Taking Refuge
ingredients: antique handwritten letter fragments, Italian currency, vintage ephemera, image transfers, ginko leaf, monoprint
To take refuge is to commit oneself to the Buddhist path. According to Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche:
"In the Buddhist tradition, the purpose of taking refuge is to awaken from confusion and associate oneself with wakefulness. Taking refuge is a matter of commitment and acceptance and, at the same time, of openness and freedom. By taking the refuge vow we commit ourselves to freedom.
“I take refuge in the Buddha.
I take refuge in the dharma.
I take refuge in the sangha.”
So becoming a refugee is acknowledging that we are homeless and groundless, and it is acknowledging that there is really no need for home, or ground. Taking refuge is an expression of freedom, because as refugees we are no longer bounded by the need for security. We are suspended in a no-man’s land in which the only thing to do is to relate with the teachings and with ourselves."
