In one way, I feel like many wise people are Buddhist, even though they don’t know they are Buddhist. Why? Because technically they believe in taking refuge in the Three Jewels practice over taking refuge in a deity that they have no idea where it lives, how it functions and especially how that works.
There are many wise people who don’t call themselves religious, and some of them just follow a tradition. They could be Christian, Muslim or Hindu, or Jain or Jew or whatever religions’ names. I am not saying that those who don’t do that are not wise. I’m saying some people are intellectually very smart. Instead of sitting there and praying the whole day, they go out to work, they carry their own tools. They use their own feet and hands and work hard to live. Not only that, they also solve conflicts by talking with each other. They ask forgiveness from people rather than from a deity. And they also try to change their behavior, not only bodily behavior, but mentally behave the way they are thinking. They try to reduce their anger.
They try to reduce their desirous attachment. They try to practice patience. And they know that if they do those things that will reduce their problems. And they generate much happiness around. People who think that way, technically are thinking like a Buddhist.
So, taking refuge in the right way means you are taking refuge in the Three Jewels in order to solve your problem and because you see a reason there. It is more about trusting in your practice. You see good results and you think that is the right way to approach. You know what I mean? If you have no problems. If you are some sort of heavenly being or whatever, or an enlightened being, then you don’t have to take refuge in anything.
But we are not like that. We are not enlightened beings. We are not heavenly beings. We are ordinary human beings in this world, who are struggling. In this life we are struggling mentally, physically. financially. We are struggling here and there all the time. As regular human beings sometimes we have to deal with those things. You are a good person with a warm heart. You are doing well, but you are not lucky. All problems are coming around and you are always caught up and struggling with them in your life, right?
In Buddhism we say this is the karmic result of your actions. Sometimes you are lucky and are in a better situation than many others. You have enough money to live. You have a good job. You know how to live. You have relatives, like parents or grandparents to support you.
You know, Tibetans in exile or refugees, when they come to this country from far, far away, all their relatives are far away. They come by themselves and work hard in a new country. They are immigrants. Similarly Tibetans arriving in the 60s and 70s in India had nothing and started working like coolies in train stations. They built roads in Ladakh. People born in this country have situations better than many others. Just consider if you have a good place to live with many relatives. Everything is there, but, you know, people are still not happy, not connected to people, no friends, not satisfied with anything and there is hatred and jealousy.
It was just Christmas. You received all those gifts for Christmas that came with best wishes. But we are not satisfied. We are not grateful for them. Instead, we criticize and so forth. If you want to solve those problems: how to be grateful, how to be kind, how to be patient, how to be respectful, how to have a big heart, if you want to be like that, then just praying will not make you like that. It is by practice.
It is by working hard. In our life we have those karmic consequences, those mental consequences. Those problems are disrupting our lives. In order to solve those problems we take refuge in the Three Jewels. We don’t pray to deities, “Dear deity, could you solve my problem? You have to solve my problem. That’s your job to do.” Or, “Dear deity, could you make me less angry? Could you make me like a holy being? That’s your job”. We don’t say that as Buddhist practitioners. As a Buddhist practitioner you cannot scold any deity, because this is not their job. It’s your own job to fix your problems.
Then comes the question of how. The answer is: you meditate, you educate yourself, you try to see a bigger image than being stuck in a small one. Then you meditate and then you change your physical and mental behavior, which is part of a moral practice.Then you will solve your problem. That is one way of taking refuge in the Three Jewels. And then if you can think bigger than that, you work with karma. You believe in karmic causality. It is not that someone has full control over you and is doing things for you or punishing you or something like that.
Karmic causality means that your virtue brings you happiness. Your non-virtue brings you problems. So in order to solve your problems the outside factors increase your virtue. Be generous towards others. Always cherish other people. If you can help them, help them. If you cannot help them, make a good wish for them. Accumulate virtue and purify non-virtue. That way you will eliminate your obstacles or whatever you are struggling with. And then believe in the karmic system. If I do bad things, even though I become very successful in this life, but still, I will not escape. I will have to face those problems, right? Why am I struggling in this life, even though I’m doing well? Because of my previous lives’ things. So therefore, in order to prevent these problems I should be a good person. So this is Buddhism. And this is how you take refuge in the Three Jewels. When you take refuge in the Three Jewels mainly you are taking refuge in Dharma, which is your own practice and your own achievement.
Am I Buddhist or Not? (Demo Rinpoche – Ancient Wisdom. Modern Times. #228 Part 3 – January 12, 2025)
