*Tricycle's Daily Dharma*
Start Where You Are
To take refuge in the Buddha is to take refuge in someone who let go of
holding back just as you can do. To take refuge in the dharma is to take
refuge in all the teachings that encourage you and nurture your inherent
ability to let go of holding back. And to take refuge in the sangha is
to take refuge in the community of people who share this longing to let
go and open rather than shield themselves.
The support that we give each other as practitioners is not the usual
kind of samsaric support in which we all join the same team and complain
about someone else. It's more that you're on your own, completely alone,
but it's helpful to know that there are forty other people who are also
going through this all by themselves. That's very supportive and
encouraging. Fundamentally, even though other people can give you
support, you do it yourself, and that's how you grow up in this process,
rather than becoming more dependent.
--Pema Chödrön
