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The Buddha, Dharma And Sangha As Objects For Refuge
The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
Excerpted from the transcript of "Refuge" (Vermont 1996)
Originally published in Bodhi
Issue 1
Part 3 of 5 | 1
, 2, 3, 4
, 5 The Buddha The first object of our refuge is the Buddha Sakyamuni, the historic Buddha. The Buddha, as a teacher,
protects by teaching. When we take refuge in the Buddha, we're taking refuge in Buddha Shakyamuni and in all of the Buddha's of the past and future. When we take this refuge in Buddha as an example, we're not taking
Buddha as a god or as some supernatural being outside of ourselves. We're taking refuge in the Buddha as a basic human being, a supreme human teacher, who has achieved the complete state of enlightenment.We take
refuge and pay respect to the Buddha Shakyamuni not only because of his attainment of enlightenment but because of his compassionate, loving heart, and his sharing of his path, sharing of his enlightenment with all of
us. In order to show our appreciation for his kindness and his wisdom, we pay respect. We bow to Buddha. We take refuge in Buddha Shakyamuni as a simple teacher, as a Nirmanakaya Buddha and teacher. He was a human
being. He was a prince of India. He walked on our earth. He ate our food. He went through all the suffering and pain of human beings, and the suffering and pain of many dathuns. Not only one month long but six months,
or six years of dathun practices. Through this, we have a basic connection with Buddha. We can make a basic connection with Buddha from the pain of dathun sitting. As a real human being, he went through this path and
achieved the final realization of enlightenment. In this way, he is an example for us. He has given us the wisdom and realization of this path, and he did not keep anything for himself. He gave everything for us.
Therefore, we take refuge in the perfect Buddha, the Samyak-sambuddha, and his mind which is the dharmakaya. We appreciate his wisdom and kindness. He taught out of his great love and his great wisdom methods that
can lead one to the same attainment he had. And just as he, through training in the path leading to liberation and omniscience, succeeded in actually attaining Buddhahood, so will I. Because if he can do it, then I can.
That is the attitude of going for refuge in the Buddha as an example. Buddha himself proclaimed in one of his first teachings, "Buddhas cannot purify your karma with water," referring to the Hindu notion of
purifying one's karma by bathing in the River Ganges. Buddha said, "I cannot purify your karma by pouring water from a golden vase, a diamond vase, or whatever vase you have. I cannot purify your karma, your
negativities by that means." He said, "I cannot give my realization to you by my hand. I cannot transfer my realization. I don't have that power." However, he also said, "What Buddhas can do is show
the path of liberation, the path of enlightenment. It is totally up to you how you walk on this path, how you handle this path." From this very verse, we can see that we're not taking refuge in the Buddha as a
supernatural being outside who hold our keyboard. (Laughter.) What Buddha is saying here is that you are holding your own keyboard. What you are learning from him is the command keys. (Laughter.) You are learning the
skill of pressing the keys to get the programs you want to see on the screen. The keys are always in front of us. It's only a question of our knowledge whether we press the right key or not. What
Buddha is teaching us is the path, the way we can attain enlightenment, liberation. He is not saving us from samsara. He does not have the power to purify our karma and so forth. We're not taking refuge in
the Buddha in that sense. We're taking refuge in the Buddha in the sense that he is an enlightened teacher, and he has shown the right path of enlightenment and liberation. He is an example of our capacity
or potential. We go to him for refuge in the sense of aspiring to attain exactly that same realization. That is the Nirmanakaya Buddha, the historic Buddha. Then we have the Sambhogakaya Buddha, another form of the
Buddha, and the Dharmakaya Buddha, the wisdom aspect of the Buddha. We're taking refuge in his three kayas.2 The Dharma
The second source of refuge is the Dharma. Going for refuge to the Dharma as external means taking the Dharma as your path. You recognize that the way you can
attain the state of Buddhahood, the way that you can follow the example of the Buddha, is by practicing the Dharma which was taught by the Buddha. So when you go for refuge to the Dharma as external, you are going for
refuge to the methods of the path by which one frees oneself from mental affliction. This is called Sat-dharma, or genuine Dharma. Dharma as symbol traditionally consists of books, letters, speech and thought.
