The Three
Refuges[1]
are:
I TAKE REFUGE IN THE BUDDHA
Buddham saranam gacchami
I TAKE REFUGE
IN THE DHARMA
Dhammam
saranam gacchami
I TAKE REFUGE
IN THE SANGHA
Sangham
saranam gacchami
The first
line means to take refuge first and
foremost in Amida Buddha who is the central Buddha in Jodo Shinshu. Only
through Him can we attain Buddhahood in the Pure Land
We also honor
and take refuge in Shakyamuni Buddha as the Teacher who showed us the path of
Amida Dharma, His main reason for coming into this world.
At our dojo or temple we
recite the traditional “Vandana”: NAMO THASSA BHAGAVATO ARAHATO SAMMA
SAMBUDDHASA (Homage to Him, the Blessed One, the fully Enlightened One) before
reciting the Three Refuges. This is addressed to Shakyamuni Buddha in His
position as a messenger and Teacher of Amida Dharma.
To second
line means to take refuge in the
Dharma about Amida that was preached by Shakyamuni Buddha and further
explained by the Masters of our tradition, especially Shinran Shonin and Rennyo
Shonin. It is the Dharma contained in the sacred texts of our tradition, the
sutras and commentaries, not the books of some scholar or priest.
By taking
refuge in the true Dharma, which is, I repeat, the teaching contained in the
sutras and commentaries of the Masters, we indirectly reject false views or
opinions that contradict these sacred texts.
We reject such
false views held today by many, like the denial of rebirth, of cause and
effect, or those regarding Amida as being a symbol, metaphor, fictional character, those who misinterpret the Pure Land as being a state of mind to be
attained here and now, etc[2].
Taking refuge
in the Dharma means that we make the vow of putting the Dharma higher than our
own unenlightened opinions and ideas. We receive and transmit to others only
the teaching left to us by Shakyamuni and the Masters of our tradition.
While we
respect all Buddhist methods as coming from Shakyamuni, we follow only the
teaching about Amida Buddha and only in it do we take refuge.
The third
line means that we take refuge in
those (lay and priests) who have received shinjin (faith) in the present life and
whose future birth in the Pure
Land
By taking refuge in them we wish
to be like them, we consider them to be our fellow travelers on the path, our
brothers and sisters in the Amida Dharma.
Those who
haven’t received shinjin yet, should look for the company of those who are firm
in shinjin, listen to their explanations, and wish to become persons of settled
faith themselves.
We do not take
refuge in those who share false views or views that are not in accordance with
the words and instructions of the sutras and commentaries of the Masters.
The true Jodo
Shinshu sangha (community) is composed only of those who fully accept the
teaching found in the sutras and commentaries of the Masters and who have
received shinjin or sincerely aspire to shinjin[3].
The sangha is
the place where the true Dharma is shared and transmitted so that we can
receive shinjin and become Buddhas in the Pure Land
Only in
sharing and transmitting the true Dharma does the sangha have meaning. Without
taking refuge in the living Amida Buddha and accepting the Dharma about him as
it was taught by Shakyamuni and the Masters, there is no sangha.
Question:
How should we look to other Buddhists that are not Jodo Shinshu followers?
Answer:
They are
disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha, too, just they follow other Buddhist methods
than us.
In accordance
with Master Rennyo’s instruction found in his letters, we should not despise
those who practice other Buddhist teachings than the nembutsu of faith in Amida
Buddha. “Respect but not follow”, is the rule for treating other Buddhist
schools and their disciples. After all, Buddhists of all schools are brothers
and sisters in the Buddha Dharma and disciples of Shakyamuni. They are
part of the general Buddhist sangha, so to speak, containing all Buddhists, but
we specifically take refuge in the sangha of those who have faith in Amida Buddha.
Question:
How should we look to other religions?
Answer:
“Respect but
not follow” applies here, too.
Shinran Shonin
insisted very much in the last chapter from his Kyogyoshinsho, by
quoting many sutras, on the fact that the disciples of the Buddha should not
take refuge in non-Buddhist teachings, or venerate any divinities outside
Buddhism, should not rely on superstitions, lucky days, propitious or
unpropitious times, etc.. Here are a few revealing passages:
“Those who
take refuge truly and wholeheartedly, freeing themselves from all delusional
attachments and all concern with the propitious or unpropitious, must never
take refuge in false spirits or non-Buddhist teachings.”[4]
“Do not turn toward other teachings; do not worship gods.”[5]
“Good sons
and good daughters of pure trust must never serve gods to the very end of their
lives.”[6]
Also we must
not mix the Buddha Dharma with various religious systems from the past or
present. Buddhism is the medicine prescribed to us by the Buddha, who is
supreme among all the teachers in the three worlds and it is a grave mistake to
mix his teaching with those of other paths.
So, we abandon all non-Buddhist teachings and select the
Buddha Dharma. Next, among all Shakyamuni’s teachings we choose only the
nembutsu of faith in Amida Buddha.
related article The Meaning of Arya Sangha in Jodo Shinshu
[1] When someone becomes a Jodo Shinshu
follower in the Romanian sangha, he/she says these refuges together with
Ryogemon (Jodo Shinshu Creed) in front of the altar and in the presence of the
sangha.
[2] See chapters “Those who deny the existence of Amida don’t have
shinjin”, “Honen Shonin on
Amida Buddha”, “Pure Land is
not here and now”, “The Pure
Land in the teaching of Jodo Shinshu”, from this book.
[3] Those who do not have shinjin yet can also become members of the
sangha, if they sincerely aspire to shinjin and accept as true the teaching of
the three sutras and comentaries of the Masters. However, the object of our
refuge is the sangha in its aspect of shinjin (arya sangha), that is, practitioners who already have a settled faith. When
those who are not yet established in shinjin wish to enter the Jodo Shinshu
sangha, they take refuge in this shinjin aspect of the sangha. The three
refuges are, as the term implies, a „refuge” but also an engagement or promise that from
then on we will forever take refuge in Amida Buddha, we will listen and accept
the Dharma about Him, and we’ll become persons who entrust to Him.
[4] Shinran quoted this passage from the Sutra
of the Ten Wheels of Ksitigarbha.
[5] Shinran quoted this passage from the Sutra
of the Samadhi of Collecting All Merits.
