The Dalai Lama - Go for Refuge to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha

THE UNION OF BLISS AND EMPTINESS:
Teachings on the
Practice of Guru Yoga
by the Dalai Lama
translated by Thupten Jinpa
more...

Dalai Lama Quote of the Week

If we seek refuge in a being like the Buddha who has actualized [the omniscient] state, he is able to show us the path through which he had his own experience. The buddhas in front of you have actualized what is called the truth of the path, the realizations, and have eliminated all the objects of negation and achieved cessation; such a state is possible and existent as an object of knowledge. You can see the possibility of such a state through the reasonings employed for proving yogic direct perception. Hence you will understand that the buddhas in front of you are existent now and are not mere historical figures, and that others have the capacity to realize such a state.

It is beyond question that we desire happiness and do not want suffering, so we have to actualize what is called the truth of the path in order to achieve that. Therefore, it is necessary to have a guide, a guru, who can show the right path. And we need a sangha community as companions on the path. Thus you can realize that the Three Jewels as objects of refuge are indispensable and also that they are undeceiving when refuge is sought in them.

With such reflections, go for refuge to the Buddha, dharma, and sangha, entrusting yourself from the depths of your heart.

--from The Union of Bliss and Emptiness: Teachings on the Practice of Guru Yoga by the Dalai Lama, translated by Thupten Jinpa, published by Snow Lion Publications

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