Lama Zopa Rinpoche recording a video teaching, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, October 2021. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche continues his video teachings on thought transformation from Kopan Monastery in Nepal. Here is a summary of the most recent teaching:

Lama Zopa Rinpoche begins by explaining that it’s very important to expand on the topic of refuge because it can take one’s whole life—even as a monk or nun studying—or many lifetimes to understand it. Rinpoche reminds us that he’s giving these teachings on refuge because a young girl and other students in China have requested for Rinpoche to offer the refuge ceremony.

The motivation for listening to the teachings, and for taking refuge, is not just for oneself or for temporary happiness. It isn’t enough to want to not be reborn in the lower realms or to obtain a deva or human rebirth in the next life. It also isn’t enough to want to be free from samsara and achieve nirvana. The real motivation is the desire to liberate the numberless sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering and bring them to the total cessation of obscurations and the completion of realizations—Buddhahood—by yourself. In order to do that, you must achieve enlightenment. Therefore, for that purpose, you listen to the teachings and take refuge.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche then begins to read from, and provide commentary on, a discussion of refuge from “Day Twelve” of Phabongkha Rinpoche’s Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. Phabongkha Rinpoche teaches that when going for refuge, we make a promise to:

1. 1. Buddha, the founder of refuge;
   2. Dharma, the actual refuge; and
      
   3. Sangha, the helper for actualizing refuge.

Therefore, Phabongkha Rinpoche explains, we should rely on the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha like we rely on a doctor, medicine, and nurses when we are sick. Lama Zopa Rinpoche says that similar to how we must make sure that the doctor we chose is expert and that the medicine and nurses are correct, when taking refuge we must rely on Buddha, the founder of refuge; Dharma, the actual refuge; and Sangha, the helper for actualizing refuge ourselves.

Phabongkha Rinpoche then tells the story of two non-Buddhist brothers who became Buddhist when they saw Maheshvara taking refuge in Buddha. One of the brothers composed a text, which Phabongkha Rinpoche refers to, saying:

Like this text says, having taken refuge in our Teacher and being disciples of his teachings, we should hold firmly to them, unable to be converted to other [religions], and not take refuge in Bön, Mutegpa, and so forth, which are outside this Dharma.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche explains that these brothers went for refuge to the Buddha “a hundred percent, totally. Their mind is indestructible.” They will not go back to their old religion, change to following other religions, or follow Bön or Mutegpa. They firmly took refuge in Buddha.

Rinpoche describes “Mutegpa” as meaning “non-level.” He explains how the Buddhist schools—Vaibhashika, Sautrantika, Mind-Only,  Madhyamaka Svatantrika, and Madhyamaka Prasangika—are “teg pa,” or “levels,” like steps. Understanding the Vaibhashika view, helps you understand Sautrantika view, and so on. So understanding the Madhyamaka Svatantrika view is unbelievably helpful for understanding the Madhyamaka Prasangika view, Rinpoche explains. The other religions don’t help understand the most correct subtle emptiness and are therefore “Mutegpa.” Rinpoche offers the example of the Hindu tradition, where the I is permanent, exists alone, and exists with its own freedom. In contrast, Buddhism teaches that the I is impermanent, depends on causes and conditions, and does not exist with its own freedom.

Phabongkha Rinpoche continues on the topic of refuge, making two additional points: the more you think about other religions, the more you become devoted to Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; and if you have two refuges, you lose your refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

Within this context, Phabongkha Rinpoche begins a discussion of the Bön religion, which was prevalent in Tibet before Buddhism. As explained by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Phabongkha Rinpoche says that the founder of Bön cannot be said to have ceased all the gross defilements and subtle defilements and completed all the qualities; the Bön religion itself doesn’t have a method for the delusions to decrease; and the “Sangha” in Bön, those intent on virtue, do not have a lineage through vows to the founder. So the founder, the religion, and the followers do not have the qualities of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

It is important to understand the references for Bön, “such as those found in the authentic histories in the texts of past learned [highly attained] scholars,” Phabongkha Rinpoche says, continuing from Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand:

Therefore, all three—the founder of Bön, the Bön teachings, and the Bön views—are mixed with the views and meditations of non-Buddhists. They have stolen things from the Buddhist scriptures and made them into a false Dharma and so forth. This happened a very long time ago but this widespread bad tradition has spread. Therefore, it is not worthy to be a refuge for those seeking liberation nor is it trustworthy.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche continues reading through this section of Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand and adding commentary. Phabongkha Rinpoche’s points here included that the Bönpo’s views are distorted views of the Mutegpa; that even if Bönpos and Mutegpa appear to have quick attainments, they eventually fall into lower realms; that Bön does not free you from samsara; that only a Buddha can liberate others from samsara; that those who are themselves bound to samsara cannot liberate others; and that Milarepa says that Bön is a wrong religion.

Phabongkha Rinpoche also debates the Bönpo’s claims that there are Bonpo buddhas and bodhisattvas, saying that “since those who say that have minds polluted by the bad imprints of wrong views, these are the great words of the highly ignorant.” Phabongka Rinpoche completes his debate making the following point:

Those who desire what is excellent should completely discard nauseating bad customs like discarding stones used to clean kaka. The refuge of Buddhists is only the Three Rare Sublime Ones. You should hold these objects of refuge as pure. It is important to totally trust in them.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche concludes this teaching with Phabongkha Rinpoche’s point that “taking refuge is not only reciting words”:

Like someone who has made mistakes seeks help from an influential leader, being afraid of the evil-gone realms, samsara, and so forth and trusting that the Rare Sublime Ones have the capacity to protect you, you must develop the mental factor intention that totally relies upon these protectors. This is the criterion for having taken refuge.

We invite you to go deeper into the topics presented here, plus many others, by watching Rinpoche’s video and reading the full transcript of Rinpoche’s teaching.

Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teaching “It Is Good to Know About the Bön Religion”

Rinpoche teachings on refuge will conclude with Rinpoche offering refuge in a video. Those wishing to take refuge with Rinpoche should continue to watch these teachings on refuge. Past teachings on the topic of refuge are also available to watch and rewatch.

• Read the transcript of Rinpoche’s teaching
• The text Lama Zopa Rinpoche is teaching on in this video comes from Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand by Pabongka Rinpoche (Wisdom Publications, 2006) chapter “Day Twelve,” pp. 371—374, starting from the outline “Taking Refuge Owing to One’s Beliefs.” 
• Find Rinpoche’s Teachings on Thought Transformation translated into Spanish, Italian, French, Chinese, and Russian
• Dedication verses

Watch more from the video series Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Teachings on Thought Transformation and find links to videos in transcripts, MP3s, additional practice advice, and more:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/announcements/resources-for-coronavirus-pandemic/advice-from-lama-zopa-rinpoche-for-coronavirus/

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.