And everything in this world we come across is part of our path, part of our sangha and that we can take refuge in.

~*~The Refuge Prayer~*~

I go for refuge in the Buddha,the enlightened teacher;
I commit myself to enlightenment.
I go for refuge in the Dharma, the spiritual teachings;
I commit myself to the truth as it is.
I go for refuge in the Sangha, the spiritual community;
I commit myself to living the enlightened life.

Background set © 1999 by Kalyana.
Please do not use without permission.