What does it mean to take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha? It’s a repeated refrain in the Pali canon that the path to freedom starts with having faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha – what does that mean for us?

The Buddha was a historical person who led an extraordinary life and accomplished, through his own physical and mental efforts, a goal that many have since pursued. But believing those facts is not the same as understanding their implications. We have to start by understanding, or at least thinking it’s possible, that each of us is imbued with deep psychological roots that are both selfish and unselfish, cruel and kind, wilfully ignorant and that incline towards wisdom. In Buddhist language these are the roots of greed, hatred, and delusion, along with their opposites: generosity, unselfish (even unbounded) love, and clarity and wisdom. If we observe our own…