DHARMA TEACHING

DEEPENING THE POWER OF REFUGE
An edited excerpt from oral teachings given by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, 2005

Trust is not always about having expectations. When someone says, "I will lend you this money and trust you will return it with this much interest," that's not the best form of trust. The best trust is not dependent on an outcome, as when someone says, "I am going through such a terrible situation with my health, but whatever the outcome is, I trust in it ? if I am meant to heal, I will heal; if I am not meant to heal, I trust in that too." That is the strongest trust; armed with that kind of trust you are going to win either way. But if you think, "I'll trust in a certain outcome," that kind of trust is a fragile trust, especially in a spiritual sense.

When something happens in life, you may call to the refuge tree, "Please help me." If you know in a sure way who you're calling to, then you can have a powerful sense of trust in that.

The image of the refuge tree is very important. I sometimes wonder if the average person on the street would have a relation to the higher guests of the refuge tree. [The higher guests are the fully enlightened beings ? the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and enlightened masters, as well as the tutelary deities (yidams) and fully realized goddesses (khandros).] Of course, anyone can have a relation to someone they call their mentor, their teacher, or their therapist, for example. But beyond the human realm, what other guests might be in the average person's refuge tree? One might say, "If I close my eyes and I reflect deeply, I can see all my family and friends, this person and that person." But if you look beyond all this, maybe no one else is there. For those of us who wish to further our spiritual development, it's very important to cultivate a relationship with the higher guests.

In some sense, we can think of the refuge tree as a model of where we are trying to get to on the spiritual path. There is a place on the refuge tree for the higher guests. But that part of the refuge tree may be blank, or you may say, "I don't know what you're talking about. Who are the higher guests? I know of Shenlha Okar; he is supposed to be an enlightened being." Or, it could be that when you open your eyes and look at that place of refuge, you see it as full of enlightened beings. You feel Shenlha Okar's presence, strong, clear, and vivid, while you're walking, eating, thinking, or praying; your strong sense of connection is always there. When you have that connection, then practice has a very clear reference. But when that space for the higher guests is completely blank, then every exercise you are doing is more of a mental exercise ? and the real sense of connection, the sense of familiarity isn't there.

Am I familiar with the whole notion of the refuge tree? Am I familiar with the higher guests, with the insubstantial beings? That is a very important part of spiritual development. If I only believe in what I see, if I only believe in what I can touch, then my reality is very limited.

For someone who has not grown up with some strong sense of a belief in these practices, it's not very easy to have that kind of familiarity. Even though one's interest is there, one's wish is there, and one's deep need is there ? it is hard to have that degree of familiarity.

So the creation of one's shrine, paying attention to the image, understanding the significance of the image, developing a relation to the image, creating that image within oneself, empowering that image within oneself, and having a clear meaning of that image within oneself ? those are all very important parts of truly connecting to the refuge tree.

By talking, reflecting and sharing [here at this retreat], we are already cultivating that connection, that familiarity, right? It's not like we have to go somewhere else by ourselves to cultivate this. It's in every word we are saying here. Clearly, if you are listening, it is doing its work.

This teaching reprinted with kind permission of Ligmincha Institute, www.ligmincha.org.