The Way of Meditation Blog
Bringing Ancient Wisdom Into The Modern World
Meditation As A Refuge From Suffering
Chad Foreman • October 25, 2019
I would like to introduce a concept that’s not common in the modern mindfulness movement and probably not very familiar to non-Buddhists and also re-translate the idea for people familiar with it. The idea is about ‘taking refuge’.
In Buddhism taking refuge is an entry into becoming a Buddhist and is most commonly taken as refuge in the triple gem – Buddha, Dharma and Sangha which is taking refuge in the teacher, the teachings and the community following the teachings, respectively. This practice is the starting point to escape the conditions of suffering, eliminate ignorance and liberate into freedom and peace. Buddhists usually recite the ‘refuge prayer’ before any formal meditation session.
The triple gem protects you from negative states of mind and firmly places you on the path to enlightenment but how does it actually do that? My Buddhist teacher whom I studied with for over 5 years full time living in a Buddhist community would always say the ‘real’ refuge is the Dharma. It is the actual thing that protects the mind, transforms it and opens up the possibility to realise the deepest nature of your being. Dharma is the actual practice
of loving kindness, mindfulness and understanding the real nature of yourself and the world.
A Safe Place
Firstly, I want to mention the safe place that meditation can be. Setting up a beautiful sanctuary in your home where you feel inspired, safe and at home to practice the sacred art of meditation. Adornng the space with spiritual allies like images of the divine feminine, Buddha, Christ, angels and other guides and spiritual helpers that you can call upon to enhance the sense of being protected and feeling safe which are essential for healing and growth. This safe place is where you take the time to look directly at your feelings, emotions and thoughts without fear. A safe place to face yourself and your traumas and stress with gentleness and understanding. A safe place to allow difficult energies to arise out of the dark corners of your mind, where they have been hidden, and release them within the compassionate stable attention of meditation.
Changing Direction
Changing Direction
I would say taking refuge in meditation implies we are a bit lost, struggling and our strategies for peace and happiness have fallen short of their mark. From this place of vulnerability and surrender we adopt new strategies and methods to help heal, transform and create the life we want for ourselves and others. Basically we turn to something for help.
This first stage is about admitting what you have been doing so far has not created the peaceful, stable and joyful mind you would like. Everybody already naturally takes refuge from difficulties and suffering in something. Whether you turn to friends or partners in troubling times or you reach for drugs or alcohol or even if you distract and overcome negativity through working harder or going to the gym, we all have a ‘go to’ when presented with suffering.
Taking refuge from suffering should not increase or delay the suffering but should serve to manage it skilfully and eliminate its causes. The Buddha more than 2,500 years ago promised his methods are a pathway leading away from suffering and toward the elimination of them entirely. And today scientific research has conclusively shown how mindfulness, loving kindness and meditation can reduce and eliminate serious mental and emotional distress.
Trusting the Process
A meditation teacher or mentor is important as well as a community of like minded people to support your practice is very helpful too but ultimately it’s your responsibility to use and strengthen the tools that will assist you directly to protect yourself from harm and eliminate the fundamental causes of mental and emotional disturbance.
For example, perhaps you might not think to do a loving kindness meditation when you are troubled but I have found loving kindness is actually a powerful refuge from your own suffering and a direct antidote to selfishness and being overly self-focussed which often amplifies and exaggerates the issue at hand. Having loving kindness opens your heart to the fact that others are suffering too, not just you, which gives you a greater perspective and also helps you enter a space of healing and growth that love and compassion provides.
How often have you said things you wished you hadn't or have done things you regret and can't even believe you did? This is usually caused by unconscious or subconscious drives that you were not even aware of at the time. Mindfulness helps to protect the mind from auto-pilot. Breaking the cycle of being controlled by conditions and allowing the inner space for wisdom to arise helping to make conscious choices based on your values and goals in life. In this sense mindfulness helps to protect you from your own stupidity.
Reliability
An essential aspect to mindfulness and meditation practice is being able to detach from thoughts about the past and future and be able to direct and consume your attention into the present moment. This in itself is a huge refuge from suffering because so many of our troubles are not actually happening in the present moment instead, they are often fears, doubts and desires about what could happen in the future or how the past could have been different. Being in the now is a simple and powerful remedy to these types of mental projections.
Simply becoming familiar with present centred awareness protects the mind from negative thought loops and useless ruminations and helps to skilfully manage whatever is happening with clarity and honesty. Mindfulness has become a revolution in psychotherapy known as the third wave after the first wave of Freud’s psychoanalysis and the second of cognitive behavioural therapy. Mindfulness is now recommended by doctors, psychologists, counsellors and even psychiatrists as an effective frontline treatment against stress, anxiety and other mental and emotional disturbances.
A Catalyst For Reaching Your Full Potential
Therefore, taking refuge in meditation is not just to overcome suffering but is also a reliable means to blossom to your fullest potential as a human being. Buddha advised on his deathbed not to worship him when he died but instead to follow the path he presented, and we too can achieve the same results. In other words, the Buddha advised to take refuge in the path of meditation.
I can personally testify to the efficiency of loving kindness meditation to transform your emotions, mindfulness to bring about a calm stable attention and non-dual awareness to reveal an infinite dimension of spaciousness and bliss. The way of meditation is a holistic approach that engages every dimension of your being and everybody can access this refuge at their own level of understanding and practice. This incredible inner technology of meditation is now available to everyone to turn to for refuge, transformation and self-realisation.
Written by Chad Foreman
Chad Foreman is the founder of The Way of Meditation, has been teaching meditation since 2003, determined to bring authentic meditation practices into the lives of millions of people in the modern world. Chad is a former Buddhist monk who spent 6 years living in a retreat hut studying and practicing meditation full time and has now has over twenty years’ experience teaching meditation. Chad holds regular Meditation Retreats on the Sunshine Coast Australia, has Online Meditation Coaching, delivers three online programs - The 21 Day Meditation Challenge to help guide people gradually from the basics of mindfulness and relaxation to profound states of awareness. Breath-work to help manage stress and go deeper into meditation and The Bliss of Inner Fire which is a Buddhist tantric method for purifying energy blocks and contacting the clear light of bliss. You can also now get Chad's free e-book Insights Along the Way.
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