We may take refuge in activities which produce pleasure such as eating, drinking, playing games, taking drugs, singing and dancing, and sexual relationships; we may take refuge in our own achievements or "successes" which may bring us a good reputation or good social status, with praise from others; or we may take refuge in our beliefs and ideas which make us feel erudite and righteous.
Buddhism states that all these refuges tend to be a bit of a waste of time simply because they are so unrealisable; possessions may easily be lost or destroyed, pleasurable activities become boring after a while, our reputation may easily fade, and ideas which make us feel righteous may only serve to alienate us from our fellows. Finally, we must say good-bye to all these worldly refuges when we are on our death-beds, and we may then be left very little with which to console ourselves.
Buddhism offers an alternative - the Buddhist Three Refuges or "Three Treasures", so called because of their immense value when compared to worldy refuges. These are refuges which will not fade with time but on the contrary become more valuable as our knowledge of them deepens. Instead of making us dependent, they make us autonomous, and they even last through death into future lives, bringing ever increaing joy and release from suffering.
The Three Treasures, to which Buddhists go for refuge are: the Buddha: the Awakened One,
the Dharma:the Teachings of awakening,
the Sangha:the Order, that is, the holders and transmitters of those Teachings.
Now, these Three Refuges are of a somewhat different nature to the worldly refuges. The joy that they bring is not based upon immediate gratification of desire, but instead upon persistent inner reflection and outer hard work. Taking refuge in the Three Treasures is something which must be gradually worked at; it cannot be simply 'assumed' as with the worldly refuges. Let us consider them more closely:
How the Dharma is the structures and disciplines which will actively lead towards this awakening. The first of these structures is the rules of morality : not to kill, not to steal, not to be sexually immoral, not to lie, and not to take intoxicants. Generally we should try to live a moderate life, in harmony with ourselves and those round us. The second aspect of the Dharma is the various disciplines of mind, body and speech (such as meditation and Kempo) which have a cleansing and purifying effect. The third aspect is the Buddhist scriptural teachings themselves which we may listen to or read about. These can give examples or describe incidents in the lives of the past generations of students which can help us in trying to understand or unravel our own various responses and patterns of behaviour so that we are no longer a slave to them. They show us how and that we can change them if we so desire.
These structures and disciplines are not unique to Buddhism but have been handed down in many spiritual systems throughout the world; in other words, to each his own.
The Sangha are our comrades in the spiritual quest; friends who support and encourage us; teachers and students;
brothers and sisters in the Dharma. However, on a more profound level Sangha is really all beings, since all beings can help us deepen our awareness and strengthen our understanding of the Dharma. For instance if an enemy of ours causes us trouble, we may find the situation temporarily painful, but by learning to deal with it in a firm but compassionate way, we can actually be strengthened by the experience. So in the end, we can even be thankful to our enemies, as well as our friends.
A most fundamental difference between the worldly refuges and the Three Treasures is that with the worldly refuges what we are trying to do is create something permanent which we can hold onto. All the worldly refuges are based on trying to reinforce some idea of our own identity in one way or other: physically, socially or intellectually.
But the Three Treasures can never serve this function. In taking refuge in them, we are not taking refuge in some kind of idea of a permanence or stability of our own identity, but insted, we are taking refuge in a mode or style of movement. A method or means with which to embrace the continual changes and turbulances of life, instead of just trying to stop them or dampen them down. Indeed, this Buddhist mode or style involves the very opposite of what the worldly refuges attempt to achieve: instead of building up or reinforcing our idea of ourselves, when we take refuge in the Three Treasures we must try to forget this completely for it will always delude us, and instead we should simply concentrate on trying to understand the mode of change: how is change occurring? What are the causes and component parts of this change? How can I help to gently nudge it in a positive direction? The more we can release a fixed idea of ourself, the more we can relax our mental stiffness, the more we become free to enter life in a natural way: humble yet courageous, outward going yet inwardly aware, ruthlessly realistic yet always compassionate. This is the challenge of Buddhism.
This is the challenge of the Three Treasures.
Given that deep down we all tend to suffer to a greater or lesser extent from feelings of loneliness, worry, fear, confusion and disquiet, it can be said that we spend most if not all of our lives "taking refuge" in something or other in an attempt to satisfy these inner tensions. We may take refuge in material things such as possessions and wealth, which may give a temporary feeling of security.