Taking Refuge

"Becoming a refugee is acknowledging that we are groundless, and it is acknowledging that there is really no need for a home, or ground. Taking refuge is an expression of freedom, because as refugees we are no longer bounded by the need for security. We are suspended in a no-man's land in which the only thing to do is to relate with the teachings and with ourselves."

The Heart of the Buddha

Taking Refuge

Chogyam Trungpa

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This is not to mean that I don't have reverence for place. There are special relationships most indigenous people have with the island, the forest, the river or the plains on, or in, which they inhabit. There is stewardship but not ownership when it comes to where they are and, as they are displaced, a part of their soul is cut out. They are refugees. We hardly ever think of it but most of the Europeans that displaced Native Americans were themselves forced by economics, religious persecution or for political reasons, to hazard the journey to this continent. The error was that the Europeans who came here had not let go… had no reverence for the land as it was and persisted in driving out, corrupting and molding the land and its people to resemble Europe. The spiritual refugee that respects where he/she is opens the heart to new wonders on the dharma path.

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