Refuge tree - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

, the Refuge Tree, (alternate English renderings: Refuge Field, Merit Field, Field of Merit: 'field' is a rendering of the Sanskrit "kshetra"), may be represented on a thangka

Thangka

A "Thangka," also known as "Tangka", "Thanka" or "Tanka" is a Tibetan silk painting with embroidery, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, famous scene, or mandala of some sort. The thankga is not a flat creation like an oil painting or acrylic painting...

as a mnemonic device and precursor to being fully visualized by the sadhaka

Sadhaka

A sādhaka is someone who follows a particular sādhana, or a way of life designed to realize the goal of one's ultimate ideal, whether it is merging with brahman or realization of one's personal deity. The word is related to the Sanskrit sādhu, which is derived from the verb root sādh-, to accomplish...

during advanced Refuge

Refuge (Buddhism)

Buddhists "take refuge" in, or to "go for refuge" to, the Three Jewels . This can be done formally in lay and monastic ordination ceremonies.The Three Jewels general signification is:　* the Buddha;* the Dharma, the teachings;...

Formula or evocation

Evocation

Evocation is the act of calling or summoning a spirit, demon, god or other supernatural agent, in the Western mystery tradition. Comparable practices exist in many religions and magical traditions.-Evocation in the Western mystery tradition:...

, the lineage of gurus and transmission

Dharma transmission

Dharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...

of teachings is depicted in visual form as a visual mind map

Mind map

A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Especially in British English, the terms spidergram and spidergraph are more common, but they can cause confusion with the term spider diagram used in mathematics...

. Refuge tree and merit fields, as mandala

Mandala

Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...

, are Pure land

Pure land

A pure land, in Mahayana Buddhism, is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. The various traditions that focus on Pure Lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bön.The notion of 'pure...

s.

Each denomination or sect, and even each lineage or disciplic succession or parampara

Parampara

Parampara denotes a succession of teachers and disciples in traditional Indian culture and Indian religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism...

has a "genealogical" chart that has come to be rendered into English under a number of names, principally Refuge Tree or Refuge Field. In this Refuge Tree are represented the founders and teachers in a tree diagram

Tree diagram

The term tree diagram refers to a specific type of diagram that has a unique network topology. It can be seen as a specific type of network diagram, which in turn can be seen as a special kind of cluster diagram.-Applications:...

or fractal

Fractal

A fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...

arrangement that symbolizes the interconnectedness of the various groups and constituents and as it takes a branching form is iconic of a tree and growth patterning.

Merit Field

The Field of Merit is a pictorial representation in tree form of the "three jewels" (skt. triratna) and the lama

Lama

Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...

(skt. guru

Guru

A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...

), employed in Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

as an object of veneration when taking refuge. Each school or sect has its own distinctive form of the tree in which the numerous lineage-holders or vidyadhara
Vidyadhara
Vidyadhara are a group of supernatural beings in Hindu mythology. They possess magical powers and dwell in the Himalayas. They also attend God Shiva, who lives in the Himalayas. They are considered as Upa-devas, semi-gods.-In Hindu epics:...

and dharma protectors or dharmapāla
Dharmapala
In Vajrayana Buddhism, a dharmapāla is a type of wrathful deity. The name means "Dharma-defender" in Sanskrit, and the dharmapālas are also known as the Defenders of the Law , or the Protectors of the Law, in English....

are represented.

In discussing the visualisation of the Merit Field, Namkhai Norbu (2001: p.103) links the Three Jewels

Three Jewels

The Three Jewels, also called the Three Treasures, the Siemese Triples, Three Refuges, or the Triple Gem , are the three things that Buddhists take refuge in, and look toward for guidance, in the process known as taking refuge.The Three Jewels are:* BuddhaTaking refuge in the Three Jewels is...

of Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

, Dharma

Dharma

Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

and Sangha

Sangha

Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...

with the Three Roots

Three Roots

The Three Roots of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition are the lama , yidam and protector, which may be a khandroma or chokyong . The Three Roots are the second of three Tibetan Buddhist refuge formulations, the Outer, Inner and Secret forms of the Three Jewels...

of Guru

Guru

, Deva

Deva (Buddhism)

A deva in Buddhism is one of many different types of non-human beings who share the characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, living more contentedly than the average human being....

and Dakini

Dakini

A dakini is a tantric deity described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Tibetan language, dakini is rendered khandroma which means 'she who traverses the sky' or 'she who moves in space'. Sometimes the term is translated poetically as 'sky dancer' or 'sky walker'. The dakini, in...

The merit field (tshogs zhing, that is the source of all the accumulation of merit, designates the manifestation of the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) and of the Three Roots (Guru, Deva, Dakini) visualised by the practitioner.

Santina (1997: p.227) states that:

In the Buddhist tradition...the tree is an important archetypal symbol. Specifically, the refuge tree may be identified with the pipal or bodhi tree
Bodhi tree
The Bodhi Tree, also known as Bo , was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree located in Bodh Gaya , under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism later known as Gautama Buddha, is said to have achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi...

.

The 14th Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...

, in the foreword to Karmapa: The Sacred Prophecy states:

Within the context of Tibetan Buddhism, the importance of lineage extends far beyond the ordinary sense of a particular line of inheritance or descent. Lineage is a sacred trust through which the integrity of Buddha's teachings is preserved intact as it is transmitted from one generation to the next. The vital link through which the spiritual tradition is nourished and maintained is the profound connection between an enlightened master and perfectly devoted disciple. The master-disciple relationship is considered extremely sacred by all the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Merit Field

See also