Refuge in the Buddha
By Bhikkhu Bodhi
The first step in entering the Buddhist path is going for refuge to the Triple
Gem, and the first of the three gems that we approach as refuge is the Buddha,
the Enlightened One. Because the act of going for refuge to the Buddha marks
the beginning of a new chapter in our life, it is worth our while to repeatedly
pause and reflect upon the significance of this momentous step. Too often we
are prone to take our first steps for granted. Yet it is only if we review these
steps from time to time in a deepening awareness of their implications that
we can be sure the following steps we take will bring us closer to our desired
destination.
The going for refuge to the Buddha is not a single action, which occurs only
once and is then completed with absolute finality. It is, or should be, a continually
evolving process, which matures in tandem with our practice and understanding
of the Dhamma. To go for refuge does not imply that at the outset we already
possess a clear grasp of the dangers that make a refuge necessary or of the
goal towards which we aspire. Comprehension of these matters grows gradually
over time. But to the extent that we have actually gone for refuge with sincere
intent, we should make an earnest effort to sharpen and deepen our understanding
of the objects to which we have turned as the basis for our deliverance.
In going for refuge to the Buddha it is most essential at the outset to clarify
our conception of what a Buddha is and how he functions as a refuge. If such
clarification is lacking, our sense of refuge can easily become tainted by erroneous
views. We may ascribe to the Buddha a status he never claimed for himself, as
when we regard him as the incarnation of a god, as the emanation of the Absolute,
or as a personal savior. On the other hand, we may detract from the exalted
status to which the Buddha is properly entitled, as when we regard him simply
as a benevolent sage, as an unusually astute Asiatic philosopher, or as a genius
of meditative technology.
A correct view of the Buddha's nature would see him in terms of the title he
assigned to himself: as a Fully Self-Enlightened One (samma sambuddha). He is
self-enlightened because he has awakened to the essential truths of existence
entirely on his own, without a teacher or guide. He is fully enlightened because
he has comprehended these truths completely, in all their ramifications and
implications. And as a Buddha he has not only fathomed these truths himself,
but has also taught them to the world so that others may awaken from the long
sleep of ignorance and attain the fruits of liberation.
Taking refuge in the Buddha is an act anchored in a particular historical individual:
the recluse Gotama, the scion of the Sakyan clan, who lived and taught in the
Ganges valley in the fifth century B.C. When we take refuge in the Buddha, we
rely upon this historical individual and the body of instruction that stems
from him. It is important to stress this point in view of the fashionable notion
that taking refuge in the Buddha means that we take refuge in "the Buddha-mind
within ourselves" or in "the universal principle of enlightenment."
Such ideas, allowed to go unchecked, can lead to the belief that anything we
contrive in the flights of our imagination can qualify as true Dhamma. To the
contrary, the Buddhist tradition insists that when we go for refuge to the Buddha,
we place ourselves under the guidance of one who is distinctly different from
ourselves, one who has scaled heights that we have barely begun to glimpse.
But when we rely upon the recluse Gotama as our refuge, we do not apprehend
him merely as a particular individual, a wise and sensible sage. We apprehend
him rather as a Buddha. It is his Buddhahood -- his possession of the full range
of excellent qualities that come with perfect enlightenment -- that makes the
recluse Gotama a refuge. In any cosmic epoch, a Buddha is that being who first
breaks through the dark mass of ignorance encompassing the world and rediscovers
the lost path to Nibbána, the cessation of suffering. He is the pioneer,
the trailblazer, who discovers the path and proclaims the path so that others,
by following his tracks, may extinguish their ignorance, arrive at true wisdom,
and break the fetters that tie them to the round of repeated birth and death.
For the refuge in the Buddha to be genuine, it must be accompanied by a commitment
to the Buddha as an incomparable teacher, as unexcelled and unsurpassed. Strictly
speaking, the historical Buddha is not unique since there have been earlier
Fully Enlightened Ones who have arisen in past epochs and there will be others
who will arise in future epochs as well. But in any one world system it is impossible
for a second Buddha to arise while the teaching of another Buddha is still extant,
and thus in terms of human history we are justified in regarding the Buddha
as a unique teacher, unequalled by any other spiritual teacher known to humanity.
It is this readiness to recognize the Buddha as "the unsurpassed trainer
of persons to be tamed, the teacher of gods and humans" that is the hallmark
of an authentic act of taking refuge in the Buddha.
The Buddha serves as a refuge by teaching the Dhamma. The actual and final refuge,
embedded within the Dhamma as refuge, is Nibbána, "the deathless
element free from clinging, the sorrow-less state that is void of stain"
(Itiv. 51). The Dhamma as refuge comprises the final goal, the path that leads
to that goal, and the body of teachings that explain the practice of the path.
The Buddha as refuge has no capacity to grant us liberation by an act of will.
He proclaims the path to be traveled and the principles to be understood. The
actual work of walking the path is then left to us, his disciples.
The proper response to the Buddha as refuge is trust and confidence. Trust is
required because the doctrine taught by the Buddha runs counter to our innate
understanding of ourselves and our natural orientation towards the world. To
accept this teaching thus tends to arouse an inner resistance, even to provoke
a rebellion against the changes it requires us to make in the way we lead our
lives. But when we place trust in the Buddha we open ourselves to his guidance.
By going to him for refuge we show that we are prepared to recognize that our
inherent tendencies to self-affirmation and grasping are in truth the cause
of our suffering. And we are ready to accept his counsel that to become free
from suffering, these tendencies must be controlled and eliminated.
Confidence in the Buddha as our refuge is initially awakened when we contemplate
his sublime virtues and his excellent teaching. It grows through our undertaking
of the training. At first our confidence in the Buddha may be hesitant, punctured
by doubts and perplexity. But as we apply ourselves to the practice of his path,
we find that our defilements gradually lessen, that wholesome qualities increase,
and with this comes a growing sense of freedom, peace and joy. This experience
confirms our initial trust, disposing us to advance a few steps further. When
at last we see the truth of the Dhamma for ourselves, the refuge in the Buddha
becomes inviolable. Confidence then becomes conviction, the conviction that
the Blessed One is "the speaker, the proclaimer, the bringer of the good,
the giver of the Deathless, the lord of the Dhamma, the Tathágata."