Day two: morning

Prayers to Buddha Shakyamuni and to Manjusri.

Today, I will give the Refuge vow.

A Buddha is one who has attained the three kayas. He has attained the Dharmakaya, the Sambhogakaya, and the Nirmanakaya. When you take the Refuge vow, you can focus on Buddha Shakyamuni, who is the Buddha of our world. Imagine Buddha Shakyamuni in front of you and then think of his qualities – the same qualities as those of all the Buddhas. Buddha Shakyamuni accomplished two benefits, the benefit for himself, and the benefit for others. To accomplish the benefit for himself means that he has given up all veils and all negativities of mind, and his wisdom has been fully awakened.

Dharmakaya

There are three kinds of veils. The first is the veil of obscuring states of mind. The second is the veil of knowledge, and the third is the veil of very fine habitual patterns. When the veil of obscuring states is given up, one is free from rebirths in the cycle of existence – one is liberated from samsara. When the veil of knowledge is given up, one is no longer stuck in self-liberation. And when the veil of habits is given up, one has become a fully enlightened Buddha. To be a Buddha means to be free from all three kinds of veils. It means to be fully awakened having realized the Dharmakaya.

Take for example, Buddha Shakyamuni who did not start out in his life enlightened. He was a Bodhisattva, the son of a king. And in his role as a prince, he had enjoyed life for some time. It was not until later that he came to realize that there was no meaning in the life of a wealthy king, and no satisfaction to be found either. He then went looking for a cause that would give satisfaction. This cause as he came to understand, could be found in the freedom of a mind completely removed from all ignorance. Consequently, the prince renounced everything, went to the forest and meditated. Through meditation, he eliminated all three veils of mind and became fully enlightened. In other words, he attained the Dharmakaya.

Nirmanakaya

Enlightenment benefits not just one person. And just because the Buddha himself was enlightened, it did not mean that he would then disappear from his disciples or sentient beings. On the contrary, the enlightened Buddha Shakyamuni went on to teach sentient beings how to achieve enlightenment. Thousands upon thousands of disciples everywhere were enlightened as a result, and not only in his lifetime. This effect is just like the reflection of the rising sun, the sun’s reflection at once, appears in every droplet of water everywhere, just like that! (a snap of the fingers.)

The real cause of liberation from samsara depends on you. It depends on a change in your own mind, which is the real cause. Therefore, emanations from the enlightened mind or Nirmanakayas appear to help beings by encouraging them to change their attitudes. For instance, to affect a beneficial change in the attitudes of insects, the impetus would have to come from an insect. It could not come from a human, and so an emanation in insect form would appear to help the insects change for the better. Accordingly, Nirmanakayas are as numerous and as varied as there are forms of sentient beings.

Buddha means completely accomplished. What is accomplished is the compassion he has generated towards sentient beings on the way to become enlightened. All his wishes beneficial to sentient beings come from this compassion. Therefore, completely accomplished means that all the wishes of a Buddha are happening. These wishes are coming true. They come to us through the Nirmanakaya. In other words, all the help that sentient beings are receiving, all the beneficial circumstances that are happening to sentient beings are the Nirmanakayas, the emanations of Buddhas. Just as the sun’s reflection appears in the water droplets everywhere, the Nirmanakayas appear in every realm of sentient beings to benefit them.

Sambhogakaya

There are many realms of advanced beings like the Bodhisattvas. These Bodhisattvas have already attained certain bhumis, or levels of achievement. There are many small and medium bhumis that come before the final bhumi, which is complete enlightenment. Bodhisattvas who have attained these bhumis are in very pure realms, unlike our impure human realm, or the impure realm of insects. The realms of Bodhisattvas are very, very pure. The reason is because their minds are like a clear mirror, and so the reflections from these pure minds are also clear. However, these Bodhisattvas still need guides to help them reach the full enlightenment. To help these pure beings, the Buddhas’ emanations manifest in these pure forms, pure like Buddha Vajradhara. This form of very pure emanation is called Sambhogakaya. Again, Sambhogakaya also comes from the wishes made by the Buddhas.

Nirmanakayas and Sambhogakayas appear according to the qualities of the sentient beings. They are inseparable from a Buddha’s Dharmakaya, a Buddha’s wisdom, or a Buddha’s complete enlightenment.

Wisdom

The three kayas can also be described in terms of the two aspects of Buddha wisdom: vast wisdom and profound wisdom. Dharmakaya is profound wisdom because it is wisdom that realizes itself, so nobody can judge it. Vast wisdom is Nirmanakaya and Sambhogakaya, which are emanated. Whether you refer to enlightenment as the two wisdoms, or the three kayas, the meaning is the same as described.

Without profound wisdom, one cannot have vast wisdom. Profound wisdom is the wisdom that you can achieve. However, there is no separate way to achieve vast wisdom, because it is part of profound wisdom. Profound wisdom means a mind totally free from all veils of obscurations, at all three levels: gross, medium and subtle. In the absence of obscuration, the mind changes into profound wisdom, and that includes the vast wisdom.

