Verse 7 of the 37 Bodhisattva practises

Bound himself in the jail of cyclic existence, What worldly god 
can give you protection? Therefore when you seek refuge, 
take refuge in The Three Jewels which will not betray you. This
is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

Geshe Tenzin Zopa said:

Taking refuge is the 7th practice. The door to liberation,
whether one is of the Hearer, Solitary Realiser or Bodhisattva
path, liberation is based on taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma
and Sangha. Buddha is the enlightened holy being such as
Shakyamuni Buddha or Buddha Manjushri or the 35 tathagatas
and as long as it is a Buddha, it is an object of refuge. The
Dharma refuge is the direct realization of emptiness and the
Arya beings who posses those direct realizations of emptiness
are the Sangha refuge.

All the past bodhisattvas have relied on the Triple Gem because
only they can protect one from falling into lower realms and
bring one up to enlightenment. If oneself is not liberated from
samsara, there is no way for that being to give full protection
from samsaric suffering to someone else. Hence, it is vital that
when we pay respects to earth protectors or worldly gods who
have not even achieved arhatship, we do not make the mistake
of taking refuge in such beings. We can engage in generosity and
make offerings to such worldly beings but we should not take
refuge in them. If you take refuge , you break the refuge vow of
taking refuge only under the Buddha.

There is no purpose in relying on or taking refuge in unenlightened
beings or those not free from samsara such as earth-protectors
because we need to understand that they themselves are not
liberated from samsara, so there is no way they can liberate
us from samsara. They themselves have to be liberated from
karma and delusion. Some religions have the practice of animal
sacrifices to gain instant success. Sometimes, such results occur
but understand that such results are derived from the power of
negativity, the power of a negative mind and negative results
are thus inevitable. If we possess a strong virtuous mind, similar
success can be gained. So both ways can be powerful. The
negative way can be powerful, the positive way can also very
powerful. But remember, the consequences from a positive or
negative act follow quickly.

By taking dharma refuge, it requires us to preserve the vow of
not harming others, including using harsh words. If one harms
another being’s peace of mind, we are in fact breaking the basic
refuge vow against harming others. Therefore speak kindly and
gently and never use indirect words to hurt others. That too is
breaking the vow of taking refuge in the Dharma.

If we break any refuge vows, we have to question ourselves
whether we are pure Buddhists. It’s necessary for us to have
refuge vows, as they are the foundation upon which we can take
other vows such as bodhisattva vows, tantric vows including the
253 ordination vows. Without having refuge vows, there is no
basis to support the other vows. So we must first engage in the
samaya of refuge.

Why is it that those great beings by merely reciting a simple prayer
are able to cure or help people? It’s due to the power of their
mind and the power of their prayer backed by pure intention.
In Nepal, there are some people with bad habits, for example, a
good football player may, in order to enhance his luck during a
football match, go to a god named Mahakali and perform animal
sacrifices. He thinks the bigger the sacrifice, the larger the
animal, will bring about better luck. Worldly gods are samsaric
beings with strong grasping, are sometimes able to influence
the mind of the player who made the sacrificial offering and he
ends up playing very well and winning the game. However, the
negativity arising from killing the animal soon makes itself felt in
all forms of troubles to him. I have heard that some people have
sacrificed up to 500 buffalos for worldly success but the heavy
negative consequences soon manifest.

Question: Is Mahakali one of the protectors?
Ans: Mahakali is one of the Hindu gods. This is to be distinguished
from Mahakala (the enlightened protector form of Chenresig).

In order to take refuge, there are two causes that must be
accomplished: The rational fear of being born in the lower
realms (due to one’s recognition that one is trapped in samsara
and constantly creates causes for such lower realm rebirth); and
faith in the Triple Gem of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

One can take refuge in the Triple Gem by participating in a Refuge
ceremony. However it is not a matter of merely attending the
ceremony and repeating some words. It is a matter of whole-
heartedly relying on the guidance of the Buddha, Dharma and
Sangha to attain enlightenment. Taking refuge involves vows and
the person granting the Refuge vow should have received the
refuge vows from an unbroken lineage and still possesses the
vow intact. If a person does not hold the Refuge vow purely, then
even if you go through the refuge ceremony with that person,
it will not result in one receiving the refuge vow. You should
therefore observe and consider carefully about the person from
whom one is going to receive Refuge from. Merely knowing the
ritual alone is not enough.

The purpose of refuge is to cross the ocean of samsara.
Dromtoenpa said that to be free from the ocean of samsara can
be extremely difficult because we are stubborn, set in our bad
habits. We can barely help ourselves, let alone rescue others.
Hence the need to take refuge in the Triple Gem and pray to
be able to practice Dharma purely and only then, can one be a
liberator of sentient beings.



Picture: Gyalse Thogmey Zangpo.