you don’t want to do. It’s gentle; at the very most, you
say to yourself, “One day at a time.”
- Remedial action. The third part of confess-
ing your neurotic activity is remedial action, doing
something about the whole thing, doing some kind of
practice to water the seed of wisdom, giving it the
necessary moisture to grow. To see neurosis as neuro-
sis, to have a sense of regret and to refrain, and then
to do the practice helps to purify the whole situation.
The practice traditionally suggested is to take refuge
in the three jewels—the Buddha, the dharma, and
the sangha.
To take refuge in the Buddha is to take refuge in
someone who let go of holding back, just as you can
do. To take refuge in the dharma is to take refuge in
all the teachings that encourage you and nurture your
inherent ability to let go of holding back. And to take
refuge in the sangha is to take refuge in the commu-
nity of people who share this longing to let go and
open rather than shield themselves. The support that
we give each other as practitioners is not the usual
kind of samsaric support in which we all join the
same team and complain about someone else. It’s
more that you’re on your own, completely alone, but
it’s helpful to know that there are forty other people
who are also going through this all by themselves.
That’s very supportive and encouraging. Fundamen-
tally, even though other people can give you support,
you do it yourself, and that’s how you grow up in this
Overcoming Resistance 103