“Buddhan Saranan Gaccámi, Dhamman Saranan Gaccámi, Sanghan Saranan Gaccámi,” are words which we have recited many countless times. At school, at home, at the temple, at the beginning of most cultural events, secular or otherwise, at a launch ceremony, at an almsgiving or even at a funeral, we have repeated these words more times than any other Buddhist verse. Perhaps the only exception to this is the Pali verse “Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddassa” which is normally recited immediately before and signifies paying homage to the Supremely Enlightened Buddha. Collectively, the aforementioned verses are usually uttered by a member of the Buddhist clergy, when present, to then be repeated by the gathering, or on one’s own accord in their absence and usually before a Buddha statue or image. In this manner, people of the Buddhist faith the world over take refuge in the three Gems, sometimes daily and sometimes even many times a day. This practice is almost as old as the Sangha community itself, as men and women who were eligible and had fulfilled the requirements to be entered into the monastic community in the absence of the Buddha, even in His time, were also required to recite these verses to affirm their commitment to embodying the virtues of the Noble Triple Gem. Therefore, to this day, paying homage to the Exalted One and taking refuge in the Noble Triple Gem are essential components of virtually all undertakings of Buddhist practice. From initially becoming a member of the fourfold Buddhist community as an upásaka or upásika, to the highest undertaking of joining the Buddhist order as a bhikku or bhikkuni, as one goes forth into the monastic order, as I once did myself, one commits oneself wholly to refuge in the Noble Triple Gem.

Most people who observe this practice have some understanding of these phrases, with or without knowledge of the Pali language, to know that their literal meaning is I take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, respectively. However, I do wonder if people actually understand the profound essence of taking on this commitment, or whether we have become so accustomed to it, and so much so, that it has become a mere perfunctory ritual.

Like most things in philosophy, and very prominently so in Buddhist teachings, the verses carry a superficial meaning as well as an underlying, more profound and deeper meaning. In fact, the deeper one dives in their search for the Buddha’s intended meaning, the more profound they appear to become. As it happens, the Dhamma, or the Buddha’s teachings, which include the said verses, are characteristically capable of conveying meaning at multiple levels of depth, and that depth is determined by the degree of insight with which the examiner can decipher their meaning. The last of the six qualities of the Dhamma, namely, Paccattam Veditabbo Vinnuhi refers to this characteristic, that the Dhamma is to be realised by each person individually and based on their maturity of wisdom. Here, it must be noted that Paccattam Veditabbo Vinnuhi is an autological phrase, in that it is itself interpretable in more ways than one.

Most would agree that in the verse, Buddhan Saranan Gaccámi, Buddhan translates to “in the Buddha”, Saranan to “refuge,” and Gaccámi to “I go or take”. Now, if we were to ask who the Buddha was, the answer would be a pretty obvious one. The Buddha was a spiritual leader and the founder of Buddhism, one of the major global religions. Born as Siddharta Gautama around the 6th or 5th century BCE, into a royal clan, he went on to renounce his affluent life as a prince, and after a short period of practising extreme asceticism, he gave up that extreme as well upon discovering the Noble Path to liberation. Sat under the Bodhi tree, and having further contemplated on his discovery, in a short time, he went on to cleanse his mind of all defilements and attained Enlightenment. The distinction here is that he attained this goal all by Himself. In the 45 years of His service that ensued, He instructed countless beings on the path to deliverance so that they could go on to achieve the same result. This is who people normally refer to as the Buddha, more precisely, the Samma Sambuddha (Supreme Buddha). So, when people take refuge in the Buddha, the notion that many hold is that they are, in fact, taking refuge in this iconic philosophical leader who lived among us over 2500 years ago.

We must pause here to consider a rather peculiar point. If Buddhan Saranan Gaccámi refers to taking refuge in the historical figure, the personality and the individual that was the Supreme Buddha Gautama, why is it that the verse does not specify this? For instance, should it not be something along the lines of Gautama Samma Sabuddha Saranan Gaccámi? Of course, one could argue that this is a condensed version of the same idea. Or even better, that the verse makes no reference to a particular Buddha, but rather the Buddha of the time. Gautama Buddha is the Buddha of our era, there have been others before Him, and there will be even more after Him, and so the verse is essentially a timeless device to achieve the said outcome. Whilst I do not disagree with these points of view, and believe there is tremendous value in attributing a real figure, particularly one whose life is nothing less than an epitome of perfection, an unblemished and matchless ideal for all beings, in the interest of intriguing the insightful reader who wishes to seek a deeper gem of wisdom embodied in this verse, I invite them to consider the following posits.

In addition to the Supreme Buddha, there are two other variants – the Pacceka Buddha (Silent Buddha) and the Arahatta Buddha (Disciple Buddha), named according to whether they, in turn, are able to produce stream enterers (sótapannas) on their own. I do not suggest that they are equals; however, if we are to consider them exclusively on the basis of their being free of ignorance, attachment, and therefore suffering, in that aspect, for need of a better word, they are similar. Buddha is a state of mind which denotes awakening, enlightening, liberation, freedom, and etymologically uprooting “becoming” or in the Pali, Bhava. In this regard, all three of the Buddhas are well and truly Buddhas. Therefore, not incorporating this idea in our definition of Buddha seems inadequate and remiss.

