#taking refuge

[girlwithoutabookshelf]

[knightfury1895]

Taking Refuge

With a sudden jerk, I awake and force myself into an upright position, causing the rug that I have been covered with to slip to the floor from off my shoulders. I know not how long I have been sitting here at the dining table with my head resting on my folded arms, but I now have an ache in my neck and between my shoulder blades to add to my many discomforts. I sniff and rub at my eyes, removing the remnants of my drying tears with the back of my hand as I shiver with cold. The memories of what took place early this morning return with such force that, for a moment, I feel as if I might be sick. I do all that I can to calm myself; it would never do for me to vomit in the sitting room. Still my head continues to pain me terribly even when the nausea has abated and I groan and cradle it in my hands. I have no doubt that I have lost my only friend. I must have done! I have never before seen him so angry in all the time that I have known him and would never have believed him capable of turning such fury upon me. I stand shakily and begin to pace. It is then that my eye falls upon my locked desk drawer. I open it and pull out the little box that houses my cocaine and morphine, holding it close to my chest as I contemplate using it. What harm could it do? Watson is gone - even if he found out that I had immediately turned to the substances for comfort he would most assuredly not care. The words 'I hope you were lonely, I hope you were bloody miserable!' are continuously repeating themselves in my brain, firmly cementing themselves in. I have lost him. With a sharp pang of morose loneliness I open the box and measure my usual seven per cent solution of cocaine. For what seems a brief moment, my problems fade into insignificance and all is bliss. Nothing matters. I play something on my violin that sounds glorious and then I settle myself, cross legged, on the hearth rug and watch the colourful flames dance in the grate. As the euphoria fades all too quickly, so the morose emotions return. They are worse than they were before. I shiver miserably, suddenly finding that I am feeling dreadfully chilled, and sneeze. "It sounds as if you've caught a cold," Mrs. Hudson remarks as she comes in. "It's little wonder. Sleeping at the breakfast table in the draught like that! You were shivering in your sleep, you know." Was I really? Well, it is of no import. I sniff quietly and warm my hands before the fire. With a sigh my housekeeper drapes the rug that I left on the floor about my shoulders once more. "You should take better care. How ever did you manage alone for three years?" I close my eyes hastily, feeling them prickle with tears yet again. I kept myself going with thoughts of home and those who mattered to me. Now I find myself even more alone than I was while I was away! "Are you going to speak to me?" I clear my constricting and painful throat with difficulty and lick my dry lips. "I would only drive you away too." She snorts. "What nonsense! I come with the house Mr. Holmes. Here, have some tea." I thank her gratefully and swallow the hot drink that she presses into my slightly-trembling hands without a pause. It does banish some of the chills. "As for Doctor Watson," she continues with severity. "I am sure I don't know what you could have said or done to upset him so and no more do I wish to know. But he is a good man and I'm sure that he will forgive you when he is ready. He just needs some time, Mr. Holmes; he has had a dreadful time of it lately." I nod and look away. I wanted to return home to him so that he would not be alone! I would have done so in an instant would it not have put us both in mortal danger. What good would that have done? Supposing I had been killed before I even reached London? That would most surely have hurt my Boswell more than my staying away. Had it been Watson who was killed... I shiver violently at the thought. That does not bear thinking about. "You are cold! Sit in your chair and allow me to tend to the fire sir. You have not even had a bite to eat yet, have you?" I wave her away. "I am not hungry." "You'll fade away at this rate! Come now Mr. Holmes, you should eat something. It will do you good." Cocaine always diminishes the appetite and my current emotional state leaves no room for food in any case. I light a cigarette and eye my morocco box as I consider taking another, stronger dosage. Seven per cent is a very weak solution, after all. Mrs. Hudson throws up her hands. "Call me if you want anything." "Thank you Mrs. Hudson," I hand her the teacup and dismiss her none too gently. I am feeling ill and miserable now that the cocaine is wearing off and I want to take more. I have no reason not to. I resist the temptation for a moment or two. After Watson's reaction to the drug I do not like to take it in company and so I shall have to administer it quickly lest Mrs. Hudson returns too soon. The resulting euphoria envelops me and I return to chuckling at the fire.

[bwmonastery]

皈依殊胜行

13增020C的林振健同学自2008年母亲生病后，就一直希望母亲（李胜）能受『皈依』。今年母亲因病入院后，林振健的心情更为殷切，依仗孝心的福力及三宝的加持力下终凝聚了许多皈依的顺缘——4月7日，祖广法师亲自来到林振健家为坐在轮椅的母亲办皈依仪式。

祖广法师用李胜熟悉的广东话为她讲解皈依三宝的殊胜意义，老人家竟然感动得掉下眼泪。在这个难能可贵的因缘下，林振健的太太梅素梨也好乐跟着受『皈依』。在场的小儿子也参与了这个简单但庄严的皈依仪式。

李胜皈依后内心十分欢喜，拿着念珠一直默念观世音菩萨的圣号。林振健内心也非常兴奋得以完成期盼已久的心愿。感恩祖广法师的慈悲。

文/陈亚喜

[tom4jc]

October 8, 2024 Verse Of The Day

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[look-into-our-heart]

Touching the Spirit of the Three Refuges

Here is more on Master’s teachings on taking the three refuges. The following is from The Power of the Heart book.

