Greetings,

It's a new year so it's new teaching theme. It was great to go through last year with the Oxherding pictures. Even though we are turning towards a new topic, I still feel the resonance of last year. It feels like I should be moving on to the next Oxherding picture, but there are no more. So where to go from here...

This year we will explore the Dhamma through 4 of the Lists of Threes - Jan/Feb/Mar: Triple Jewels (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha), Apr/May/Jun: Three Characteristics (Impermanence, Dissatisfaction, Non-self), Jul/Aug/Sep: Three Poisons (Greed, Hatred, Delusion), Oct/Nov/Dec: Three Pillars of Insight Practice (Wisdom, Dana, Sila).

When I started getting deep into practice, the amount of information that I felt I needed to learn was overwhelming. The task of learning the Dhamma seemed almost insurmountable, like hiking Big Sur. My teacher told me that the best way to move through the Dhamma is by practicing the "Lists." It doesn't take long before one realizes that there are a lot of lists in Buddhism. The 2 of this, the 3 of that, the 4 of these, the 5 of those, the 7..., the 10.... And of course, the 8-fold path. Exploring the Dhamma through the lists is a traditional way of cultivating one's practice without notes. This is how I believe early practitioners learned the Dhamma. They memorized the lists and practiced with them over and over and over.

It all begins with where you find refuge. We all take refuge in unreliable things, such as jobs, homes, relationships, family, etc. We take refuge in insubstantial things like devices, food, entertainment, alcohol/drugs, video games, etc. We take refuge in important things, like social justice, climate action, political results and awareness of current events. We take refuge in harmful things like trauma, memories, resentments, envy/jealousy, emotional habits, etc. We take refuge in wholesome things like generosity, kindness, non-harm, patience, etc. I could go on for quite awhile talking about the things we take refuge in. Taking refuge in something means to use it as a shelter or protection from something that seems more dangerous or distressing.

In Dhamma there's only one place for a practitioner to take refuge. One place for a practitioner to seek shelter or protection from danger or distress. That would be the Triple Jewel - the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. Over the next 3 months we will explore what taking refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha means. But for now, we want to explore what does taking refuge mean to you? Do you know what you actually take refuge in? Where do you run to seek shelter/protection when you think you're in danger or you're stressed out? How to you act when you don't like something or don't want something to happen? What can your judgements tell you about what you're taking refuge in?

We want to look at this through the intimacy and kindness of practice, not as some kind of punishment or criticism. There's nothing "wrong" with taking refuge in violence (i.e., overreacting, being pushy, demanding, passive aggressiveness) or intoxicants (i.e., alcohol, drugs, social media, food) or habits (physical, mental, emotional). It's just not skillful. It's human nature and something we do all the time, but rarely admit to ourselves. What we are actually doing is taking refuge in these actions. We want to believe we are non-violent, clear headed and kind, but our actions speak otherwise. We can tell what we're taking refuge in by noticing our actions, what we use to seek relief from something we don't like, or what we use to try to get our preference. Investigating refuge means practicing with, contemplating and reflecting upon why doesn't this action bring lasting peace and freedom?

With a deep bow...

Tuere