Taking Refuge: Where Practice Begins

This 90-minute online program explores the foundational Buddhist concept of refuge, a protective space cultivated through formal practice and community. Led by teacher Barry Gillespie, the session examines what refuge means in the Theravada tradition, where practitioners chant together before teaching and practice to co-create safety and connection. The program investigates the significance of entering and claiming these protective spaces, and considers the interplay of space, sangha (community), and self in establishing refuge. Rather than abstract philosophy, the inquiry grounds itself in lived experience and the actual mechanics of how refuge functions as a stabilizing element in Buddhist practice.