Awakening the Buddha Within _ Eight Steps to Enlightenment - Lama Surya Das [27]
Think about the way the Buddha must have felt when he turned away from his family and his worldly possessions and began on the path to liberation. When the Buddha cut his hair, there were no lamas in burgundy robes and no monks in saffron and ochre. The Buddha made his decision without a formal ceremony, and you can too. Like the Buddha, you do this with a sincere commitment to take refuge in the way of truth. As you travel your spiritual path, there will be many times when you will want to seek refuge. You do this by reaffirming your commitment to awakening every day in everything you do, and by remembering the Refuge Prayer and what it symbolizes.
“I GO FOR REFUGE IN THE BUDDHA”
What does it mean when you repeat the venerable ancient affirmation “I take refuge in the Buddha”? Does that mean that all you have to do is build an altar and bow down to a statue purchased in an antique store? Of course not. All representations of the Buddha, whether they are on an altar or carried around as radiant images in your heart, have a much deeper meaning. Going to the Buddha for refuge means that you are seeking awakening, Buddha-nature, Buddha-mind, Buddhahood. You are seeking an enlightened mind and spiritual realization. That alone provides shelter, sanctuary, a reliable place where you can come home.
Going for refuge in the Buddha is seeking refuge in the natural wisdom of innate awareness itself. When you say, “I take refuge in Buddha, the enlightened teacher,” this is not just about bowing down to an idol, and it’s not about subscribing to a dogma. The Buddha never presented himself as a savior; rather he is a role model, a teacher. He always said, “I point the way to enlightenment; it is up to each of us to travel along it.”
The Buddha never said he would save you; in Buddhism, you save yourself. Taking refuge in the Buddha is making a firm commitment to know the truth, to know how things really are. It’s making a strong commitment to saving your present and your future. Total awareness, pure wakefulness, is the Buddha within, the innate purity of your own heart-mind. That natural authenticity is the ultimate refuge. That’s the inner truth, the inner teacher, the absolute guru—not just to know and experience reality with the rational, logical computer brain, but to know with the intuitive heart. That’s something you can really rely on: finding truth within your own experience.
“I GO FOR REFUGE IN THE DHARMA”
Until you reach the path, you wander in the world with the precious Buddha Completely wrapped up inside As in a bundle of rags
… you have this precious Buddha. Unwrap it, quickly!
—FROM THE SUTRA OF THE
HOLY BUDDHA
To seek refuge in the Dharma is to commit oneself to seeking refuge in a way of life that reflects truth. The Buddha was remarkable because during his lifetime he didn’t turn away from reality. He didn’t flinch from truth just as it is. The Buddha-mind, which knows all things exactly as they are, sees reality and knows the truth. Joyfully live the truth, and you will embody the Dharma. This is the highway to enlightenment.
The Dharma is descriptive, not presciptive. It doesn’t tell us how we should be; it does reveal how things actually are. According to this enlightened perspective, there are three primary reasons for dissatisfaction and unhappiness. These three reasons are called the Three Poisons or Three Fires. These afflictive states of mind are sometimes referred to as negative or conflicting emotions, also known in Sanskrit as kleshas—unhealthy emotions.
POISON ONE: IGNORANCE OF THE TRUTH
It’s difficult for me to say that you and I are ignorant without sounding dogmatic and repressive, like an old-fashioned fire-and-brimstone preacher. In Buddhism the concept of ignorance refers to the age-old problem of delusion and confusion. Until we reach enlightenment, we are all at least a little bit ignorant of the truth or out of touch with