Glorious Awakening of the Three Jewels

Sunday October 19, 2008 was a very special day for me.  On this day Lopon Barbara of the Garchen Buddhist Institute in Prescott, AZ came to town for a day of Dharma.  Our little Sangha had more attendance on this day than it has in awhile, which is not surprising when the teacher comes to town, which is only once a year.

The reason this day was most special for me was that I took my refuge vows, and officially entered the Buddhist fold. I was even given a Dharma name, which is “Glorious Awakening of the Three Jewels”.  With this as well, I may actually call myself a true Buddhist, and not just someone who follows Buddhist philosophy.  I know what you’re thinking and yes, it’s only a label, but you know what, I’m happy about it and it means alot to me.  On top of taking the refuge vows, I ALSO took the Bodhisattva vows on the same day, which I will talk about more in detail in another post.

When I decided to formally commit myself to the Buddhist path, it was a big deal for me.  I’m a habitual fence sitter and rarely make decisions to which I’m fully committed.  I always tend to go the passive-aggressive route and half-commit, yet never forgetting to leave me an out (I never ACTUALLY said I could make it on Tuesday, I just said I’d try).  I hate this habit, and I vow to change it, right here and now.  This was the first big step towards that change for me.

Buddhism has been a touchy topic with my Wife and I as her level of understanding isn’t where mine is, nor does she understand my draw towards formal commitment.  After engaging in some healthy conflict, she said that she felt she understood and gave me her blessing to take the vows, which is what I was truly looking for.  I don’t want my Buddhist half to be a thorn in our marriage, even though it has been at many times so far.

I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful I feel right now.  I truly feel reborn and ready to work.  I haven’t had any supernatural experiences, nor did anything descend from the clouds in the form of a dove, but I feel a new fire within, and it feels great.

If you want me to post the details of how the overall process of taking the vows was, I would be happy to do so, just leave a comment and let me know.