What
Buddhists Believe
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera
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Chapter 9 -
Dhamma And Ourselves As Refuge
Why we
take Refuge in the Buddha
Buddhists take refuge in the Buddha
not out of fear of Him, but to gain inspiration and right understanding
for their self-purification.
Buddhist
do not take refuge in the Buddha with the belief that He is a god or son
of god. The Buddha never claimed any divinity. He was the Enlightened One,
the most Compassionate, Wise, and Holy One who ever lived in this world.
Therefore, people take refuge in the Buddha as a Teacher or Master who has
shown the real path of emancipation. They pay homage to Him to show their
gratitude and respect, but they do not ask for material favors. Buddhists
do not pray to the Buddha thinking that He is a god who will reward them
or punish or curse them. They recite verses or some sutras not in the
sense of supplication but as a means of recalling His great virtues and
good qualities to get more inspiration and guidance for themselves and to
develop the confidence to follow His Teachings. There are critics who
condemn this attitude of taking refuge in the Buddha. They do not know the
true meaning of the concept of taking refuge in and paying homage to a
great religious Teacher. They have learned only about praying which is the
only thing that some people do in the name of religion. When Buddhists
seek refuge it means they accept the Buddha, Dhamma and the Sangha as the
means by which they can eradicate all the causes of their fear and other
mental disturbances. Many people, especially those with animistic beliefs,
seek protection in certain objects around them which they believe are
inhabited by spirits.
The Buddha advised against
the futility of taking refuge in hills, woods, groves, trees and shrines
when people are fear-stricken:
No such refuge is safe,
no such refuge is Supreme. Not by resorting to such a refuge is one
freed from all ill. He who has gone for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma
and the Sangha sees with right knowledge the Four Noble Truths -Sorrow,
the cause of Sorrow, the transcending of Sorrow, and the Noble Eightfold
Path which leads to the cessation of Sorrow. This indeed is secure
refuge. By seeking such refuge one is released from all Sorrow. -- (Dhammapada
188-192)
In the Dhajagga Sutta, it is mentioned that by taking refuge in Sakra, the
king of gods or any god, the followers would not be free from all their
worldly problems and fears. The reason is, such gods are themselves not
free from lust, hatred, illusion and fear, but the Buddha, Dhamma and the
Sangha (i.e. the community who has attained perfection) are free from
them. Only those who are free from unsatisfactoriness can show the way to
lasting happiness.
Francis Story, a well
known Buddhist scholar, gives his views on seeking refuge in the Buddha:
'I go for
refuge to the Buddha. I seek the presence of the Exalted Teacher by whose
compassion I may be guided through the torrents of Samsara, by
whose serene countenance I may be uplifted from the mire of worldly
thoughts and cravings, seeing there in the very assurance of Nibbanic
Peace, which He himself attained. In sorrow and pain I turn to Him and in
my happiness I seek His tranquil gaze. I lay before His Image not only
flowers and incense, but also the burning fires of my restless heart, that
they may be quenched and stilled, I lay down the burden of my pride and my
selfhood, the heavy burden of my cares and aspirations, the weary load of
this incessant birth and death.'
Sri Rama Chandra Bharati,
an Indian poet, gives another meaningful explanation for taking refuge in
the Buddha:
'I seek not thy
refuge for the sake of gain,
Not fear of thee, nor for the love of fame,
Not as thou hailest from the solar race,
Not for the sake of gaining knowledge vast,
But drawn by the power of the boundless love,
And thy all-embracing peerless ken,
The vast Samsara's sea safe to cross,
I bend low, O lord, and become thy devotee.'
Some people say that since
the Buddha was only a man, there is no meaning in taking refuge in Him.
But they do not know that although the Buddha very clearly said that He
was a man, he was no ordinary man like any of us. He was an
extraordinary and incomparably holy person who possessed
Supreme Enlightenment and great compassion toward every living being. He
was a man freed from all human weaknesses, defilements and even from
ordinary human emotions. Of Him it has been said, 'There
is none so godless as the Buddha, and yet none so godlike.' In the Buddha
is embodied all the great virtues, sacredness, wisdom and enlightenment.
Another question
that people very often raise is this: 'If the Buddha is not a god, if He
is not living in this world today, how can he bless people?' According to
the Buddha, if people follow His advice by leading a religious life, they
would certainly receive blessings. Blessing in a Buddhist sense means the
joy we experience when we develop confidence and satisfaction. The Buddha
once said, 'if anyone wishes to see me, he should look at my Teachings and
practise them.' (Samyutta Nikaya) Those who understand His
Teachings easily see the real nature of the Buddha reflected in
themselves. The image of the Buddha they maintain in their minds is more
real than the image they see on the altar, which is merely a symbolic
representation. 'Those who live in accordance with the Dhamma (righteous
way of life) will be protected by that very Dhamma.' (Thera Gatha)
One who knows the real nature of existence and the fact of life through
Dhamma will not have any fear and secure a harmonious way of life.
In other religions, the
people worship their god by asking for favours to be granted to them.
Buddhists do not worship the Buddha by asking for worldly favours, but
they respect Him for His supreme achievement. When Buddhists respect the
Buddha, they are indirectly elevating their own minds so that one day they
also can get the same enlightenment to serve mankind if they aspire to
become a Buddha.
Buddhists respect the
Buddha as their Master. However, this respect does not imply an attachment
to or a dependence on the Teacher. This kind of respect is in accordance
with His Teaching which is as follows:
'Monks, even
if a monk should take hold of the edge of my outer garment and should
walk close behind me, step for step, yet if he should be covetous,
strongly attracted by pleasures of the senses, malevolent in thought, of
corrupt mind and purpose, of confused recollection, inattentive and not
contemplative, scatter-brained, his sense-faculties uncontrolled, then
he is far from me and I am far from him.'
'Monks, if the
monk should be staying even a hundred miles away, yet he is not
covetous, not strongly attracted by the pleasures of the senses, not
malevolent in thought, not of corrupt mind and purpose, his collection
firmly set, attentive, contemplative, his thoughts be one-pointed,
restrained in his sense-faculties, then he is near me and I am near
him.' (Samyutta Nikaya)
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Source: Buddhist
Study and Practice Group, http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/
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Update : 01-11-2002
