The “Sangha,” in the narrow sense, usually represents the community of monastics who followed the historical Buddha.… There would be no living Dharma without them. And there would be no living Buddhas or Buddhas-to-be without their efforts to transmit the practices…. Yet, sangha can also be understood as a verb, as a practice, and the ineffable space between us that is neither you nor me. We can relate to our actual communities of practice as places where we can get serious glimpses of true refuge.

How are the Teachings of the Buddha a protective refuge? And a refuge from what? How is it that the nature of reality, when reality can seem so harsh, can be a source of peace and shelter? Reality can seem unforgiving and unlike the way we would like things to be! Or is that our relationship to reality makes us suffer? Perhaps you noticed this intuitively in meditation, at a somatic level – that moment where the mind and body surrenders to “it’s like this right now.” A moment later, “and now it’s like this.” Ever changing, ever arising and passing.

Going for Refuge, or “Taking Refuge,” in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, is a way to acknowledge the protection they represent. In traditional Buddhist thought, only the Buddha (and the capacity for awakening he represents), only the Dharma (the nature of reality), and only the Aryasangha (the fully awakened disciples of the Buddha) can be relied upon. Everything else is ultimately impermanent and unreliable. Other things may offer respite or comfort, but ultimately they are provisional and will let us down, one way or another. One might object that the Buddha was a man, and as such, he too passed away. What does it mean, then, to take refuge in the Buddha? And how is this practiced?

Going for Refuge implies going for True Refuge. This means that we renounce False Refuges - things and pursuits that we think will save us, but ultimately do not have the power to be liberative in any lasting way. A False Refuge might include our physical health, beauty, careers, wealth, real estate, relationships, social status, a political cause, a worldly accomplishment… All these things may be worthy of praise and appreciation, but remain impermanent. We all know stories of people who “have it all” but remain deeply tormented, lonely and dissatisfied.