Resting in Inner Refuge
Written by Kelly Lindsey
Photo Credit Marissa Knox
Refuge is one of the most important elements of Buddhist practice and the entire spiritual journey is encompassed within the expression of taking refuge. Inner Refuge is a conscious turning toward wakefulness and aligning with our own Buddha Nature. This is a place we can rest our weary hearts and minds and discover moments of peace and ease amidst the suffering we experience and bear witness to in the world. Refuge can also guide us to find clarity about how to engage the world with greater compassion and understanding.
The Three Jewels
On the Buddhist path, we come to rest in inner refuge by going for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, collectively known as the Three Jewels. Each of these precious jewels has an outer expression which leads us to discover the inner meaning of refuge.
The outer expression of Buddha is embodied by the historical Shakyamuni Buddha. The Buddha’s life example lights the way for us. He was a human being, just like us, and he used the practice of meditation to discover the true nature of reality. We can do this too. The Buddha is an expression of awakening and points the way to our own inherent wakefulness. Meditation is a sacred opportunity to come home to ourselves and rest in our own true nature. This is inner refuge.
The outer expression of the Dharma includes the wisdom teachings and practices passed down through the Buddhist tradition. The Buddhist teachings act as a guide that help us to realize our true nature. This realization is the inner meaning of the Dharma. To take refuge in the Dharma means to commit ourselves to bringing the teachings into our own lives and realizing them directly through our own experience. To hear the teachings, to contemplate them, and to understand their unique meaning for us is how we realize the Dharma, and how we come to rest in inner refuge.
The outer expression of Sangha includes all those who have taken refuge and committed themselves to the path of awakening. We take refuge in the Sangha when we honor our companions on the path. As practitioners, we both offer and receive support from each other. When we go for refuge to the Sangha, we surrender into the openness of present moment connection and discover a softening toward ourselves and a gentleness toward others. This expression of inner refuge brings the confidence we need to engage with the world skillfully and compassionately.
Retreat is a wonderful opportunity to deepen our relationship with the Three Jewels
Retreat is a wonderful opportunity to deepen our relationship with the Three Jewels. We practice going for refuge through meditation and contemplation, and ultimately come to rest in our own inner refuge.
Brooke Binstock, Marissa Knox and I will be offering our 5th annual Quiet Mind, Open Heart retreat at Drala Mountain Center July 23-28, 2023. If the invitation to Rest in Inner Refuge calls to you, we would love for you to join us for a spacious week of meditation, contemplation, yoga, and bodywork, while being held in community. Throughout the retreat you will be invited to return to your inner refuge and rest deeply. We hope that you will leave this retreat feeling rested, resourced, and ready to move through the world with greater clarity and compassion.
Join Kelly, Brooke and Marissa this July!
Kelly Lindsey is a mother, meditation teacher, and somatic psychotherapist. Kelly’s meditative journey began more than twenty years ago and has included many different styles of practice and paths of study. Having received formal instruction in different lineages of Tibetan Buddhism and Classical Indian Yoga, Kelly has found a wonderful integration of deep practice and study realized in the context of everyday life. All of the spiritual teachings she has received have culminated in one primary lesson: how to live in the world with an open heart.
