THE FOUNDATION of BUDDHIST THOUGHT

The first is fear of our present situation. Although we may face difficulties nevertheless we were born as human beings rather than in some sort of animal realm where they do not have intelligence or advantages. But still, from the Buddhist point of view, as long as we have afflictions or destructive forces within us we do not really have joy or happiness or freedom. Although we sometimes experience some kinds of temporary happiness or pleasure in our life, still whilst those afflictive emotions such as anger, attachment, jealousy, ignorance are within us there is no such thing as real happiness and freedom.

Understanding this, we want to take refuge because we are in this situation - a situation which is under the power of those emotions and disturbing thoughts, either as a result of them, such problems faced in personal relationships, or giving rise to them, such as when we are faced with more nature suffering such as sickness, ageing and death, or financial or environmental difficulties. That is our present situation and the reason why we want to take refuge.

We can never really take refuge until we ourselves have acknowledged this at a very deep level. It cannot come about simply because someone like me tells you. Until we have that clear understanding that we will never find real happiness and freedom by following our sense pleasures, then taking refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha is a bit like mimicking Buddhist culture. "Oh I want to be a Buddhist so I have to take refuge and go and ask this funny man"! That way will not give us what we really want. Rather than just look at our surface needs, we need to strongly investigate what we really want deep down.

The second traditional reason for taking refuge is because we have seen clearly that there is the possibility to eliminate those disturbing emotions and their results. This is very important. The Four Noble Truths explains these two points very clearly. The first two Noble Truths explain the first point about our present situation and the third and fourth Noble Truth explain the possibility of overcoming what we do not want.

With these two minds - understanding our present situation and understanding the possibility of overcoming the present situation - seeing there is real freedom from those afflictions and karma committed out of those afflictions, we can do the practice of taking refuge.

Taking refuge in the Buddha
To take refuge to the Buddha we need to know what the Buddha is. That's normal, isn't it? If someone offers you something to eat you need to know what you are eating otherwise there could be a big problem (especially if you are in India!) The same thing applies here. If a master advises you to take refuge in the Buddha you need to know what the Buddha is so you can know what it means to take refuge in the Buddha.

Generally, when we say "Buddha" we immediately get in our mind an image of the Buddha but we need to clarify something. Yes, there is a historical Buddha who came into this world but understanding "Buddha" means going beyond a picture of the external figure to really understand his far more important internal, mental qualities. Only if we get a clear picture of his mental qualities can we then understand what it means to take refuge in the Buddha.

'Buddha' is the Sanskrit word which in Tibetan is san-gye. San means eliminate, and gye means increase. So in Tibetan 'Buddha' means to eliminate or abandon all those disturbing thoughts and emotions, and increase all those good mental qualities such as love, compassion and wisdom. Sometimes it is translated into English as 'fully awakened one', I find that a very nice translation. Awakened in terms awakened from confusion, ignorance, disturbing emotions.

Another word in Tibetan is jang-chub. This translates as enlightenment. Jang literally means purified, chub means possess. So it is very similar to the previous one. Jang means purified all the afflictive emotions and chub means to possess compassion and loving-kindness. So the Buddha is specifically a historical figure but generally a Buddha is a person who has eradicated all those disturbing thoughts and behaviour - and not just the gross levels but the very seed or propensity - and who possesses all those good mental qualities.

When we say "I go to refuge to the Buddha" instead of thinking about the Buddha figure think about the fact that it is the Buddha that we are going to become in the future. We can eliminate all our obscurations and delusions and negative emotions. See that we ourselves can become that kind of person - a person who is completely free from obscurations. Sometimes traditionally it is said to be taking refuge to the resultant Buddha, that means the result that we will attain in the future if we pursue the spiritual path. "That is my destination." The moment we make that decision is the moment in which we really take refuge to the Buddha regardless of whether we take part in a ceremony or not.

When we look at these two points, that we are under the influence of afflictive emotions and there is a possibility of being free from them - that we too can be a person who is completely free - and when we decide from the bottom of our hearts that we want to make that happen, that is the moment we really take refuge to the Buddha.

Taking refuge in the Dharma
We have talked about taking refuge in the Buddha, and I have emphasised that we really need to understand what a Buddha is and how we too can develop those qualities, so taking refuge is not that straightforward; it involves quite thorough and deep investigation. We need to connect with this not just intellectually but also emotionally. We need to convince ourselves that this is indeed happening before we can move into the next stage. Being a Buddhist means to work at eliminating the causes of suffering by taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Now do these three have that kind of protection?

In winter if it is freezing then we can easily realise that taking only a light jumper will not be protection from the cold. It is the same process here. We are not trying to temporarily get rid of a few superficial problems but to completely eliminate all our problems and what will get us there? In the same way as we need to really investigate what the Buddha is, we need to investigate the other two refuges.

Dharma here refers to two things, to the gradual diminishing of our disturbing thoughts and emotions and to the complete final cessation of them. It refers to both the method and the result of that method.

In the Buddhist method, although there are physical actions we do, the primary means to eliminate those disturbing thoughts and emotions is mental. It is all contained in the Four Noble Truths; the first two show our current state and the last - cessation and path - show the way out of our current situation. The path refers to three trainings: morality, concentration and wisdom and taking refuge to the Dharma means undertaking these three trainings.

Probably at present we feel that without anger or attachment we cannot survive. We think if we do not have attachment then how can we experience pleasure? If we do not feel angry then how can we defend ourselves against people who abuse us? From a Buddhist point of view it is possible to eliminate those disturbing thoughts and emotions from our mind - that is cessation. But we must have realistic expectations. Habits such as anger and attachment have been there since beginningless time, so it is impossible that in a few months or years we can get rid of them.

What is really important to know, however, is that we can temporarily either stop these emotions or diminish them and that proves that sooner or later we will be able to completely overcome them. If you genuinely apply the right method to diminish your anger then definitely within a few months you will see some change. If your habit is to lose your temper six times a week but by practice you gradually reduce it to three times a week, then who can say you cannot do more than that? We need to be convinced that cessation of ignorance and anger and attachment is possible.

If we start practising ethics, concentration and wisdom then we are taking refuge in the Dharma. So in the meditation we should strongly think, "I am going to reduce my habits which cause problems, pain and difficulties to myself and others. I will work towards the cessation of those bad habits and in fact towards the cessation of all the propensities of those bad habits". Then say "I take refuge in the Dharma, I seek help from those Buddhas who have already achieved cessation, who have already experienced those qualities of ethics, concentration and wisdom." Repeat it as many times as you want, then remain silent and then repeat it again.

Taking refuge in the Sangha
Again, taking refuge in the Sangha means really understanding what 'Sangha' means. Sangha refers to those beings who have attained the practices of the three trainings, who have experienced cessation and because of that are engaging in helping others. Sangha can be an individual person or a group of people. Traditionally Sangha means ordained monks or nuns but strictly speaking to be really qualified to be called Sangha you need to have some kind of realisation. So taking refuge in Sangha again means thinking that you yourself can have those realisations and reach cessation and act out of those realisations wanting to help and support others. When you have that strong mind in the meditation you can take refuge in the Sangha. "I myself can have those qualities, reach cessation and act in such a way as to help others. I want to engage in helping others: I take refuge in Sangha, I take refuge in Sangha, I take refuge in Sangha". This is a very important practice.

Conclude your meditation session with Loving Kindness and Dedication