Gina Sharpe

The fifth precept is refraining from alcohol and drugs (authentic medical need excluded) “that cause heedlessness.” I am inspired by this, as the last words of the Buddha are reputed to be “strive on with heedfulness.” This is something upon which we can deeply reflect—the need for sobriety and clarity of mind as requisites for the heedfulness highlighted in the Buddha’s last injunction as he lay dying. How can we practice heedfulness having ingested that which is designed to encourage heedlessness?

The fourth precept is to refrain from false, harmful and reckless speech. Speech is a primary way in which we relate to and communicate with each other. It can enhance connection, or be the agent of disconnection. In expressing our intentions and aspirations, our words, mindfully spoken, can remind us of what we hold most dear.

When we observe the precepts, they have a humane effect on us and everyone affected by us. We align with the understanding of karma, that the most important powers shaping our experience are the thoughts, words, and deeds we choose in the present moment. Every choice of action, in every aspect of life, contributes to making the world.

The precepts can be understood in the context of illuminated heart-mind. We are guided not by “do’s” and “don't’s” but by the interconnected nature of being. This is not so much to be understood by the mind, but by the heart.

In awareness practice, we invite ourselves into more and more sensitivity to life--to the aliveness within us and our interrelatedness with all life around us. We cultivate this sensitivity by becoming very simple, slowing down and being willing to see things as they are at the level of simply being alive. From clear seeing, our acts need not be contrived to be "good" or "virtuous," because the acts that naturally flow from a mind of clear seeing will be compassionate and wise.

Every Law student studies the case in which Oliver Wendell Holmes advised that when we come to a railroad crossing, we should “stop, look and listen” in order to be safe. Great advice, not only for railroad crossings, but for all the crossings, large and small, in life. It is akin to the last words of the Buddha on his deathbed to his disciples: “Strive on with heedfulness.”

Sangha is the third jewel, the third refuge in the Buddha’s teachings. The traditional meaning of “Sangha,” is the community of practitioners who preserve and uphold the teachings of the Buddha: the enlightened Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, monks and nuns and householders who are practicing to realize the wisdom, ethics and meditation Path of Dhamma, moving toward truth.

Dhamma is the second jewel, the second of the three refuges in Buddhist practice. Taking refuge begins with asking the question, “where do I find safety?” When we take refuge in Dhamma, it means we seek and find safety in the truth of the way things actually are, warts and all.

In what do we take refuge when we take refuge in the Buddha? Like us, the Buddha was a human being, and our refuge in these qualities of Awakened Mind/Heart respects deeply our own potential—luminous, spotless, wise.

All Buddhist traditions invite taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. These Three Jewels provide a focus for commitment and reflection. In daily life, we are constantly looking for safety, refuge, in something—whether it is our ambition, career, house, money, neuroses or relationship.