III. Meetings: Taking Refuge
TAKING REFUGE
THE THREE JEWELS
BUDDHA – DHARMA – SANGHA
THE HEART OF BUDDHIST RECOVERY
Beginning a new and uncertain path of recovery can often be intimidating and challenging. What do I seek guidance in? Where do I start? What’s expected of me? How does a Buddhist-inspired program encourage people to get and stay sober? All of this is addressed in what Recovery Dharma refers to as the Three Jewels of Recovery: The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
WHAT DOES REFUGE MEAN?
Taking Refuge is many things to many people. It is often our North Star in recovery. It is our guiding light. It is our moral compass that guides us to the safety of long-term sobriety. In active addiction, many of us are like a boat lost at sea. The storms of addiction batter us back and forth and threaten to capsize us and ultimately drown us if we don’t take immediate action.
RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE
Taking Refuge can be thought of as a safe harbor, a place within ourselves where we find the help we need to heal and to forgive the wounds of addiction. Taking Refuge provides safety, comfort, and guidance. Taking Refuge gives us inspiration, it gives us courage, and ultimately it gives us the confidence to know through direct experience, that ‘Recovery is Possible.’
THE THREE JEWELS
I. THE BUDDHA
Refers both to our Inner Buddha Nature and Inner Goodness (Story of the Golden Buddha). But it also refers to the historical Buddha: the person. Much like an aspirational mentor, we know if they can do it, we can do it.
II. THE DHARMA
Also known as the ‘Truth’ or the way things are. It can refer to the written texts and teaching of the Buddha as well. The Dharma is our program of recovery, the Four Noble Truths, and the Eightfold Path.
III. THE SANGHA
Our community of Wise Friends, both those whom we meet in-person, and the larger Buddhist and recovery community. Wise Friends encourage and support us as we deepen our understanding of these Buddhist practices and principles, and support us on our recovery journey.