If I have profound wisdom, I will no longer have dualistic concepts. I will see your illusions as your dreams. I will recognize that all of you here, are sleeping and dreaming. As well, my profound wisdom can understand all your dreams, which are different individually, yet the same in one nature. It is because a Buddha knows all the illusions of sentient beings that he can accordingly, manifest the emanations, which is vast wisdom, to help them. Profound wisdom is the quality of a Buddha. And Buddha also means profound wisdom. They are synonymous.

Refuge of the Triple Gem

To take refuge in the Buddha means by knowing the Buddha’s qualities, you take refuge in the Buddha in order to be liberated from samsara. The Buddha is the ultimate refuge. We also take refuge in the Dharma and the Sangha.

The Dharma is the path to enlightenment, which is called the truth of the path. It encompasses all the remedies that can eliminate all the obscurations of mind. The taking of remedies is the path to enlightenment. The Dharma explains what the obscurations are so you don’t take refuge in your obscurations. Rather, you take the remedies prescribed by the Dharma to eliminate them.

The Dharma is the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni. He taught the Dharma to his disciples. Since then, it has been transmitted through generations in an unbroken lineage, as it still exists in the world today. Other than through words, the Dharma can also be transmitted through gestures and by examples.

By implementing the methods of the Dharma, you will achieve the results. The methods are the steps that allow you to progress step by step, towards what is called the truth of cessation. The truth of cessation does not consist of words. It is rather an experience of mind, which is developed by means of the Dharma. If you apply the methods successfully, then the result, which is the truth of cessation, will develop. What you will achieve is beyond words. The final truth of cessation is the Buddha. Everything leading up to, and including the final truth of cessation, is the Dharma. Therefore to take refuge in the Dharma means that until you are fully enlightened, you depend on the path of Dharma to get you there.

The refuge in the Sangha is a temporary one. In the beginning, you rely on a qualified teacher who represents the Buddha, and who introduces the Dharma to you. There are two kinds of Sangha. There is the genuine Sangha, the community of realized beings who are already on the advanced level of the Dharma path; they could be Bodhisattvas, or the Theravadin Arhats. The other is considered a semi-Sangha. It consists of those who have renounced the worldly life. They could be Bodhisattvas or Arhats, who are striving for liberation by listening, reflecting and practising meditation. You also can take refuge in them, temporarily, because they are qualified guides of the Dharma.

In the Theravada, the members of the genuine Sangha are on the path of unification, and the path of seeing. Within these two paths, the levels can be again subdivided into three or four: small, medium, and advanced, for instance. In the Mahayana, the genuine Sangha consists only of Bodhisattvas who are already on the advanced path, and they can be in any form. In the Theravada, however, the genuine Sangha is always in human or heavenly form.

What are some necessary conditions of a Sangha member either in a human form or a heavenly form? A human is defined as an individual who has the capacity to communicate and to understand. In addition, a human Sangha member possesses clear faculties capable of understanding and explaining in words the profound subjects of the Dharma. Furthermore, he is not strongly controlled by bad karma. The Sangha member in a heavenly form, is similarly capable, moreover, he is of much better quality than the human form. These two are then the useful forms of lives to achieve enlightenment. The Sangha of the Shravakayana, or the Theravada, are always humans or heavenly beings. The Sangha of Bodhisattvas, on the other hand, can be any life form even as tiny ants, or butterflies.

For the accumulation of merit, when you take refuge in the Sangha of Bodhisattvas, you can even supplicate those Bodhisattvas who are appearing as dolphins, for example. However, for the purpose of liberation, you take refuge in the Bodhisattvas in human form because communication between you is possible.

The Buddha is the ultimate refuge whereas your refuge in the Dharma and Sangha are temporary. I have now explained the qualities of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. With this knowledge of their qualities coupled with your genuine devotion towards the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, you now take the Refuge vow.

I will say the words three times and you will repeat after me. You should think,

"I, (name), will now take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha until I attain full enlightenment."

This is the commitment you will be making presently.

At the end of saying it three times, I will snap my fingers at which time, you will receive the vow, which is an unbroken transmission descended from the Buddha down through the lineage from me to you.

Imagine the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas are in front of you, and you are receiving the Refuge vow. You then do three prostrations signifying this:

"I show respect for the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha with my body, speech and mind in order to eliminate the obstacles of body, speech and mind."

The cutting of the hair means you renounce samsara.

In the Refuge prayer, the line: "I take refuge in the Lama" is not read. The Lama is included in the Sangha. The Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are the triple gem. In the practices of Ngöndro, or the Four Foundations, you also take refuge in the Lama.

You should know the precepts, which will protect the Refuge vow. These are written in the booklet you have received. The Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are a vast subject. Even though the instructions I have given you on the subject are very concise, everything has been covered.

The Refuge vow was given.