Over the last five weeks I've been attending a series of discussions on "Refuge" with Gil Fronsdal, the primary teacher of the Insight Meditation Community of Redwood City. For five consecutive Wednesday evenings forty of us got together and meditated silently, listened to talks, and explored in small, medium and large groups what it means to "go for Refuge" in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. During the final evening we participated in a ceremony that involved eating together, formally receiving the five training rules or "precepts," from Gil and then exchanging gifts of flowers, candles, blessings, red strings, and dried bodhi leaves.
In a word it was a wonderful experience - from the spacious drive down 280 to Redwood City in my friend Jennifer's 84' Mercedes boat with Juliann, Jennifer, Mindy, Loretta, and Grandma Barbara (Juliann's grandmother came for the ceremony), through the process of meeting and talking to quite a variety of different people about their relationship to Buddhist practice, all the way down to deepening my understanding of how the process of creating and performing ceremonies with a clear intention can support one's own practice as well as those of others in very powerful, helpful, and unexpected ways.
If you're interested knowing more about the series, what was said, why it was said, you can listen to the talks that Gil offered are available on audiodharma.org or you can also just listen to them here:
Taking Refuge Week 1
Taking Refuge Week 2
Taking Refuge Week 3
Weeks 4 not yet available - Coming Soon.
