Just a few advice after the refuge. And that is: the most important is that: receive the refuge many times as you can in your life.
You know, don’t say that “Oh, I took refuge from Kalu Rinpoche”. You didn’t take the refuge from me, you take the refuge from the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha as your witness, as your supreme, how do I say, the place to take the refuge, not me. So don’t ever say to other people, it’s embarrassing, “I took the refuge from Kalu Rinpoche” then it shows how much you don’t understand. You know? When other people, when I meet, when I first came to Europe, I meet so many people, “I!”, “I!”, “I! took the REFUGE from HIM, I don’t take the refuge from YOU”. Or they say the same thing, you know?
Because the refuge is a daily practice, it’s not a, it’s not something else. So whether you’re reading a text it’s also refuge, or whether you’re making a prayer also refuge, whether you meet other great masters you also take refuge, you should never limit that. That’s number one.
So next time when you say: “I don’t want to take refuge because I took refuge from him or her” basically you’re saying you never practiced. And that’s very embarrassing. Don’t do that.
You’re saying that. …
The second is, when you take, by taking refuge in the Dharma, just see the Lord Buddha’s teachings as the universal truth. Not necessarily this tradition or that tradition. Person like me, I have a responsibility to hold certain things together. You have absolute freedom to explore and receive everything, anything. So take that opportunity to receive many teachings, as much as you can. But when it comes to practice, understand your capacity, make the distinction.
By taking refuge to the Sangha, you know, whether you can accumulate in a positivity of actions or positivity of your mind, that’s the most important. Positive, positivity of the mind is a reducing some form of attachment, not absolutely attachment, okay? Some form of attachment, some form of ego, reducing little by little. Don’t make this kind of elaborate jump, you know? When you practice Dharma say “Ah, I want to remove my ego! I want to remove my attachment! it’s terrible!”, “Ah, jealousy! so terrible! it’s so bad!” Talking about it doesn’t solve any problem. it will still there the next day. So just try to think of more long term; attachment, jealousy can be reduced, slowly, slowly. Try to perceive in that way, don’t make too much judgmental to yourself, you know?
You don’t have to prove to anybody. You don’t have to prove it to anybody.
Find a sense of joy, over the time, with the Dharma practice.
If you focus enough time to improve your quality with the practice without seeking acknowledgement, or recognition. If you gradually, you genuinely practice, positivity, quality will show by itself. Just like the sun cannot be covered by the cloud. You know? So you just focus on yourself, with the vast intention of benefiting all sentient beings, intentionally, and practice Dharma. Then how to have greater help to other people, and all the sentient beings, that will come, you know, strongly by itself, even you stop it.
Okay? All the best to you. Thank you.
Torma Offering to the Dakinis of the Five Classes Just for Regular Practice
Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche
Refuge Ceremony – Paldenshangpa La Boulaye – France – DAY 4 – June 30, 2022
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