Make An Island of Yourself

I have recently been reading Digha Nikaya 2.165 in an E-mail from my Bhikkhu acquaintance in Sri Lanka. The e-mail reads,

Make an island of yourself;
Make yourself into your lamp!
Make yourself your refuge;
There is no other refuge.
Make the Dhamma your island,
Make the Dhamma your light!
Make the Dhamma your refuge;
There is no other safe haven.

This verse has been going through my mind intermittently for a few weeks now, so I'll do a little "spiritual" commentary on the verse from the text (well to the best of my ability anyway).

Make an island of yourself;
Make yourself into your lamp!
Make yourself your refuge;

There are two types of people in the world (or so it is said), the followers, and the followed, but I think there is a time to be each, a time to follow and a time to be followed. Spiritually speaking, and worldly speaking being a follower doesn't or shouldn't be relinquishing the thinking process, our reason, as the suttas indicate in such places as the Kalama Sutta, that It is essential to doubt, to question all things deeply, to inquire, examine, inspect and experiment so we can know for ourselves.

“Do not rely on what another says, be they a friend, a monk, a respected teacher or even a sage.” it means that we should take advice on how to do something, put that advice into practice, and then see what is needed, and what is the best way for oneself too do it, NOT, do the practice without reflection. In Dhamma practice there is no right way or wrong way, there is only the best way, and worst way for yourself, a teacher can guide their students, teach them what has and what has not worked for them, but it is the student who has to decide what is of benefit, and what is not, all the teacher can do is point out the errors the student makes so the student can learn, grow, and become illuminated on their own path. Just as an one saying goes, "there are many footsteps on the path leading to Nibbana, but very few at the end".

The student is both the leader of themselves, and the follower of the teacher.

There is no other refuge.

Just as a teacher can not enlighten the student without the students own effort, and work being put into the practice set out, it is not the teacher causing the enlightenment factors to be present, they are only setting a task so the student can cultivate the factors. We are all interconnected at some level, making ourselves an island, or a lamp, or a refuge for ourselves, doesn't mean we are alone, it just means we are dependently independent. If we look at the Sangha and in particular the rules they live by we can see this, the Sangha are independent of the lay community insofar as they have renounced worldly possessions, but they are reliant on the lay community to provide the essentials, such as food, and clothing, without asking for them. So we may be our own island which is separate on the surface to other islands, however, if we look under the waves of the see we see the islands are interconnected.

Make the Dhamma your island,
Make the Dhamma your light!
Make the Dhamma your refuge;

In the first part of this verse I talk about the relationship between Teacher and student, from the students perspective, because I believe that is the basis of that part of the verse, but here I see it in its reverse, from the perspective of the teacher, the teacher, and student relationship, that this part I refers to more. But what is the Teachers relationship to the student? I view this situation as one of sacrifice, just as the student has to sacrifice their wants to do the practice set forth, so to does the teacher sacrifice their training to impart it with the student, it may not be the same kind of sacrifice, but Dhamma is life, and the teacher should of gained a certain level of competence in their practice so they are their own Island, light, and refuge, so they can be the living Dhamma so some extent, for the student to learn from.

There is no other safe haven.

When the student has become their own island, light, and refuge they can be the living Dhamma, the Buddha once said “whoever sees the Dhamma, sees me” and I think this is what he was getting at, doing the practice, finding the truth, living according to the truth.

At the end of the day I may be right, I may be wrong, but I share this hoping I am one or the other.