Refuge

The Buddha says:

Therefore, Ananda, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be ye a refuge to yourselves.
Betake yourselves to no external refuge.
Hold fast to the truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge.
Look not for a refuge in anyone besides yourselves.

Comments

Anonymous said…
very true.... But then as usual very difficult to internalise....
Friday, 11 March, 2005
Swami Antar Anveshi said…
Let me share my experience with you.
The moment we label something as 'difficult' or 'not practical' or 'impossible', we are giving an internal feedback to our system to ignore this learning... So we can't expect it to come into practice. The moment we read any such ideals, we tend to do this labelling.
The next time you read or hear somthing like this, just don't think whether it's possible or not... Just try to get the essence of the statement. Don't even try to understand... Just grasp the essence and leave it. Don't internally calculate the logistics of how, why, when etc. Just read, meditate and junk.
Then without even you trying, without even you actioning on it, there will be a day when it dawns on you that actually you are living it in subtle ways.
Friday, 11 March, 2005
Anonymous said…
Interesting views (comments) exchanged. Let me add my perception of what Buddha actually meant here: He is saying that Truth is something like a mercury... it can very easily slip off your mind, though its just there, within you as always; rather "you are it" as always. Like the light of the lamp, he says cling to it and don't let off your monkey mind dance to the tunes of the so-called "Maya". This adherence is what Buddha is messaging us... "Hold On To It", "Seek Not Anywhere, But Yourself"....
we can "be ourselves" in momets, but the eternality of the state is something that can be achieved by meditation. This is the quintessence.

Sreesha
Friday, 11 March, 2005
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