Refuge: We live in an ocean of samsara whose depth and extent cannot be measured. We are troubled again and again by afflictions of lust and hatred. To what refuge should we go then? In our childhood when we are in trouble we seek the refuge of our parents. But our parents are themselves suffering and are the victims of lust, hatred and delusion. ey cannot be the source of refuge. A source of refuge must completely overcome all the defects forever i.e. it must be free of all faults. Only the Buddha has extinguished all faults and gained all the qualities and attainments.
Thus we take refuge in the Buddha. Since Dharma is the unmistaken path reading to enlightenment, we take refuge in Dharma which eliminates all our causes of suffering. We take refuge in Sangha who supports and guides our dharma practice. All Buddha images are representatives of the Buddha, Scriptures are the representatives of Dharma, Bhikkhus and Bodhisattvas are the representatives of Sangha. Taking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha is termed as outer refuge. the objects of inner refuge are Gurus, Ishta Devas and Dakinis.
They will be described in a more elaborative way in subsequent chapters. And the secret refuge according to Vajrayana tradition is to realize Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya and Nirmanakaya.