Taking Refuge By Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche This is an excerpt of a talk given by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche during a refuge vow

ceremony at the Halifax Shambhala Center on ctober !"# Today you are becoming a Buddhist in name# $t is up to each of you individually to become Buddhist in principle# The vow is here to inspire and help us# %fter today& one is supposed to take refuge daily# Taking the vow is a decision to base our lives on the principles of the three 'ewels( the Buddha& the dharma& and the sangha# )e are going to conduct our lives in a certain way# )e are leaving our old way of doing things*the samsaric or setting+sun way# $t,s easy for us to get into a mental spin when our basic thought in the morning is not inspiration& but -how do $ get through the day without anything going wrong./ %fter today& we will get up in the morning and look at our life as being very precious because we hold the three 'ewels# )e will take a moment in the morning to ask& -)ho am $. 0o $ have the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha./ The Buddha said that we all have buddha nature# The basic goodness we talk about in Shambhala is very much the same thing# By taking this vow& we are saying that in our meditation and conduct& we will aspire to bring out our enlightened 1ualities# This becomes our motivation# )e take this vow to say that such a thing is possible# %s

the great Su2uki Roshi said& -)e are all perfect& but we need a little help#/ The -little help/ we need comes from our motivation# $ can be here as your preceptor to help you along& but it is you who are making the decision to lead your life this way# $t is you who will be meditating& you who will be generating compassion& you who will live your life cheerfully& with confidence about its potential# By taking the vow& you,re saying that you want to do this# 3ou are binding your intention to what is possible with a vow that will carry you through many lifetimes# $t is said that a teacher of deep understanding and reali2ation can look at another human being and see the vows they have taken over lifetimes& as well as how they are maintaining those vows# $n the Shambhala tradition we talk about this as the notion of lungta or windhorse( how we manifest& how we handle our thoughts& our activity& our relationships*even personal hygiene and meditation# 4verything affects our life force and also our ability to keep the vow# $n the Buddha& we have the example of someone who took this 'ourney# )e have the teachings to show us the way# )e also need support in keeping the vow# That is where the sangha comes in# The sangha is a community of individuals like us who have decided to lead life according to gewa& virtue# 5irtue means thinking about the 1ualities we want to awaken*mindfulness& compassion& generosity& discipline& and patience# These are virtues because

they take us forward& unlike migewa*non+virtuous activity like aggression*which steals our mind# )e have so much to rely upon# The teachings address every aspect of life( conduct& relationship& wisdom& metaphysics& astrology# There is a tremendous amount of dharma that we can study# )e are especially fortunate that so many texts are being translated# )hen $ offer refuge vows& my mother always reminds me to tell you that as Buddhists& we have to respect books and other representations of the teachings# 7or example& we,re not supposed to put a statue of the Buddha on the floor# )e should keep dharma books in a respectable& higher place# These ob'ects symboli2e and teach us about our enlightened 1ualities# $f we don,t respect them& then we,re not respecting ourselves# Most people say they have no trouble respecting the Buddha# They have no trouble with the dharma# They can take refuge in those two 'ewels*no problem# But for some reason& they have trouble respecting the sangha# )e need to have e1ual respect for the third 'ewel# The tightest sangha is those with whom you have taken your vows# These are your dharmic brothers and sisters& and beyond that is the community of Buddhist practitioners of this lineage& and then those of the other lineages# $n fact& we are instructed to respect all traditions*all sentient beings# )e do not say anything negative about them# $n fact& taking

refuge& we have to respect others more# 4very single sentient being is a Buddha# %fter taking this vow& you have to decide what level of discipline you would like to keep# )hat kind of daily meditation practice will you do. How would you like to go forward. $ encourage newer practitioners to do very brief periods of practice regularly# 0o enough& but not too much# 3ou want to end the session wanting a little more# 9ater you can do a deeper practice# 0oing dath:n or a solitary retreat is fine; going to seminary to gain deeper knowledge is wonderful# But meanwhile& keep your personal discipline# )hen the 5idyadhara was asked his favorite word& he said -discipline#/ Some people said& -<ot that word= )hat about great bliss. )hat about cra2y wildness./ But it,s personal discipline that keeps us happy# 0iscipline means being enthusiastic about practicing virtue# The practitioner says& - h& great=/ when yet another person is irritating# )e are happy to practice patience# There,s a 1uality of continuity in our practice& a sense of celebration# That,s the kind of discipline we,re talking about# 9a2iness takes more effort than discipline; we have to try harder to be la2y# Here& we are flipping that energy# % daily practice of meditation& contemplation& and reflection gives us the basis for keeping our vow# $n this tradition& we take refuge by considering all beings# )e are taking refuge here for the welfare of everyone# So it is a big step& and $ am very happy that people

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are going to be doing it# The ceremony itself is very simple# $,ve briefly explained the notions of taking refuge in the three 'ewels# Having that in mind& keep your motivation and intention as we go forward with the ceremony# $t is important to say& -$ am taking refuge because $ want to take refuge/*not because you want to become a Buddhist like your best friend& because your parents told you to& or because you,ve been waiting so long you think you,d better do it now# $t,s really a matter of saying& -This is what needs to happen#/ %fter you take the vow& you,re officially Buddhist# That means that next time someone says& -)hat are you./ there,s only one word to say& and it,s not -Buddhist+ish&/ or -$ have friends who are Buddhist# $ like the principles#/ So you need to be definite that this 'ourney is for you# ?

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