|
Taking Refuge As A Protection Against Suffering: The Formal Ceremony Of Entering The Buddhist Path
The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
Excerpted from the transcript of "Refuge" (Vermont 1996)
Originally published in Bodhi
Issue 1
1 of 5 | 1
, 2, 3, 4
, 5 Good evening. Tonight we have a Refuge Vow ceremony. No doubt you all understand what the Refuge Vow is, based on your reading or hearing of certain instructions. However, I
will go over it briefly. As you know, there are three sources of refuge. The sources from whom one seeks refuge or to whom one goes for refuge are the Three Jewels, and these are the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The
reason one goes for Refuge to them is that you recognize samsara as being a situation of suffering and fear. In order to alleviate that suffering and to remove the cause of that suffering, you go to the sources of
refuge as protectors from the cause of suffering.Generally speaking, there are two styles of going for Refuge. We are going through a two-stage process. There's a style of going for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma, and
Sangha in their external form as something separate from oneself. This is based on relative reality, an approach of relative reality. There's another style of refuge based on absolute reality where you go for refuge to
the Three Jewels as something internal, as something that is part of your mind. From this second point of view, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are not far away from you. They are quite close to you. As a matter of fact,
they are so close that you can't see them. 1 of 5 | 1,
2, 3, 4, 5
| Talk Index
|