Oftentimes, when we read spiritual texts such as the sutras or listen to a talk on the teachings, we feel a profound sense of peace and understanding. It is as if we have been led to the mountaintop, and the view is breathtaking. Our transcendent state of mind vanishes very quickly, however, after we return to our mundane everyday life. All it takes is for someone to do something that displeases us and our temper rises up.

Why is that inner state of transcendence and peace so fleeting?

When reading or hearing the teachings, we see the mountaintop so clearly, but when we bring our vision back to where we are, our two feet are still planted at the bottom of the mountain. We can see the peak, but we are not there yet. We still need to climb up the mountain by walking the path.

To do so, we need to nurture a heart of sincerity, purity, and great vows. As Buddhists, we take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. To touch the spirit of the Three Refuges, we will need to develop sincerity of heart, purity of heart, and greatness of vows

Sincerity of heart

The Buddha is our teacher. We take him as our teacher because he is someone who awoke to the truths and universal laws that govern life. This being so, we need to develop a very genuine and sincere desire to understand the truths he shared with us. This comes from first believing the Buddha to be enlightened, and then believing in the truth of what he said.

Firstly, we need to truly believe what he said about all of us having, deep within us, an enlightened nature—and that this is our true nature. We too are capable of attaining the same great awakening that he did.

We also need to truly believe what he tells us about the law of karma that governs this world, and the reality of collective karma. We need to understand that in our ignorance and wrong notions, we have acted in greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, and doubt, creating negative karma which accumulates into collective karma.

Still, we always think that we are right, never aware of how our actions may be wrong. That is why we need to turn inward and reflect, and then cleanse our hearts. Then we can be open to learning the Buddha’s teachings.

With that sincerity of heart and earnestness to learn, we will be able to come closer to understanding the truths that the Buddha shared with us. We can draw closer to that kind of enlightened understanding—touching it so that the Buddha’s heart becomes our own heart; our heart, the heart of a Buddha.

This all begins with faith in the Buddha’s awakening, from which a sincere desire to learn from him is born. Without such faith, how can we begin? Without such sincerity and earnestness to learn, how can we learn?

Purity of heart

While the universal truths that the Buddha tried to share with us are in fact very simple, because our hearts are not pure, we cannot access them. We cannot take them to heart and we continue in our habit patterns, still blind to many of life’s principles. That is why purifying our hearts is important.

How can we purify our hearts? By taming our afflictions and working on overcoming our unwholesome tendencies in daily living. Our personal habits and idiosyncrasies are based on these unwholesome tendencies, and when we exhibit them outwardly, they reflect the inner state of our mind. When our habits are very entrenched, it shows that our heart and mind are not very clean. The way to begin cleansing our hearts and minds is by repenting, working to eliminate our greed, hatred, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt, and by practicing the precepts.

We need a cleansed heart and mind in order to learn the true Buddhist teachings. When we try to learn them without this preparation, it is like pouring clean water into a dirty bucket: the water will get contaminated. Like the contaminated water, our understanding of the Buddha’s teachings will be distorted.

Learning the teachings with a clean heart and mind, we will be able to understand them correctly and touch the truth in them. This is what we should do when we study the sutras. Though many people recite sutras because they think it creates merit, focusing on the act of reciting, we should actually look to the sutras as sources of enlightened wisdom and strive to awaken to the principles they contain.

The sutras aren’t complicated; the teachings they contain are in fact very simple. When our heart and mind are clean, we can touch the essence of the teaching; our inner wisdom then can be brought forth and we can gain deep insight.

So, let us clean our heart and mind by eliminating our unwholesome habits, and with a pure heart strive to understand the essence of the teachings, enter deeply into the Dharma, and gain insight.

Greatness of vows

On the spiritual path, we must also harbor a deep desire and great vow to guide more people to join us on this path to awakening. In the world today, many people have lost sight of what life is about. Without a true sense of purpose, they go about life caught up in superficials.

We need to give rise to a sincere desire to help people come to understand and live out life’s true meaning. In our hearts, there needs to be such a great, selfless vow. If more people can come to understand the Buddha’s authentic teaching, they will gain wisdom and comprehend life’s true value.

Sincerity of heart, purity of heart, and greatness of vows are essential in our spiritual practice. Sincerity of heart means a sincere wish to understand the Buddha’s heart and the truths he awakened to. Purity of heart means genuine effort to cleanse our hearts so that we can touch the simple truth of the Buddha’s teachings. Greatness of vows means harboring a deep aspiration to inspire others to join us in walking the path. It is with such a heart that we should practice as Buddhists.

