Aubrey Herbert
Did Tutankhamen not know where was his tomb?
flotsom & Jetsons
random numbers
One of the reasons I object to the conventional translation of The Three Treasures as
I take refuge in the....
might be this lyric from the Eagles song.
every form of refuge has its price
Glenn Lewis Frey
Donald Hugh Henley
Another reason I don't like the word "refuge" is the idea that we are escaping into meditation or ourselves. That's not it. We are racing, embracing our true selves. We aren't trying to run away from anything.
I take solace in the Buddha mind.
I take solace in the regimentation.
I take solace in the gathering.
I use "Buddha mind" instead of the usual translation, "Buddha", because taking refuge, or even solace, in another being is externalising the solution. A bit like praying to Jesus Christ to forgive your sins, answer your prayers, etc. We all have the power to do these things ourselves, if we find that power within ourselves.
I use "regimentation" in place of 法 because that is the closest I can get to the feeling of the phrasing of The Second Treasure. The safety of habit, the safety of mindless adherence to our true selves is the regimentation I seek.
I use "gathering" for そう because of the standard hieroglyph translation. Many will simply transliterate The Second and Third Treasures as dharma and sangha. Taking one word from another's language, with none of the context of that language, confuses the chant, the chanters, and the chanting.
