Unexpected Freedom

Contemplating Happinesswho hasn’t spent their life developing virtue is a scraggy oldheron standing lonely at the edge of a dried up lake withoutany fish in it. At the end of their life they haven’taccumulated any virtue; all that remains is an inner sense ofpoverty. Contrast that with the possibility of the realpleasure that can be there if we come to the end our lifeknowing we’ve applied ourselves to what really matters andis genuinely worthwhile.Real RefugeThis brings us to the last line of this stanza: ‘Happiness arisesfrom seeing beyond suffering.’ To be able to see throughsuffering is to have a refuge. To have such a refuge is likehaving a compass. If you are ever out on the ocean or in thewilderness and you have a compass, you can find yourbearings. In that sense a compass is very valuable. That’swhat I understand by refuge. It means skilfully enquiringinto life and finding out what is really worthy. In the Palilanguage the word for an enlightened being is arahant, whichliterally means one who is worthy. Such a person is worthybecause they have understood what is truly worthwhile fromthe perspective of reality. In the practice of the Buddha-Dhamma one is gradually finding out what is really valuablein life, and thus one gains a true orientation. This orientationis synonymous with taking refuge in the Buddha.And remember what ‘Buddha’ means. There is thehistorical Buddha, of course, the human being who lived inIndia two and a half thousand years ago. For his humanity,teaching and example we are humbly grateful. But it wasn’this person that he left behind. The reality of the Buddhahere and now in which we can go for refuge is a quality ofmind that has the integrity and wisdom to see through the191