Message #49354

[weboflife]

Thich Nhat Hanh found an ancient teaching from the Buddha where he instructed his disciples before he died to use the following affirmation:

"I take refuge in the island of myself."

The Buddha was worried that the disciples would lose their way after he died so he gave them this as a reminder that they need to retreat within where all the wisdom he had given is found.

Your post reminded me of this because we can all feel alone at times I imagine but "solitude is the price of greatness" as our Guru reminds us. So to conflate the two teachings we can and should take refuge in our solitude.