OCTOBER: AN INVITATION TO TAKE REFUGE

Hi! Into October we go...

The threshold of the autumn equinox presents us with a unique opportunity to linger, look back, to take inventory, to express gratitude and ready ourselves for the wintering ahead. The movement into a more vulnerable time asks: how do I sustain my energy to remain available to this bigger heart-work for humanity without losing my own way?

Let’s pause there and recap for context. During the first 6 months of the year, we centered our attention on the Paramitas (perfections), by exploring the qualities and practices that shape the life of a Bodhisattva (one who lives and responds with wisdom and heart). Then we moved into the 3 Pure Precepts (ethics), bringing that aspiration into the intimacy of our everyday choices: how we live, how we relate, what we cultivate, and how we participate in the world. These precepts asked us to examine our behaviors and to take up commitments that could better orient those actions toward the benefit of all beings. Now, as the year begins to gather itself toward its close, we turn toward the invitation to take refuge so that we may sustain on this path with relative ease. 

Let’s orient ourselves toward the topic of *refuge by exploring the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Here we learn that we can continue to take deliberate steps forward on this path of deepening and discovering without worrying about whether the earth will be there to catch us. *Refuge: an oasis, a shelter, a sanctuary, a retreat, a safe place to be. 

It’s no surprise that we would require support when the ask of this work is so enormous. What happens when we feel unable to witness the suffering of our world? How can we continue to widen the circle of our care, to include all beings? How can we remember that none of us exists apart from the whole? We know from having lived this long that at some point we are guaranteed that wisdom will become obscured and our compassion will feel thin.

One of my teachers had shared that the reason for taking vows regularly is directly correlated with the truth of our forgetfulness. Vows are our commitments to this work and refuge is how we are supported to follow through. The Jewels are three dimensions of that refuge. They are the places that we can learn to turn toward, to rely upon and to embody.

This October we begin by exploring what is meant by taking refuge in the Buddha (and Bodhi), in awakening itself. [One more pause to distinguish these terms.] Buddha means “awakened one.” In the most familiar sense, it points to the historical Buddha, who awakened and taught the path to liberation. The Buddha in this case is much more than a historical figure to revere, he serves as a living reminder of what is possible for us as human beings. Buddha points to anyone who is aspiring to or has awakened to the nature of reality. Bodhi is the innate wisdom of awakening that resides within us, waiting to be realized. You could say that being a Buddha is of our nature. “Buddha-nature” points to the capacity for awakening within all sentient beings. The term invites us to recognize that awakening is not foreign to us. We are not fixed beings who must somehow become something entirely other than what we are. Because we are not fixed, transformation is possible. Because we are not separate, liberation is not merely a personal achievement. In the end, all three terms (Buddha, Bodhi, Buddha-nature) present ways of understanding the same orientation.

To take refuge in Buddha, then, is not necessarily to place our faith in someone or thing outside ourselves. It is to turn toward a way of seeing and being that has already been shown to us. Through these bodies, we choose to cultivate the capacity to see clearly, respond wisely, and meet suffering with compassion.

And perhaps this is exactly what we need at this point in our year as we continue into the depths of yin. We are not expected to remain clear, compassionate, or wise at every moment. The call to refuge is the practiced returning, over and over again, to the qualities that support a life oriented toward liberation. The Buddha reminds us that there is a way of being that is available to us and the practice is the means of turning toward that wisdom within. Here we go well beyond an intellectual agreement and reorient our whole person.

Repositioning your whole person requires the space for fresh perspective and this is where ritual can become meaningful. A ritual is a conscious act of making sacred. It gives the body a way to participate in what the heart and mind are learning. Through repetition, gesture, words, breath, or physical orientation, we create a tangible way to turn toward what we have chosen to take refuge in.

We might bow or rest our hands at the heart. We might sit before an image of the Buddha or someone that we deeply admire or look up to. We might simply pause, breathe, and remember that we have the power to change direction. The power is not necessarily in the object or gesture itself, rather the ritual becomes a container for intention. Each time we return to it, we rehearse the movement of returning to refuge. We actively mark the path with the whole body so we can remember.

For me, the continual practice of turning or taking refuge in the Buddha is one that I often practice real time and in the world. It isn't always perfect however the wisdom revealed to me is that I do have options. When reactivity takes hold, I can choose to turn toward pausing. When suffering becomes too overwhelming, I can choose to turn toward compassion. When I am certain that I know the whole truth, I can choose to turn toward curiosity.

The placement of our attention determines the quality of our experiences here on Earth. Refuge in Buddha nudges us to broaden the perspective. It nudges us to notice the habit toward negativity bias and encourages the space to see the much broader spectrum of the truth. Refuge in Buddha polishes the lens to reveal the proof of what is possible.

An invitation to recite the opening line of the refuge vow below:

I take refuge in pure awareness, the heart essence of Buddha.

Looking forward to the deepening, dear ones!

With love and gratitude,

Meg Lucks 

el'Getsu Endō | "Brilliant Moon, Circle of the Way"

Lay-Ordained Dharma Companion

The Heart Revival 

Founder of The Heart Revival Center

The 2026 Recap:

​

I am enthusiastic to share that this year, our community will step into a shared energy of bodhisattva formation. By this I mean that we are moving from practice as something we do, into practice as something that shapes how we live. My support will continue to guide by way of the seasons (specific to our local geography) and ground in the wisdom of the Himalayan traditions. Through these channels, and what I call a *Dharmic Almanac (practice companion), we will explore how compassion, ethical life and presence take form in our ordinary days: in our work and family, in grief and joy, in constant change and not-knowing. It's ideal to consider this not so much a curriculum to complete, but an invitation to simply walk together, allowing the rhythms of the year, our bodies and our personal commitments to train us in becoming the best versions of ourselves.

What is a bodhisattva (bo·dhi·satt·va) exactly? This ancient Sanskrit word points to someone who is actively aspiring and dedicated to shaking off the cobwebs of complacency so that they can live in their integrity, to the benefit of all that lives. Said simply, those doing their best to be good humans, to the benefit of all. In more traditional descriptions we hear things like "living awake", "heart-motivated" or "living in appropriate response". The traditions offer examples of these beings, portrayed diversely: as the archetypal ideal, the divine and even the earthly ordinary. Furthermore, they cross cultural bounds, names, genders and forms. This wide representation of possibilities is intended to inspire us and ultimately point us back to our great universal opportunity and responsibility of being human.

The Bodhisattva's Prayer, by 6th century sage Shantideva:

May I be a guard for those who need protection
A guide for those on the path
A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood
May I be a lamp in the darkness
A resting place for the weary
A healing medicine for all who are sick
A vase of plenty, a tree of miracles
And for the boundless multitudes of living beings
May I bring sustenance and awakening
Enduring like the earth and sky
Until all beings are freed from sorrow
And all are awakened.