There are two kinds of refuge object: causal and resultant.

a. THE CAUSAL OBJECT OF REFUGE

The causal object of refuge has two aspects, namely the refuge objects of the common vehicles and the particular refuge objects of the Mantra Vehicle.

i. The refuge objects of the common vehicles

These comprise worldly and supramundane objects of refuge. The former are divided into inferior objects and supreme objects of refuge.

(1) Worldly objects of refuge
(a) Inferior refuges

Inferior refuges include inanimate things such as mountains and fortresses, powerful nonhuman beings such as gods, and rulers and other influential human beings. Because they are unable to protect us from cyclic existence, they are inferior objects of refuge, for they themselves have not gained freedom from the prison of cyclic existence. As we read in the sutras,

People who are fearful and afraid Mostly seek refuge in mountains, Forests, and trees. These are not the best refuge, For by relying on such refuges One will not be freed from all kinds of fear.

(b) Supreme refuges

These refer to the Three Jewels taken as objects of refuge by worldly people who merely want to be protected from fear and to better their lot.

(2) Supramundane objects of refuge

The objects of refuge for those who strive for complete liberation are the Three Jewels. The Three Jewels have the power temporarily to protect us from the fears of cyclic existence and ultimately to establish us in ultimate excellence, and they are therefore an infallible refuge, for as the Great Master has said,

Samsaric lords, however good, will let us down. As objects of refuge, the Three Jewels will never fail.

The Three Jewels are identified differently according to the different categories of greater and lesser vehicles. Here, in the unsurpassable tradition of the Great Vehicle, there are three categories of object: objects in which realization is manifest, those that are sources of inspiration, and the absolute object of refuge.

(a) Objects in which realization is manifest
These are:

• The Jewel of the Buddha who embodies the four bodies and five wisdoms, who is endowed with the two purities and is the ultimate fulfillment of the twofold goal.
• The Dharma of realization and transmission—the cessation and path included in the truth of untainted complete purity, and the Excellent Words that express it as perceptible words and letters.
• The Sangha—the true Sangha of sublime Bodhisattvas on the great levels,e children of the Buddha endowed with the qualities of realization and liberation; and the surrogate Sangha of beings following the Great Vehicle on the paths of accumulation and joining and of sublime Listeners and Solitary Realizers following the Basic Vehicle.

(b) Sources of inspiration

• all fashioned images representing the Buddha, for example, drawings or paintings and statues;
• books containing the Dharma, the Buddha’s teaching, in the form of letters;
• and the Sangha of ordinary beings following the path—the lesser Sangha of lay practitioners and intermediate ordinees, and the so-called greater Sangha of fully ordained monks, four such taken together being called an assembly of the Sangha. There is also the Sangha of knowledge holders comprising those, whether monks or lay practitioners, who are following the path of the Mantra Vehicle and abide by the commitments. Whichever discipline they observe, these are all fields by which beings may acquire merit.

(c) The absolute object of refuge

The ultimate refuge is the Buddha alone. Neither of the other two is the ultimate refuge, for the following reasons. Once one has seen the truth, the teachings that make up the Dharma of transmission have to be discarded. The Dharma of realization in the minds of Bodhisattvas, Listeners, and Solitary Realizers is subject to improvement and is therefore impermanent and deceptive. As for the Sangha, since its members are themselves still on the path to be trodden, they do not have the ultimate qualities; and since they are unable to eliminate their latent tendencies and the obscurations particular to their respective levels without depending on the Buddha, they still have fear. As we read in the Sublime Continuum,

One will be abandoned, one is deceptive by nature,
And one does not have and is still afraid.
For these reasons The two kinds of Dharma and the
assembly of sublime beings
Are not the highest, everlasting refuge.
Ultimately, the refuge of beings Is the Buddha alone,
because, the Buddha being none other than the body of truth, t
he Capable One embodies the teachings
And that is the final goal of the community too.

ii. The particular refuge objects of the Mantra Vehicle

According to the tradition of the Diamond Mantra Vehicle there are, in addition to the above, the particular Three Jewels: the teacher, the object from whom one receives blessings; the yidam, from whom one receives accomplishments; and the dakinis and Dharma protectors, who are charged with accomplishing the activities. Furthermore, we distinguish the teachers as the embodiments of all Three Jewels (their bodies as the Sangha, their speech as the Dharma, and their minds as the Buddha), the yidam deities manifesting in their peaceful and wrathful forms as the nature of the Buddha in the body of perfect enjoyment and body of manifestation, their tantras as the extraordinary Dharma, and the dakinis and Dharma protectors as the special Sangha. In this way, we take them as our refuge. The Great Master expresses it thus:

The Lord Teacher, root of blessings, Yidam deity, source of accomplishments, Dakinis, who perfectly grant the blessings.

b. THE RESULTANT OBJECT OF REFUGE

One’s own mind, which is the union of emptiness and clarity, embodying the essential nature, natural expression, and compassion, present from the very beginning, is the nature of the Three Jewels. In order to realize that, one adopts the causal refuge or, most importantly, rather than looking for refuge elsewhere (for it is spontaneously present within oneself), one settles naturally in the uncontrived, unchanging state of one’s own mind without adopting or rejecting anything. This is the resultant refuge. The Accomplishment of Wisdom says:

The mind free of anything to be purified and anything
to be attained is the Buddha,
Its unchanging nature, free from stains, is the Dharma,
Its qualities, spontaneously complete and perfect, are the Sangha.
For this reason it is the nature of one’s own mind that is supreme.

Regarding the etymology of the term “Jewels” in this context, the word “Jewel” (ratna in Sanskrit) was translated as “rare and supreme” on account of its preciousness and its six analogous features, as presented in the Sublime Continuum:

Because they occur rarely, are flawless,
Have power, are an ornament for the world,
Are supreme, and do not change,
They are indeed rare and supreme.

These six features analogous to those of a jewel are explained as follows:
• The Three Jewels’ occurrence is rare because beings in the world who have not given rise to sources of good will not come across them even in many, many kalpas.
• They are immaculate because they are entirely unstained by faults.
• They are powerful because they possess inconceivably powerful qualities such as the six kinds of preternatural knowledge, and can therefore dispel the troubles of the world.
• They ornament the world because they are the source of all beings’ positive wishes.
• They are supreme, superior to counterfeit jewels, because they have supramundane qualities.
• They are unchanging, unaffected by circumstances such as praise or criticism, because theirs is the uncompounded absolute nature.

The Three Jewels’ excellent qualities can also be found in greater detail in texts such as the Sutra Remembering the Three Jewels.

A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom
Complete Instructions on the Preliminary Practice of the Profound and Secret Heart Essence of the Dakini
Dudjom Rinpoche, Jigdral Yeshe Dorje
Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group
Published by Shambhala Publication

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