Trusting Your Inner Guru

Before many meditations, Tibetan Buddhists recite the refuge prayer, honouring the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. In this talk, we’ll explore a secular, psychological perspective on this practice - shifting from relying solely on external teachers, teachings and communities, toward discovering refuge within ourselves. The “inner guru” is the radiant, wise nature already present in each of us, waiting beneath the fog of self-doubt and distraction.

Together, we’ll reflect on how to connect with and trust this inner wisdom - so that in meditation and in life, we can move forward with greater clarity, confidence and self-trust.

Transcript

I'm going to start off this talk by reflecting on the Buddhist refuge prayer,

That in Tibetan Buddhism we say three times before starting each meditation,

But of course I'll explain this in a more secular,

Psychological language for you.

The first two lines of the refuge prayer are Sangye Chodang Tsogi Choknamla,

Jang Chul Badu Dagni Kyab Tsogye.

In English translation it says,

I take refuge until I am enlightened in the Buddha,

The Dharma and the Sangha.

Now when it says I take refuge in,

It could mean for you that I believe in,

I take comfort in and solace in this path and my practice.

Until I am enlightened,

Meaning in secular language,

Until I am completely awoken,

Healed and transformed.

So really it's just a little bit of time before you start your meditation practice or during your day to really honor your practice and to take refuge in your practice,

To believe in your practice until you are completely transformed.

Now let's talk a bit about these three things,

Buddha,

Dharma and Sangha and what they could mean for you.

Now in Tibetan Buddhist understanding we have the outer gurus or outer refuge and the inner gurus or inner refuge.

If we talk about the outer Buddha,

I think it's quite obvious,

It could be the Buddha as you know it from history.

The Dharma is talking about the teachings,

So the knowledge that you have learned,

What you are being taught by another or a process you are engaging in.

Sangha is talking about community,

So the community around you in terms of family and friends or maybe your spiritual community around you,

Those that support your spiritual awakening and your healing.

But for me the true meaning of refuge is the inner refuge.

Within the context of this talk we will discuss the inner Buddha or Guru.

In Buddhism we say that all sentient beings are already Buddhas.

So deep within each of us,

In our true nature,

That is intrinsic and inherent in all of us and always there,

We are already enlightened.

What is tricky for us in life is to awaken to this and to be able to really awaken to this there is a lot of healing and transformation that needs to happen.

It's like we slowly need to clear the fog to be able to see the radiance beneath,

To allow us to become who we truly are.

So if we come back to what we were talking about,

Taking refuge in the inner Guru,

We are talking about taking comfort in or taking solace in your true nature and its wisdom.

And this is quite different to taking refuge in something in the outer world or someone in the outer world.

So connecting to your inner Guru is connecting to that deepest aspect of yourself that is already clear and wise.

The process that we need to go through in our spiritual or meditation path is how do we get to know this inner Guru?

How do we get to hear it?

Or how do we get to directly experience it to allow us to follow its wise intuition?

Very often in a spiritual path,

Whatever that may be for you,

A lot of attention is put into the outer Guru,

So a mentor,

A teacher,

Or maybe God.

And this is really helpful and essential on a path to have someone that we trust to guide,

Inspire,

And support us.

But it's really powerful to begin to listen to and to trust yourself,

To trust your intuition,

Your feelings,

What your body is saying,

Your inner calling,

To trust your own inner Guru.

And in our lives,

We often come up against situations where we might not know what to do about a problem.

And of course,

Getting support from a coach or a therapist or family is really supportive.

But it's also really good to start to listen to and trust your own intuition and feelings about something.

There is often a lot of wisdom there.

Even within our own meditation practice,

Especially in the beginning,

We can have so many doubts about whether we're doing it right,

Or self-criticisms,

Or not being satisfied,

Or not wanting to be where we are in the path.

Letting go of trying to get everything perfect,

Sometimes we just need to trust the process and trust our own inner Guru.

A very incredible Buddhist teacher and mentor,

Rog Priest,

Often tells a story about his Tibetan teacher,

Lama Yeshe,

That often when students would go to him with questions and worries about their practice,

He would say,

Trust your own inner wisdom,

Dear.

And he was pointing towards the notion that everything you need is already within you.

So we just need to learn to listen and trust in our wisdom and that inner Guru.

Reviews

Olivia you sure packed a lot into this short talk! I had to listen twice to let it sink in, and it will take longer to fully comprehend. I really appreciate how you interpret and share these Buddhist teachings in ways we can understand and apply to our own journeys. Thank you.

This is a lesson I need to come back to often, because very often I have trouble believing in myself. I appreciate the clarity here.