A Refuge in Awakening

　　by Phra Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo

　　Translated from the Thai by

　　Thanissaro Bhikkhu

　　Copyright © 1998 Metta Forest Monastery

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　　ye keci buddham saranam gatase

　　na te gamissanti apaya-bhumim

　　pahaya manusam deham

　　deva-kayam paripuressantiti

　　"Those who have gone to the Buddha as refuge

　　will not go to the realms of deprivation.

　　On abandoning the human body,

　　they will fill the ranks of the gods."

　　I will now explain this verse so that you can practice in a way leading to the supreme attainment, capable of eliminating all your suffering and fears, reaching the refuge of peace.

　　We come into this world without a substantial refuge. Nothing -- aside from the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha -- will follow us into the next life. These three are the only things in which we can take refuge both in this life and in lives to come.

　　There are two levels on which people take refuge in the Triple Gem. Some take refuge only allegorically, on the level of inpiduals, whereas others take refuge on the level of inner qualities, by developing the steps of the practice within themselves.

　　I. On the level of inpiduals

　　A. Buddha. Buddhas are people who have attained purity of heart. There are four types:

　　1. Rightly self-awakened Buddhas: those who have attained Awakening on their own, without anyone to teach them, and who have established a religion.

　　2. Private Buddhas: those who have gained Awakening without establishing a religion. On attaining the goal, they live by themselves.

　　3. Disciple Buddhas: those who have practiced in line with the teachings of a Buddha until they too have gained Awakening.

　　4. Learned Buddhas: those who have studied the teachings in detail, have followed them, and have attained the goal.

　　All four of these types are inpidual people, so to take refuge in them is to take refuge on the level of inpiduals. They can give us refuge only in a shallow and not very substantial way. Even though taking refuge on this level can be advantageous to us, it helps us only on the level of the world and can give only temporary protection against falling into the realms of deprivation. If we lose faith in these inpiduals, our mind can change to a lower level -- for all inpiduals fall under the laws of all conditioned things: They are inconstant and changing, subject to stress, and not-self -- i.e., they can”t prevent their own death.

　　So if you go to a Buddha as refuge on the level of inpiduals, there are only two sorts of results you”ll get: at first gladness, and then sadness when the time comes to part -- for it”s the nature of all inpiduals in the world that they arise, age, grow ill, and die. The wisest sages and the most ordinary people are all equal on this point.

　　B. Dhamma. For many of us, the teachings in which we take our refuge are also on the level of inpiduals. Why is that

　　 Because we see them as the words of inpidual people.

　　Sages of the past have pided the teachings in the Buddhist Canon into four types:

　　1. Sayings of the Buddha.

　　2. Sayings of his disciples.

　　3. Sayings of heavenly beings. There were occasions when heavenly beings, on coming to pay respect to the Buddha, said truths worth taking to heart.

　　4. Sayings of seers. Some hermits and yogis uttered truths from which Buddhists can benefit.

　　All of these sayings were organized into the three parts of the Buddhist Canon: the discourses, the discipline, and the Abhidhamma. If we take refuge in the Dhamma on this level, it is simply an object: something we can remember. …

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