Contemplative Studies Program Blog
Refuge Offers Safe Direction | Step 11 Jul 22, 2021

 What is refuge?

What have been our “usual suspects”, the sources we automatically turn to for quick relief? More than just behaviors and coping mechanism, what have been the relationships and subtle beliefs we have turned towards to provide safety and comfort?

While these may...

Continue Reading...
Create a Sacred Space & Make Offerings Jun 29, 2021

Sitting cross-legged in an upright meditation posture facing an altar, I take refuge in the Three Jewels in Pali and then Tibetan. My voice is overshadowed by an unfamiliar sound on a loudspeaker – the call to prayer beckoning the Islamic devotees to the mosque. A reminder that I am no...

Continue Reading...
 
The Two Causes of Refuge Oct 10, 2020

Think about the worldly refuges first. The worldly things that we take as our refuge, as our sources of comfort, our sources of guidance. 

The iPhone... food... the doctor... Netflix... friends and family... fishing... leisure activities...

How well a source are they for the ultimate or...

Continue Reading...
 
Creating Sacred Space in Community Jun 22, 2020

In this excerpt from Trauma Informed Dharma, Miles talks about refuge and how that relates to the creation of sacred spaces in community, what that looks like and how they allow us to learn and grow spiritually, together. What follows is a lightly edited transcript of the video.


There are...

Continue Reading...
 
What Does it Mean to Take Refuge? Feb 15, 2020

Excerpt from Class 3 of Find True Refuge

I actually want to put this under the point of what does it mean to take refuge. Now that you have the causes, what are the two causes? Fear and confidence.

Then what are the three objects? The reliances. You rely on the Buddha as the epitome, as the...

Continue Reading...