By Hokuto Daniel Diffin Osho
May you live in interesting times.
This curse, supposedly from ancient China, was first pronounced in a speech by a British diplomat in 1936. At that time, the Great Depression had a grip on America and Europe, Hitler was building the German army and threatening neighboring countries, and the great international debate centered on whether it was communism or fascism that would eventually rule the world. Interesting times, indeed.
Once again, we live in interesting times. The world seems filled with madness, badness, and worse. And yet, we have no choice but to go on, turning to one another to lift each other up.
At times like these, the concept of refuge becomes increasingly important. How do you take refuge? Where do you take refuge? When the world is filled with madness, where do you find sanity, purpose, and community?
I take refuge in the Buddha
I take refuge in the Dharma
I take refuge in the Sangha
We find refuge in the example of the Buddha and the living Bodhisattvas among us; we find refuge in the teachings, accumulated and refined over the centuries, and renewed in each of us every time we sit in the clarity of zazen; and we find refuge in the community of like-minded practitioners, practicing for no other purpose than to find the wisdom, compassion, and joy that is everybody’s birthright.
The three treasures are our refuge; the three refuges are our treasure.
These treasures are available to each of us, and are accessible anytime, anywhere. And yet…discovering and exploring them through practice also requires an actual physical place of refuge and dedicated teachers to guide us deeper into the dharma.
We are very fortunate that the Zen Studies Society provides us with both an urban temple and a beautiful mountain monastery where the Sangha can gather and study with wonderful teachers, especially our Abbot, Chigan Roshi, and our beloved retired Abbot, Shinge Roshi, as well as a growing number of associated Dharma teachers.