[look-into-our-heart]

Finding a Life Direction

November and December are time for overseas certification camps.  These camps are very special because those attending the camps are volunteers from countries around the world.  They are inspired by Tzu Chi and Dharma Master Cheng Yen, so they undertake training to become certified Tzu Chi volunteers.  At the overseas certification camp, many newly-certified Tzu Chi volunteers take refuge in Buddhism.  They take refuge in the Three Jewels, which are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.  In Buddhism, taking refuge is a ceremony that people take to formally become a Buddhist.  It shows their aspiration to follow the Buddha’s path and live by his teachings. 

Although Buddhism is considered as a religion, Master says that it is more like a goal for our life.  Buddhism guides people to lead a life of wisdom.  The purpose of religion is to educate people about the purpose of life.  Hence, Master has been using the Buddha’s teachings to guide people to do good and contribute to the greater good of the world, and at the same time, inspire people to take a spiritual path that would lead them back to their innate pure nature.

Since many overseas volunteers are not Chinese and many are of different faith, instead of explaining the meaning of taking refuge from the traditional Buddhist perspective, Master provides a broader interpretation for the meaning of taking refuge.  The teaching below is paraphrased from her speech.

自皈依佛 當願眾生 體解大道 發無上心

I take refuge in the Buddha. May I and all living beings understand the great truths the Buddha shared with us and aspire to the same enlightenment that the Buddha attained.

Taking refuge in the Buddha is to attain a correct awakening.  Buddha is a term for enlightenment.  Awakening is about opening our heart to all living beings, not focusing only on ourselves.  Every person has an innate nature of awakening.  In taking refuge in the Buddha, we are also taking refuge in ourselves; we are to protect our heart and mind so that we don’t get spiritually lost.

In reciting the verse of taking refuge in the Buddha, we tell ourselves, “I’ve realized that I have the potential for awakening.  I have faith in my Buddha nature and in my ability to inspire people.  Thus, I aspire to walk the right path and also guide people to walk the right path.”

自皈依法 當願眾生 深入經藏 智慧如海

I take refuge in the Dharma. May I and all living beings deeply enter the treasury of the teachings and have wisdom vast as the sea.

Next is taking refuge in the Dharma.  Dharma is about doing things correctly.  For example, in giving people our love, we are to follow principles.  We do not give love blindly; our love must be based on correct faith.  Take family for example, we are to have a legitimate family, and our love for our family is based on loyalty.  This applies to both the husband and the wife.  One shouldn’t go astray.  This is familial love.  There are also principles involved when parents give love to their children, or when people give love to their neighbors or people in society.

Thus, in taking refuge in the Dharma, we are to learn principles and the Buddha’s teachings. When we have faith in the Dharma, we’ll gain wisdom.  We will not go astray and be deluded.  This is how the Dharma can guide us.  When we study the sutra treasury deeply, which are principles, we’ll gain wisdom as vast as the sea.

自皈依僧 當願眾生 統理大眾 一切無礙 和南聖眾

I take refuge in the Sangha. May I and all living beings join together as one in harmony and work to guide all living beings onto the right path without obstruction.

Next is taking refuge in the sangha.  This means that there’s a need for someone to guide people into Buddhism.  I’m a Buddhist monastic.  Hence, I expound the Dharma and guide people to join Buddhism and volunteer with Tzu Chi.  Walking on the path of Tzu Chi is to work with people of all religions and help people in the world to have correct faith and not be spiritually lost.  So, we are to guide people to give love and use their strength to help people in suffering.  By bringing people’s efforts together, we can help a lot of people in suffering.  Every person has his or her own affinities and can aspire to guide all living beings.  May we set a goal for ourselves to have the strength to call forth people’s power of love, guide people to walk this broad path, and pave a broad path of wisdom and blessings in this world.

No matter which religion we follow, we are to take refuge in correct faith.  People of all religious faith are to promote right understanding, right faith, and right Dharma in the world.  We are to guide people toward the right path and create blessings for the world.  This is what we aspire to do in taking refuge.

[look-into-our-heart]

Be a Friendly Buddhist

At Tzu Chi’s overseas certification camp, many newly-certified volunteers took refuge in Buddhism to become a Buddhist.  Dharma Master Cheng Yen gave them the following teaching.  The teaching below is paraphrased from her speech.

Master says that she respects all religions.  It is not mandatory when one is certified as a Tzu Chi volunteer to take refuge in Buddhism.  Those who do take refuge in Buddhism do so because they want to.  

Master tells volunteers that she is very certain that the path of Dharma is a safe path.  Although it’s a safe path, it’s up to the practitioner to step in the right direction, walk the right path, and start walking.  Some people consider themselves as Buddhists, but they’re actually spiritually lost.  Because they don’t know the correct Dharma, they do things that cause people to criticize Buddhism.  This would be a great negative karma that we don’t want to bear.  Thus, Buddhists have a responsibility to show Buddhism in a positive way.  Master reminds Tzu Chi volunteers to learn the correct Dharma and practice the teachings in daily life.  For example, if they had been rude to people before, now is the time to change themselves, resolve past conflicts, start anew, and learn to be more friendly and loving to all people. 

[alienbuddhism]