How to Practice
Taking Refuge (II)?
When we meditate on taking refuge, we should visualize all sentient beings taking refuge with us in the Triple Gem of the Guru.
In the front position, you should visualize your previous life, enemies in this life, and demonic obstacles that harm you, all gathered together. And your right side is your father in this life, and your left side is your mother in this life. Visualize that you, your parents, and other relatives, are all gathered together. Also joined are all the sentient beings filling the boundless sky, in one place, bowing respectfully and sincerely in the front of the scene of Taking Refuge Thangka.
What is the essence of Taking Refuge? It is a special vow: from now on, even if you have to give up your life, you will not give up the Triple Gem. This vow cannot just be said verbally, it must be truly felt in the heart. This is the only way to take refuge. If you have very solid confidence in the Triple Gem of the Guru, this vow will be easily generated, so confidence is very important.
So how can we have solid confidence? We must understand the merits and virtues of the Triple Gem so that we will naturally enjoy being with the Triple Gem. So from now on, through listening and thinking, we must understand the merits and virtues of the guru, the merits and virtues of the Buddha, the merits and virtues of the Dharma, and the merits and virtues of the Sangha. In this way, faith in the Triple Gem of the Guru will naturally arise. Once we have enough faith, we can have it in our minds. A true vow of taking refuge is initiated in our mind.
Once the vow is fulfilled in our mind, even if we only recite seven times the verses of the Four Refuges of "Lama Ragya Senchoo, Sanji Laja Senchoo, Chola Gyasen Chooo, Genden Laja Senchoo" – (Taking Refuge in Guru, Taking Refuge in Buddha, Taking Refuge in Dharma, Taking Refuge in Sangha), the merits and virtue will be equivalent to the boundless sky. However, if we have not truly taken the vow in mind, and even if we recite the verse of [Four Refuges] one hundred million times, we may not be able to meet the standard of mindfulness in taking refuge. We may not be called a disciple of the Buddha even if we have taken refuge in the Triple Gem of the Guru. Cultivation is not about what we say but is what has changed in our minds.
Therefore, practicing Dharma does not depend on how much and how big; cultivating the mind is the most important. Therefore, everyone should not practice [Five Advanced Cultivation] in a hurry, in a daze, or in various distractions. This will only be a lot of work but a little effort. For this reason, we must uphold the power of [Three Supremes] and seriously visualize and practice the [Five Advanced Cultivation] in our minds.
Here is the explanation of [Three Supremes]:
1) The first of [Three Supremes] is the aspiration of preliminaries, which is extremely important, that is, using Bodhicitta to maintain the good deeds of cultivation.
2) The second of [Three Supremes] is the unconditional excellence of right conduct, which means that it is not stained by discriminating thoughts and is maintained with the wisdom of non-discrimination or single-minded concentration.
3) The third of [Three Supremes] is the special dedication, which means to seal it with dedication at the end so that the merits and virtues will never be destroyed and will flourish forever.
