As generally defined, seven kinds of refuge. Which one are you?
Generally, any form of refuge missing Dharma is spiritually unsafe.
In the absence of Buddha and Sangha, is refuge in Dharma enough?
Refuge In The Single Gem
1. Refuge in Buddha:
Faith in Buddha without learning Dharma from Sangha
2. Refuge in Dharma:
Practice of Dharma without faith in Buddha or seeing worth in learning from Sangha
3. Refuge in Sangha:
Devotion to one or more monastics without learning or practising the BuddhaDharma
Refuge In The Double Gem
4. Refuge in Buddha and Dharma:
Faith in Buddha with learning and practising of Dharma
5. Refuge in Dharma and Sangha:
Learning and practising of Dharma from Sangha without wanting to be Buddha
6. Refuge in Buddha and Sangha:
Faith in Buddha with devotion to monastics without learning and practising Dharma
Refuge In The Triple Gem
7. Seeing interconnected worth in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha
Wouldn’t(sincere)practice in Dhamma eventually bring faith in Buddha and Sangha?
And by faith in Buddha do you mean faith in Siddhartha or faith in the qualities of the Buddha and all previous Buddhas?
The question is quite interesting though because it does ask of one to evaluate where their practice is, atleast it did for me.
Metta,
Sean
Yes, kind of!
But then again, one needs some faith in the Buddha to want to practise the Dharma he taught sincerely.
Methinks faith in the Buddha can mean many things… e.g. confidence that the Buddha attained enlightenment, confidence that he is a worthy teacher to learn from, confidence that we too can become Buddhas like him…
😉
Amituofo