Resort to Refuge

Good morning!

Even after the spring equinox, we now have snow. It’s beautiful viewing it from indoors, but very dangerous driving outdoors, visiting anywhere.

On the way here, I heard news of multiple traffic accidents. Before that I watched a TV report from Japan, on people taking refuge in the shelters stipulated for disasters by the city.

Eight of the shelters were engulfed by the extraordinary tsunami. In one case people were taking refuge in a gym. Only three out of eighty survived, barely, on its second floor.

In another case a high school deputy principal with ninety students resorted to the old city hall. He saw the river drying up and twice took students to higher places. All survived.

The two refuges are the self and the dharma. We cannot depend on man’s stipulated refuges. We must judge ourselves and take in the truly safe refuge, seeing signs to come.

We must take refuge first in ourselves, and then in the dharma (form/norm: phenomena/truth). With our own understanding and action, we become the dharma itself.

3/25/11