In August there will be an on-line ceremony for admittance to the Amida Shu and Order. This will also be a time when anybody who has not taken refuge but wishes to can do so and also when anyone who has taken refuge in the past and wishes to reaffirm can also do so. Date to be announced soon.
I take refuge in Amida, the unimpeded light;
I take refuge in the Buddha, the one who shows me the way in this life;
I take refuge in the Dharma, the way of understanding and love;
I take refuge in the Sangha, the community that lives in faith and harmony;
I take refuge in the Pure Land, the perfect field of merit
Here is the latest podcast:
We take refuge in Amida. What ever happens: Namo Amida Bu.
We take refuge in the Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha especially, whose teachings provide the foundation for our philosophy and our way of life, our inspiration. The life of Shakyamuni Buddha, an exemplary life. You can always think: What would Shakyamuni do in this situation? What would he say?
We take refuge in the Dharma, the teachings that Shakyamuni and all the other Buddhas propound. Teachings in the world and particularly in the spirit of those teachings. So, even if you encounter a situation that didn’t exist 2500 years ago, you still have a sense of how to respond to that because the Dharma is in your blood, the Dharma is in your bones. That’s what it means to take refuge in the Dharma.
We take refuge in the Sangha. Amida Shu is a Sangha. This means, that it’s a fellowship of people, who are committed to supporting one another’s practice in the long term. This doesn’t mean, when you say supporting their practice, it doesn’t mean that you are imposing a dogma on people or something of that kind - it’s not that kind of straitjacket. It’s a human relationship in which you respond as, what we say in Buddhism, kalyanamitra – as skillful friends. Each person in the Sangha is going to go through the ups and downs of their life: at this time they will be alone – at that time they will be in a group of people, at this time they will be married – at that time they won’t, sometimes they will have children – sometimes they won’t have children, sometimes tragic things will happen – sometimes wonderful things will happen. Through all these vicissitudes of life we are brothers and sisters to one another in the Dharma, in the spirit of the Dharma which came from the example of Shakyamuni, who was inspired by all the Buddhas of all the times, who in our view are represented by Amitabha, the Buddha of All-Acceptance, the Buddha of Infinite Light, the Buddha of Limitless Lifespan. So, limitless lifespan: Amitabha is there, will always be there. So, the Sangha is a group of people, who have a refuge that will always be there, a recourse that is reliable throughout life, come what may: revolution, political collapse, economic difficulties, virus plague, whatever comes along, there is a source of support, of help, of resilience to carry you through.
Finally, we take refuge in the Pureland. So, just as you have the Buddha in the past to support you, you have the prospect of the Pureland in the future, or perhaps, in some cases, you even have memory of having been in the Pureland before this life.
These are the Five Refuges that we take in Amida Shu. So, these are the Five Refuges that we take to mark transitions, such as becoming member of the Amida Shu. People are invited to membership of the Sangha, and if the nembutsu is their main practice and if they take refuge in Amida, the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha and the Pureland, and they do it in a formal ceremony, then they become members of Amida Shu. And they are then committed to this Sangha, to the spirit of supporting one another in the long term in our spiritual life, through all the vicissitudes.
This is our approach; this is what we have organized amongst ourselves as our approach to the spiritual life.
Namo Amida Bu
Thank you very much
Dharmavidya
David
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