..续本文上一页e nutshells of which they are very proud. True, there are spells of calm on the waters when it is pleasant to float upon a smooth sea, or to prove and to enjoy the strength of one”s body by a long swim. But those with open eyes and minds are not deceived by these short moments of respite: they know the overpowering fierceness of a storm-swept sea, they know the dangerous currents and whirlpools in it, and the demons and monsters of the deep. They know that, even under the most favorable conditions, the feeble strength of man will soon be exhausted by the impact of life”s elemental forces. The vicissitudes of life give no chance of maintaining permanently, during the unlimited sequence of transformations, even the lowest degree of happiness, even the lowest standard of moral worth. There is nothing to gain by traversing ever anew the infinite expanse of life”s ocean, in any of its regions. There is only the same senseless repetition of the ups and downs, of ebb and tide. Faced by the ever-present perils of life and by its essential monotony, there will be only the one cry for refuge in a heart and mind that has truly grasped its situation within the world. A refuge is the one great need of all life and "going to it" the one sane act demanded by that situation.

　　But granting its necessity, does a refuge from the world”s ills actually exist

　　 The Buddhist affirms it and proves by that affirmation to be anything but a pessimist. The refuge to which he turns his steps is the triad of the Buddha, his Doctrine, and the Fraternity of holy disciples. Being what is most precious and most pure, it has been called "The Triple Gem." But the fact that it provides the final refuge and not only a temporary shelter, cannot otherwise be proved than through the actual attainment of that refuge by those who are going to it.

　　The Triple Gem has objective existence as an impersonal idea or ideal as long as it is known and cherished. In so far it is doubtlessly a still persisting and active source of energy for the world. But it is transformed from an impersonal idea to a personal refuge only to the extent of its being realized in one”s own mind and manifested in one”s own life. Therefore the existence of the Triple Gem in its characteristic nature as a refuge cannot be proven to others than those who find this refuge in themselves by their own efforts.

　　The refuge becomes and grows by the process of going to it.

　　By effort, earnestness and self-control

　　Let the wise man make for himself an island

　　Which no flood can overwhelm.

　　— Dhp 25

　　The refuge exists for us only in so far as something within ourselves responds and corresponds to it.

　　Therefore the Sixth Zen Patriarch said:

　　"Let each of us take refuge to the Triple Gems within our mind!"

　　With regard to the first refuge, in the Buddha, the Master himself said, shortly after His Enlightenment:

　　Like me the conquerors will be

　　Who have attained to the defilements” end.

　　— MN 26, Ariya-pariyesana-sutta

　　Concerning the second refuge, in the Dhamma, the Buddha said shortly before his decease:

　　"Be ye islands unto yourselves, be ye a refuge unto yourselves! Take no other refuge! The Dhamma be your island, the Dhamma be your refuge; Take no other refuge!"

　　— DN 16, Maha-parinibbana-sutta

　　In the commentarial literature it is said (in reference to another passage, but applicable to the one just quoted):

　　The Dhamma is called "self" (atta) because, in the case of a wise one, the Dhamma is not different from himself and because it pertains to his personal existence.

　　— Tika to Maha-Satipatthana-Sutta

　　The third refuge, the Sangha, being the community of holy disciples, is the great and inspiring model for emulation. The actual foundation of that refuge is the capacity inherent in all beings to become one of the…

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