- Refuge in the Buddha
- Bhikkhu Bodhi
The first step in entering the Buddhist path is going for refuge to the Triple
Gem, and the first of the three gems that we approach as refuge is the Buddha, the
Enlightened One. Because the act of going for refuge to the Buddha marks the beginning of
a new chapter in our life, it is worth our while to repeatedly pause and reflect upon the
significance of this momentous step. Too often we are prone to take our first steps for
granted. Yet it is only if we review these steps from time to time in a deepening
awareness of their implications that we can be sure the following steps we take will bring
us closer to our desired destination.
The going for refuge to the Buddha is not a single action which occurs only once and is
then completed with absolute finality. It is, or should be, a continually evolving process
which matures in tandem with our practice and understanding of the Dhamma. To go for
refuge does not imply that at the outset we already possess a clear grasp of the dangers
that make a refuge necessary or of the goal towards which we aspire. Comprehension of
these matters grows gradually over time. But to the extent that we have actually gone for
refuge with sincere intent, we should make an earnest effort to sharpen and deepen our
understanding of the objects to which we have turned as the basis for our deliverance.
In going for refuge to the Buddha it is most essential at the outset to clarify our
conception of what a Buddha is and how he functions as a refuge. If such clarification is
lacking, our sense of refuge can easily become tainted by erroneous views. We may ascribe
to the Buddha a status he never claimed for himself, as when we regard him as the
incarnation of a god, as the emanation of the Absolute, or as a personal savior. On the
other hand, we may detract from the exalted status to which the Buddha is properly
entitled, as when we regard him simply as a benevolent sage, as an unusually astute
Asiatic philosopher, or as a genius of meditative technology.
A correct view of the Buddha's nature would see him in terms of the title he assigned
to himself: as a Fully Self-Enlightened One (samma sambuddha). He is
self-enlightened because he has awakened to the essential truths of existence entirely on
his own, without a teacher or guide. He is fully enlightened because he has comprehended
these truths completely, in all their ramifications and implications. And as a Buddha he
has not only fathomed these truths himself, but has also taught them to the world so that
others may awaken from the long sleep of ignorance and attain the fruits of liberation.
Taking refuge in the Buddha is an act anchored in a particular historical individual:
the recluse Gotama, the scion of the Sakyan clan, who lived and taught in the Ganges
valley in the fifth century B.C. When we take refuge in the Buddha, we rely upon this
historical individual and the body of instruction that stems from him. It is important to
stress this point in view of the fashionable notion that taking refuge in the Buddha means
that we take refuge in "the Buddha-mind within ourselves" or in "the
universal principle of enlightenment." Such ideas, allowed to go unchecked, can lead
to the belief that anything we contrive in the flights of our imagination can qualify as
true Dhamma. To the contrary, the Buddhist tradition insists that when we go for refuge to
the Buddha, we place ourselves under the guidance of one who is distinctly different from
ourselves, one who has scaled heights that we have barely begun to glimpse.
But when we rely upon the recluse Gotama as our refuge, we do not apprehend him merely
as a particular individual, a wise and sensible sage. We apprehend him rather as a Buddha.
It is his Buddhahood -- his possession of the full range of excellent qualities that come
with perfect enlightenment -- that makes the recluse Gotama a refuge. In any cosmic epoch,
a Buddha is that being who first breaks through the dark mass of ignorance encompassing
the world and rediscovers the lost path to Nibbana, the cessation of suffering. He is the
pioneer, the trailblazer, who discovers the path and proclaims the path so that others, by
following his tracks, may extinguish their ignorance, arrive at true wisdom, and break the
fetters that tie them to the round of repeated birth and death.
For the refuge in the Buddha to be genuine, it must be accompanied by a commitment to
the Buddha as an incomparable teacher, as unexcelled and unsurpassed. Strictly speaking,
the historical Buddha is not unique since there have been earlier Fully Enlightened Ones
who have arisen in past epochs and there will be others who will arise in future epochs as
well. But in any one world system it is impossible for a second Buddha to arise while the
teaching of another Buddha is still extant, and thus in terms of human history we are
justified in regarding the Buddha as a unique teacher, unequalled by any other spiritual
teacher known to humanity. It is this readiness to recognize the Buddha as "the
unsurpassed trainer of persons to be tamed, the teacher of gods and humans" that is
the hallmark of an authentic act of taking refuge in the Buddha.
The Buddha serves as a refuge by teaching the Dhamma. The actual and final refuge,
embedded within the Dhamma as refuge, is Nibbana, "the deathless element free from
clinging, the sorrowless state that is void of stain" (Itiv. 51). The Dhamma as
refuge comprises the final goal, the path that leads to that goal, and the body of
teachings that explain the practice of the path. The Buddha as refuge has no capacity to
grant us liberation by an act of will. He proclaims the path to be traveled and the
principles to be understood. The actual work of walking the path is then left to us, his
disciples.
The proper response to the Buddha as refuge is trust and confidence. Trust is required
because the doctrine taught by the Buddha runs counter to our innate understanding of
ourselves and our natural orientation towards the world. To accept this teaching thus
tends to arouse an inner resistance, even to provoke a rebellion against the changes it
requires us to make in the way we lead our lives. But when we place trust in the Buddha we
open ourselves to his guidance. By going to him for refuge we show that we are prepared to
recognize that our inherent tendencies to self-affirmation and grasping are in truth the
cause of our suffering. And we are ready to accept his counsel that to become free from
suffering, these tendencies must be controlled and eliminated.
Confidence in the Buddha as our refuge is initially awakened when we contemplate his
sublime virtues and his excellent teaching. It grows through our undertaking of the
training. At first our confidence in the Buddha may be hesitant, punctured by doubts and
perplexity. But as we apply ourselves to the practice of his path, we find that our
defilements gradually lessen, that wholesome qualities increase, and with this comes a
growing sense of freedom, peace and joy. This experience confirms our initial trust,
disposing us to advance a few steps further. When at last we see the truth of the Dhamma
for ourselves, the refuge in the Buddha becomes inviolable. Confidence then becomes
conviction, the conviction that the Blessed One is "the speaker, the proclaimer, the
bringer of the good, the giver of the Deathless, the lord of the Dhamma, the
Tathagata."
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