What Buddhists believe
The three refuges
A Buddhist takes refuge in the Buddha, the Teaching and the Sangha. The Bible invites us to take refuge in God himself.
Going for refuge
Across every tradition, a person becomes a Buddhist by going for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma (teaching) and the Sangha (community), repeated three times. The Dhammapada says this refuge, with insight into the four truths, is the supreme refuge, unlike refuge in mountains, forests and shrines.
I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Teaching, I take refuge in the Saṅgha.
Khuddakapatha 1:2.1-2.3, The Three Refuges (tr. Bhikkhu Sujato) · context
So many go for refuge to mountains and forest groves, to shrines in tended parks; those people are driven by fear.
Dhammapada 188, 14. The Buddhas (tr. Bhikkhu Sujato) · context
One gone for refuge to the Buddha, to his teaching and to the Saṅgha, sees the four noble truths with right understanding:
Dhammapada 190, 14. The Buddhas (tr. Bhikkhu Sujato) · context
Refuge in a person
The Psalms use the same word again and again, but the refuge is God himself, a living person who hears and answers. Jesus invites the weary to come to him, not to a teaching about him.
1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalms 46:1 (WEB) · context
1He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2I will say of Yahweh, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”
Psalms 91:1-2 (WEB) · context
28“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 (WEB) · context
Sources
- Earliest source Khuddakapatha 1; Dhammapada 188-192. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0), SuttaCentral.