Traditionally, we have the Buddhist Canon, and then we have all kinds of other expressions of the speech aspect of Dharma, such as audio-dharma, video-dharma, hard copy dharma, CD Rom dharma, and one last thing,
floppy dharma. (Rinpoche laughs) No, floppy disk dharma. I have lots of those.You trust these as a path which means that you trust that the practice of Dharma will increase your compassion. The Dharma is a
necessary vehicle or method on our path to enlightenment. It is like a toolbox to liberation. In order to fix something like a screw, whether you have to loosen the screw or tighten the screw, we need a screwdriver and
various different tools. In a similar way, we need the Dharma, as the external teachings of the Buddha, in order to work with our problems, to fix them and find our solutions. Traditionally, the Dharma is said
to be like a ship. If you want to cross a lake or an ocean, you have to rely on a ship. Dharma is like the boat or ship which helps you across. It helps you travel faster and not sink in this ocean of samsara. So Dharma
is the path, Dharma is the words and wisdom of Buddha, and Dharma is simply one's own understanding, experience, and realization. Our relationship with the Dharma is like our relationship with a boat or ship.
After we have crossed the water, there's no need for us to carry the boat or ship. Therefore, after we have crossed the ocean of samsara, then we no more take refuge in Dharma. We have realized the nature of Dharma. We
have become Dharma. We are inseparable with Dharma. That is the second refuge in the outer sense. The Sangha The third source of refuge is the jewel of the Sangha or the community of noble, realized beings. This refuge also has the same external, symbolic aspect. The external aspect of
the Sangha to which one goes for refuge is first and foremost the retinue of Lord Buddha endowed with wisdom. From the Mahayana point of view, this refers to Bodhisattvas like Arya Manjushri, Avalokitesvara and so
forth, and from the Hinayana point of view, the great arhats such as Mahakasyapa, Ananda, and Shariputra. The Sangha of ordinary individuals refers to all of those who have transmitted the Dharma, the teachings of
Buddha, as an unbroken succession or lineage through time up to the present day through their wisdom and compassion. We take refuge in the noble Sangha as our companion on the path. Without their help, there's no way we
can really enter the path. Historically, they are the people who received teachings from the Buddha and then collected all of these teachings and put them on paper. Without the noble Sangha, we would not have any words,
any literature of Dharma right now. Therefore, we take refuge in the Sangha as our companion because, without them, we wouldn't have the physical body of the Dharma. Without them, we wouldn't have the genuine lineage of
the Dharma, the realization of the Dharma, or the path of the Dharma. From the time of the noble Sangha up until now, the time of our present great masters, we have the continuity of the teachings, continuity of the
enlightened path. Provisional and Ultimate Refuge At the same time, the
Dharma and the Sangha, the second and third sources of refuge, are considered to be provisional or temporary sources of refuge in the sense that once the path is completed you no longer need them. You have become the
Buddha. The Buddha is considered to be an ultimate source of refuge in that you are continually sustained by or protected by your own Buddha Nature which is the substance of your awakening as well. In the traditional
simile of the Dharma as boat, our personal teacher is the captain of the boat and embodies the companionship of the Sangha. When we take refuge in the Dharma and Sangha in this way, we rely on their help, to a certain
degree, until we are across the lake or the ocean. When we're trying to get from one side of the water to the other side, we need the boat and the boatsman to row us across. But once we get to the other side, we don't
need them any more because we are already there. However, right now, we're on this side of the lake, not the other side, so we still need them. Once we are across the lake, it is logical that we don't have to
carry the boat around. We just leave the boat behind, and we just leave the captain in his own way. We don't bother him so much. After we reach a certain point, we have to learn how to walk on our own feet,
leaving the boat and captain behind. Therefore, taking refuge in Dharma and Sangha is not really the ultimate refuge. The ultimate refuge is the Buddha, the wisdom of the Buddha. We temporarily take refuge
in the Dharma and Sangha like going for help to the ship and the ship's captain. That is our symbolic refuge which is involved in the refuge ceremony; we take refuge in the outside, historic Buddha, his teachings,
the Dharma, and the Sangha as our companion. Part 3 of 5 | 1,
2, 3, 4, 5
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