Moreover, if we are to solely attribute the reference to Buddha in the verse to the personality, then we run into a conundrum. The Buddha passed away over two thousand years ago. He is no more. He no longer exists. Neither in this world nor in another. Neither materially nor immaterially. So, this begs the irrefutable question, particularly in the secular mind: how does someone who does not exist offer refuge to someone who does? Certainly, if the Buddha were alive, He would have, if He could have, but now that He is non-existent – having achieved the very objective of his becoming a Buddha, it would seem contradictory for a Buddha to offer anything remotely resembling refuge. In fact, if He could still do that, then did He really pass into Parinibbana – non-existence? And so it soon dawns on us that to expect refuge from an existing Buddha entity would amount to an impregnable dilemma.

Furthermore, in the final conversation of the Buddha’s life with his chief attendant, venerable Ananda asks Him, “Sir, when the Tathagata is no more, who do we regard as our teacher, as your successor?” To which the Buddha replies, “Ananda, upon my passing, you must regard my teaching as your teacher.” When reflecting on these words, it is evident that the Buddha’s instruction was to seek refuge in his teaching.

So then, do we have an alternative? Let’s consider what we already know about the three types of Buddhas. They have become Buddhas by achieving a state of mind which offers them freedom from all suffering. Through diligence and persistent practice of the perfections (páramithas), they have been able to make this achievement. Conversely, this state of mind is not where they started; it is where they have arrived – a destination. The end goal of their endeavours – the metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel. It is upon arriving at this pinnacle of one’s holy life that an Arahatta Buddha utters the famous paean of accomplishment “Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṃ brahmacariyaṃ, katā karaṇīyā, nāparaṃ itthattāyāti pajānāti.” Gone beyond suffering, having lived the holy life, having done what needed to be done, it has been realised that there is no further becoming. This verse, which appears in the Sāmaññaphala Sutta and uttered by the Buddha, quite nicely leads us to surmise that Buddha can reasonably be interpreted as the destination where there is no becoming. At this juncture, our readers might question “becoming of what?” – the answer to which we will discuss in a future article.

When we regard Buddha as the ultimate destination of our practice, we give it new meaning, which makes reference to an individual, a person, or a being – even the Buddha, redundant. This explains why there is no personal reference to a particular Buddha in the verses. Further, with this description, there remains no ambiguity about the inclusion of the threefold Buddhas. It is more inclusive as the focus is on “that which is to be done” rather than “the doer.” It resonates well with the Buddha’s teachings of selflessness. To attempt to identify and describe the Buddha as an entity with an identity is akin to an attempt to identify and describe water in a mirage. Therefore, it makes a great deal more sense to describe Buddha as a Buddhist practitioner's destination, their goal, the culmination of their holy life, the trophy of their endeavours, and the finale of their undertaking the noble livelihood. It is the ultimate destination of Buddhist practice. It is the vision of all Buddha aspirants. Perhaps it would help our readers to make more sense of this point of view to think that Siddhartha the Bodhisattva himself sought refuge in the Buddha, albeit he had no teacher to guide him to that destination. He dedicated the remainder of His life as the Fully Awakened One, to guide many hundreds of thousands of mortals to this destination. He lays this bare Himself in the Dhammapada by uttering the words “tumhehi kiccam atappam akkataro tatagata.” You yourself must earnestly practise; the Enlightened Ones only proclaim the path. Here the Buddha states in no uncertain terms that He does not take responsibility for our individual salvation. He does not, for He cannot, sacrifice Himself for our salvation. His sacrifice was for the Truth, to realise it and then spread it far and wide, not only in the human worlds, but, according to the scriptures, in the heavens and Brahmic abodes as well. He is the guide, the teacher, the instructor, the best of their kind there ever was and ever will be. However, it would be unwise to consider Him the captain of your ship, but instead, the lighthouse which shines a beacon of light to guide you ashore. This being the case, we must reconsider whether it is fitting to hold the Buddha responsible for our refuge.

Finally, what about the Buddha’s instruction to the venerable Ananda to regard His teaching as His successor? In proclaiming the Dhamma as his successor, He made an attestation that His teaching should replace Him upon His demise, and thus, the Buddha Himself elevated the Dhamma to the position of supremacy in which He was regarded by the people.

According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, the Mara appealed to the Buddha on three occasions to desist from preaching the Dhamma and urged him to pass away. On all but the last occasion, the Buddha told Mara that He would not pass away until He had established the fourfold community who were well-trained, disciplined, and Enlightened. He also said that He would not pass away until the Dhamma and the Vinaya (the doctrine and the discipline) were well-proclaimed and widely known. He said that only when He saw that His followers were independent, diligent, and devoted to the Dhamma, would He relinquish His life force and pass away. Yet again, this is strong evidence that the Buddha Himself wanted it to be known that His passing away was not to be construed as the demise of the Sasana. On the third and final occasion, he accepted Mara’s invitation at Pava, for by then, He had firmly established the timeless notion of Buddha – the Ultimate Destination for all seekers of Ultimate Bliss.