Many years ago I encountered some children on a beach in Sri Lanka. It had been a long time since I had seen children like that, barefoot children on a very green island with no sign of industrial pollution. These were not children of the slums; they were of the countryside. I saw them, and to me they formed a beautiful part of nature. As I stood on the beach alone, the children just ran toward me. We didn't know eachother's langauge, so i put my arms around their shoulders-all six of them, and we stood like that for a long time. Suddenly I realized if i chanted a prayer in the ancient Buddhist language of Pali , they might recognize it, so I began to chant, "Buddham saranam gacchami" (I take refuge in the Buddha). They not only recognized it, the continued to chant. Four of them joined their palms and chanted, while the other two stood respectfully. This chant is a common prayer, like the Our Father. "I take refuge in the Buddha. I take refuge in the Dharma. I take refuge in the Sangha."I motioned to the two children who were not chanting to join us. They smiled, placed their palms together and chanted in Pali, "I take refuge in Mother Mary." The music of their prayer did not differ much from the Buddhist one. Then I embraced each child. They were a little suprised, but i felt very much at one with them. They had given me a deep feeling of serenity and peace. We all need a place that is safe and wholesome enough for us to return to for refuge. In Buddhism, that refuge is mindfulness.
-Thich Nhat Hanh, Living Buddha, Living Christ
