Teachings on Refuge - Part 1 - The Four Noble Truths and the Motivation for Receiving Refuge
Traditionally, in all Buddhist lineages, practice begins with receiving refuge, calming the mind through Shamatha practice, and contemplation of the four thoughts that turn the mind toward the Dharma, which sets the foundation for a deep contemplation and subsequent realization of the Four Noble Truths of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Shakyamuni Buddha’s Four Noble Truths:
1. The Truth of Suffering: refers to any kind of suffering whether physical, emotional, or mental. This is the effect of samsara.
2. The Truth of the Root of Suffering: refers to the actual reality that samsara is the effect of primordial ignorance, which is inherently a dualistic perception of reality.
3. The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering: refers to the statement of Lord Buddha, that he had attained full and complete Enlightenment (Samyak Sambuddha) - the realization of vast opening space inseparable from luminous clarity and great bliss; the inherent nature of all phenomena.
4. The Truth of the Path to the Cessation of Suffering: refers to the existence of the Path of the Noble Ones (that we and all the Buddha's follow), based on receiving refuge in the Three Jewels for ourselves and the of all sentient beings. This occurs on two levels: the physical level of action and the heartmind level of vows.