Taking Refuge in the Buddha Jewel

By: Bob Zeglovitch

The Three Treasures of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are also called the Three Jewels. The term “jewel” fits particularly well when it comes to the Buddha. A jewel is both something that is valuable—a treasure—but also something that has many facets. Consider the following possible facets of the Buddha jewel in connection with the practice of taking refuge:

• The historical Buddha, Shakyamuni—the human being that originated the teachings, and set the wheel of the dharma in motion in this world.

• The many other great teachers in the Buddhist tradition, whose presence have inspired countless beings, whose teachings have expanded and deepened practice and understanding and who have translated the teachings for new cultures and situations.

• The Buddha as an archetype, a paradigm of human freedom, wisdom and compassion that you can move toward.

• An individual teacher who, with all of his or her human shortcomings and deficiencies in practice, nevertheless provides guidance and teachings that are skillful.

• An individual on the dharma path who is more experienced than you and who becomes a spiritual friend, helping you to realize new dimensions of the dharma and to recognize beneficial qualities within yourself.

• Anyone who you come across who demonstrates spontaneous, skillful, and selfless wisdom and compassion, regardless of their station or their status as a Buddhist or a teacher.

• The inherent potential within you to develop toward awakening—your buddha-nature.

• Seeing inside yourself those qualities of clarity, spaciousness, non-attachment, wisdom and compassion that are associated with the Buddha. The Tibetan teacher Mingyur Rinpoche refers to this as the empty clarity of our own pure awareness, noting that with practice, we recognize in ourselves the very buddha in whom we take refuge.

Different facets of the Buddha jewel may emerge or resonate for you in different ways at different times. If you don’t find yourself drawn to taking refuge in the historical Buddha, that doesn’t foreclose you from taking refuge in Buddha in some other way that connects with the fundamental principle. Hopefully there are one or more facets of the jewel that can provide support for your path. Over time other facets may emerge or become seen in a new way, and your practice of refuge can deepen.

From The Tibetan Book of Proportions, an eighteenth-century book showing precise guidelines for depicting the Buddha and Bodhisattva figures. The concept of the 'ideal image' of the Buddha emerged during the 4th to 6th century AD. Public domain image.

Celebrating Shakyamuni Buddha's Awakening

By: Bob Zeglovitch

Today, our sangha celebrated Shakyamuni Buddha’s awakening, in concert with observations and meditation taking place around the globe in Mahayana Buddhist communities. We recited the story of the Buddha’s enlightenment, conducted a service, and discussed how we personally related to the story and legend of the Buddha.

In the Longer Discourse Saccaka in the Middle Length Discourses of the Pali Canon, the Buddha described his awakening as follows:

During the first watch of the night, the Buddha discovered all of his past lives in the cycle of rebirth, realizing that he had been born and reborn countless times before. During the second watch, the Buddha discovered the Law of Karma, and the importance of living by the Noble Eightfold Path. During the third watch, the Buddha discovered the Four Noble Truths, finally reaching Nirvana.

In his words: My heart, thus knowing, thus seeing, was released from the fermentation of sensuality, released from the fermentation of ignorance. With release, there was the knowledge, “Released.” I discerened that “Birth” is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world."

In the Dhammapada, the Buddha is reported to have uttered the following after his enlightenment:

“Through the round of many births I roamed without reward, without rest, seeking the house-builder. Painful is birth again & again. House-builder, you're seen! You will not build a house again. All your rafters broken, the ridge pole dismantled, immersed in dismantling, the mind has attained to the end of craving.”

In our service this morning, the doan chanted the following eko (a dedication of merit which today also served the purpose of a grateful recognition of the Buddha’s awakening):

The sky of samadhi and the moonlight of wisdom form the temple of our practice. Our friends and family members guide us as we walk the ancient path. We honor the immeasurable goodness of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. May their compassion embrace us. We express our profound gratitude for Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. May their wondrous power enter our heart.

On this auspicious day,

We commemorate the Buddha Shakyamuni’s awakening, His enlightenment has radiated throughout time and space, benefitting countless beings

 All Buddhas come into the world but rarely, and are hard to meet,
and when they appear in the world,
It’s hard for them to speak the Dharma.
Throughout countless ages, too,
It’s difficult to hear this Dharma.
And those who can hear this Dharma--
Such people too, are rare,
Like the udumbara flower,
In which all take delight,
Which the gods and humans prize, for it blooms but once in countless eonss.

The Dharma is vast and subtle; we now have a chance to hear it, study it, and practice it. We vow to realize its true meaning. 

The passage about the Buddhas coming into the world but rarely (and ending with the commentary about the udumbara flower) is taken from the second chapter of the Lotus Sutra, which is a seminal Mahayana text from third century China. The last two sentences are traditionally chanted before a dharma talk is given. We felt that they fit well here, as we recognized the Buddha’s accomplishment, its rarity, and our chance in this lifetime to study, practice and realize the Buddha’s teachings.

Some Ways to Consider Buddha

By: Bob Zeglovitch

At our Rohatsu sesshin last Saturday, we recited the Shakyamuni section from the Transmission of Light by Keizan Jokin, the “second founder” of Soto Zen in Japan.  I made some short comments about some different ways we might consider the story of the Buddha and his awakening—as myth or archetype; as the journey of an actual historical figure (where what little details can be conjured up vary from the myths); as a stand-in for the collective energy and striving of many dedicated practitioners; and as a pointer to our own potential and/or actual true nature.  Any of these may serve to inspire us, depending on our orientation. 

The above list just scratches the surface of how we can consider Buddha, and what Buddha has meant over time. In my comments I mentioned an interesting article by the Buddhist scholar Bernard Faure titled “The Myth of the Historical Buddha.”  You can read the article here (hopefully!).  Faure was interviewed on Tricycle’s podcast, and I highly recommend giving the conversation a listen here (he has a distinct French accent so you have to listen carefully; the article covers much of the same information but the conversation is worth the effort, in my view).  Among other things, he argues that the power of the Buddha is found in the various myths and stories about him, rather than in the stripped down historicized versions that seek to make him a “scientific” philosopher Buddha.  Faure draws attention to the fact that the myth of the Buddha has been constructed in different ways over time and in different cultural contexts, and that this process continues. He has recently published a new book titled The Thousand and One Lives of the Buddha, which covers this terrain in detail.