Great Buddhists from Triratna Refuge Tree - Free Buddhist Audio

on it and transform it. There are also people living in „hell without‟ to whom we
need to take the Dharma, so figuratively we descend to them. We do not join them
in hell, but we are confronted with their pain if we try to help them.
On the lotus at the back are the books of the Dharma. I believe that in the Going
for Refuge and Prostration Practice of Padmasambhava they are Tibetan texts on
the back lotus. In the Śākyamuni practice they are texts of all Yānas – Hīnayāna,
Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna. One can visualise those in all their different forms.
They may be written on palm leaves, they may be the Tibetan books that flip over,
they may be wrapped in gold cloths, or in the form of Japanese scrolls, or
engraved on jade – all the variety of ways in which people have written down the
Dharma.
On the lotus at the left of Śākyamuni, similarly to the other practices, are the
Arahants. Particularly emphasised are Ananda, who was the Buddha‟s companion;
Sāriputta and Moggallāna who are great spiritual friends; Mahākassapa the great
ascetic; and Dhammadinna. It is quite interesting having one‟s enlightened
namesake in a visualisation practice. I read once – I do not remember where – that
Dhammadinna had practised something like 19,000 years of brahmacarya before
she became an Arahant, so one can make small steps in that direction! Bhante
describes her in the Survey as, “Intellectually gifted.”
Then we come to the sixteen Gurus of the Past, above the head of Śākyamuni.
These sixteen gurus form a very interesting part of the new Refuge Tree practice.
One could do years of study to find out all about them, read their life-stories and
all their literature. Sometimes people say there is nothing for Order Members to
study but we could have an Order study course, or even a post-Mitra study course,
based on the sixteen gurus of the past. This could take us a very long time if we
really absorbed their life-stories, their example, their literature, and the seminars
that Bhante has led on their material. If we did this I think we would take huge
leaps forward, as a Movement, in our understanding of the Dharma and our ability
to communicate the Dharma to others.
In the first row above Śākyamuni are the teachers from the Japanese Buddhist
tradition. We have Hakuin, Kukai, Dogen and Shinran. Hakuin is the founder of
the modern Rinzai Zen school. Zen, or Ch‟an, came into Japan much earlier from
China, but Hakuin reformed and revitalised this school. He is supposed to have
had a sharp mind and a great intellect and great literary gifts. He wrote poetry, and
he is famous with us for his Song of Meditation. Samata found a reference to
Hakuin when we were doing research, which said that his sole heritage (as a young
monk, presumably) was a deserted temple. It had no proper roofs to speak of, and
the stars shone through at night. Nor were there any decent floors, so it was
necessary to wear gaiters and a rain hat if it rained while there were activities in
the main shrine room. You can get an impression of the kind of situation he was
working with, especially if you have worked on a Triratna building site! More than
that – all the property that he owned was in the hands of creditors, and the priestly
belongings were mortgaged to the trades-people. The quotation concludes: “Thus
was his character matured.” He was very gifted, but he did not have an easy life.
Triratna Dharma Training Course for Mitras
Year Four, Module 7: Great Buddhists from the Refuge Tree of the Triratna Buddhist Order
http://freebuddhistaudio.com/study
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