The Refuge Vow

“Most of our life we spend wandering around.”
– Reggie Ray, ‘The Refuge Vow’

These are the words Reggie offers in the opening moments of the recorded talk from Unit Four: “Most of our life we spend wandering around.” Which is to say, most of our lives we spend looking for happiness and satisfaction, comfort and contentment in a never­-ending stream of ‘something differents’ — a different job, a different home, a different spouse, a different shirt…

The taking of refuge marks the moment we say to both ourselves and the world, “Stop.” Refuge marks the moment we decide to halt our endless vagabondage in order to relate with this life, this body, this moment right now.

As we know from our study in this program, the decision to take refuge is marked by a two­fold commitment. A commitment, first, to relate directly with the truth of our lives; not with the distraction and diversion, the hopes and fears that so often fuel our wandering ways, but with the truth of our lives as they are. We do this through a second commitment: a commitment to this lineage that, while necessarily unique for each of us, in its essence affirms that these teachers, these teachings, and this community hold something for us.

These two commitments are what Chogyam Trungpa is pointing toward in the chapter on ‘Surrendering’ from Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. “We must surrender our hopes and expectations,” he tells us. In other words, we must give up our search for another ‘something different’ and, instead, meet “the reality of the situations we are facing” (Ch 2). We make this surrender by committing to our lives and by committing to this lineage. We make both of these commitments by giving ourselves to the essential vow of the Foundation Yana stage of our journey.

Thus it seems wholly appropriate that we offer this opportunity as part of this Sutrayana Study and Practice Intensive.

In the pages that follow – and more that will be added when the appropriate time arrives – the vow process will be outlined in some detail. Here we will find out how to gather more information about the Refuge Vow, how to formally offer our intention to take this vow, how we ready ourselves for the ceremony, and how we will gather together on Saturday April 27, 2019 (2:00-3:30 pm MT). This detail is presented so everyone — refugees, leadership, and other community members alike — has a clear sense of the discipline being asked of us throughout this process.

And here’s a word that was first spoken in our readings from so long ago: ‘discipline’. One reason this vow is being made part of this far­ flung, online experience is because the willingness everyone has evidenced these last two months — the willingness to give ourselves over and be held by the often demanding discipline of this program — has been so impressive.

This has allowed us to come into the body together. It has allowed us to stabilize together. It has allowed us to see together. This willingness has allowed us to be together. Through giving ourselves to this program so thoroughly, we have become a community whose shared cohesiveness, dedication, and inspiration is more than up to the task of supporting an event of this magnitude.

So please give ample time to reading over the details that follow. Whether a refugee or a witness, let’s all give ourselves to the process and discipline required by this most daring and momentous step. Then let’s come together on April 27th and, as Chogyam Trungpa says, “leap to the situation!”