Where do you take refuge? Verse 7 of the 37 verses says,

Locked up in the prison of their own patterning

Ordinary gods cannot protect anyone.

Where, then, do you go for refuge?

Take refuge in what is reliable, the Three Jewels- this is the practice of a bodhisattva.

The primary focus of this verse is the three jewels, which are the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. (In other words, the teacher, the teachings, and the community that practices them.) I love that Buddhist tradition calls this collection of wisdom and practice the place of refuge. It is the trustworthy place in a world that often relies too heavily on “ordinary gods.”
So what is meant by ordinary gods? Things like wealth, beauty, power, prestige make the list. It also includes ways we try to control the world rather than see it for what it is. Because we are so often pulled around by these ordinary gods, we lose sight of what places truly deserve our trust. Can we really trust our beauty not to fade, or our bank accounts to remain as they are? Of course not. These forces remain subject to the “prison of their own patterning” and that means they can never make us free.

What does make us free is a spiritual tradition grounded in awareness. And also, in this verse, it means a spiritual tradition grounded in its own soil. Which is to say: it’s not a smorgasboard of stuff we cobble together from Instagram. The refuge, in this case, is the whole enchilada. It’s the three jewels, in their totality.

Thubten Chodron writes, “It is important to think about who and what we are taking refuge in, what their qualities are, and what our spiritual goals are. Making soup with a little of this teaching and a little of that is not beneficial in the long term.”

If, like me, you come to this page as Buddh-ish, that’s fine. Chodron says there’s room for us, too. Just be sure to honor the tradition as it is, and don’t feel the need to make it fit your own faith tradition when it doesn’t. Let the distinctions stand.

At heart, Ken McLeod says “refuge is about how you relate to the experience of life itself.” He says, “You need a direction… You need a way… You need teachers.” Take refuge only in those who guide you well and fully.

So- in what people, traditions, and things do you take refuge? Is that the list you want?