Seek Your Own Refuge

The Buddha taught the world that, "You are your own refuge and you are your own savior." Therefore,people must seek their own refuge and everyone has the ability to do so. This teaching assures people that they can have their own refuge, or they can help themselves. They don’t need to rely on other beings or things. In reality we cannot rely on others because we and everything in the world is impermanent, which means everything and everyone is unreliable. This teaching also teaches everyone in the world to take responsibility for their own life, they should not leave it to others. It is a reminder that "You are your own refuge and you are your own savior." People cannot always ask for help. There is a Zen story which illustrates this well. Here is the story:

One rainy day there was a man who wanted to go out, but he had no umbrella. Then he saw a Zen Master carrying an umbrella, so he asked him for help. "Can you lend me your umbrella?" The Zen Master replied, "You are in a house, I am in the rain. You do not need the umbrella." The man walked out into the rain and asked the Master, "Can you lend me the umbrella now? I’m in the rain now." The Master said matter of factly, "You are in the rain and I am in the rain. If I lend you my umbrella, I am going to get wet myself and now you are wet and know that because you have no umbrella. You need to find one for yourself." The man had to accept the truth of not having the umbrella, and therefore he got wet.

The story teaches us that we need to seek our own refuge. We are equal. We each have the same ability to find our own refuge, so we can save ourselves from danger. The Zen Master’s argument that because you have no umbrella, so you get wet in the rain, is true. Let’s think about it. The Zen Master and the man are in the rain. The Master is not wet, because the umbrella, which can be comparable to a refuge, protects him from the rain. But the man is wet, because he has no protection from the rain. So the umbrella is really helpful for the monk. The umbrella, in other words, means wisdom which can save human beings from desires, greed, hatred and ignorance.

Do you have your own refuge?Don’t get wet in your life. You need to find one umbrella, or refuge, to protect you from the rain: meaning from the three main desires, greed, hatred and ignorance. Bear in mind that you have ability to find your own refuge to save your life.