Taking Refuge

Dogen on How to Take Refuge

By: Eihei Dogen

To take refuge in the three treasures, whether at the time of the Tathagata or after the Tathagata’s pari-nirvana, fill yourself with pure trust, put your hands together, bow and recite in this way:

I, so and so, from this body through the attainment of a buddha body, take refuge in the Buddha, take refuge in the Dharma, and take refuge in the Sangha.

                  I take refuge in Buddha, the most revered of those with two feet.

                  I take refuge in Dharma, the most revered way to become free of delusion.

                  I take refuge in Sangha, the most revered assembly.

                  I have taken refuge in Buddha.

                  I have taken refuge in Dharma.

                  I have taken refuge in Sangha.

Initiate this vow aspiring for enlightenment, the fruit of Buddhahood.  Even though your body-mind is born and dies moment by moment, your dharma body surely grows and attains enlightenment. 

From: Facscicle No. 89 of Shobogenzo, “Taking Refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha,” in Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo, edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi (this fascicle was translated by Gyokuko Carlson, Kyogen Carlson, and Kaz Tanahashi

Taking Refuge as Mutual Affinity and Interaction With Buddha, Dharma and Sangha

By: Eihei Dogen

The first of one hundred twenty questions in the Guidelines for Zen Monasteries says, “Do you revere buddha, dharma and sangha, or not?”

Thus, it is clear that what the buddhas and ancestors in India and China have authentically transmitted is reverence to buddha, dharma, and sangha.  Without taking refuge, there is no reverence.  Without reverence, there is no taking refuge.

The act of taking refuge in buddha, dharma, and sangha is achieved through mutual affinity and interaction.  Whether you are in a deva [god] realm, a human realm, a demon realm, or an animal realm, when you have mutual affinity and interaction with buddha, dharma, and sangha, you invariably take refuge in them.

 Taking refuge in the three treasures, you nurture yourself wherever you are, birth after birth, world after world.  You accumulate merit, assemble virtue, and attain unsurpassable, complete enlightenment.  Even if you are misled by unwholesome friends, obstructed by demons, cut off from your wholesome roots, and become an icchantika [the most base and spiritually deluded of all beings], in the end you will regain your wholesome roots and increase merit.  The power of taking refuge in the three treasures will never decay.

From: Facscicle No. 89 of Shobogenzo, “Taking Refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha,” in Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo, edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi (this fascicle was translated by Gyokuko Carlson, Kyogen Carlson, and Kaz Tanahashi.

Taking Refuge In Buddha--Outer Meaning

By: Mingyur Rinpoche

The outer meaning of taking refuge in the Buddha refers to Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical Buddha who lived in India. We call him the awakened one, the one who has gone beyond all dualities and concepts, beyond all forms of confusion and suffering. His enlightenment and his teachings continue to inform all Buddhist schools and practices. Yet in whom did the Buddha himself take refuge? We know that the Buddha’s father, King Suddhodana, sought protection in political power and social standing. We know that the king’s attempts to keep his son bound to the householder life through sensory enticements did not work. Slipping past the palace guards, Siddhartha embarked on the life of a seeker, taking refuge in forests and caves, and with teachers who had mastered the practices of asceticism. But just as he had rejected his father’s path, after six years he rejected the austerities, as well as the rituals of the ruling Brahman priesthood. When Siddhartha sat down under the bodhi tree, he took refuge in himself. Relying on instinct as well as years of training and experience, he abandoned every orthodoxy, determined to liberate his mind from the very roots of suffering.

It’s important to use this model of self-reliance—and it’s important not to misuse it. We cannot dismiss the Buddha’s teachings in the name of creative autonomy, and we cannot just follow the Buddha like a baby duckling follows its mother. We neither discard genuine faith nor indulge in blind faith. But we draw on the ordinary human habit of placing trust in exceptional sources and use the Buddha—his teachings and example—to inspire us.

When someone that we identify as special speaks, we listen with heightened attention and trust. These natural tendencies initially direct our refuge practice. We use the images, words, and activities of enlightened beings to intensify our devotion and receptivity. With the enlightened beings before us, we bow and chant with more enthusiasm than if we imagine regular beings. We take refuge in the guidance and words of the Buddha, who embodies all enlightened beings. We use the outer Buddha to take refuge in our inner buddha.

From: This passage is from a longer article titled “Why We Take Refuge” from Lion’s Roar. The full article can be found here. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is a meditation master in the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the guiding teacher of the Tergar Meditation Community, a global network of meditation groups and centers.