The preliminaries · Verse 7 of 37
Verse 7: Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels
Verse 7 of The Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas, the fourteenth-century Tibetan poem by Gyalse Tokme Zangpo (1295–1369). It belongs to the section on preliminaries.
Who can worldly gods, themselves imprisoned in samsara, protect? Therefore, seek refuge in the Three Jewels, the undeceiving source of refuge. This is the way of a bodhisattva.
The practice of all the bodhisattvas is to take refuge in the Three Jewels,
Since they will never fail to provide protection for all who call upon them,
For whom are the ordinary gods of this world ever capable of helping,
As long as they themselves are trapped within saṃsāra's vicious cycle?
Locked up in the prison of their own patterning
Whom can ordinary gods protect?
Who can you count on for refuge?
Go for refuge in the Three Jewels — this is the practice of a bodhisattva.
A facilitator's reading across the commentaries
The logic of the verse is identical everywhere — you can't be saved by what's still trapped — but "worldly gods" gets three readings: literal deities (GR, KTGR), the boundary-marker of Buddhist identity (HHDL), and modern refuges-that-fail — wealth, people, patterns (AB, KM). For a mixed group, KM's reading opens the discussion; HHDL's sharpens it. Ties directly to your Ngondro refuge practice.
GR Garchen Rinpoche · HHDL H.H. the Dalai Lama · AB Dr. Alexander Berzin · KTGR Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche · KS Khenpo Sodargye · TC Ven. Thubten Chodron · KM Ken McLeod
What the teachers say
Garchen Rinpoche Drikung Kagyu
Two kinds of refuge, pure and impure. Worldly deities may grant temporary benefits but "are not able to give us the ultimate liberation and lasting benefits." And the pastoral note: when Tara or Chenrezig practitioners still get sick or meet obstacles, that's past karma ripening, not failed practice.
Full commentary: 37practices.info (37practices.info serves this as one long page; find the verse by number.)
H.H. the Dalai Lama Gelug
Worldly gods, imprisoned themselves, can't protect others. "Refuge is an important dividing line, it is this which makes a person a Buddhist or not" — heartfelt acceptance of the Triple Gem, not intellectual knowledge of Buddhism, is what distinguishes practice.
Full commentary: 37practices.info (37practices.info serves this as one long page; find the verse by number.)
Dr. Alexander Berzin Gelug
Renders refuge as "safe direction" — active, not passive: "we're doing something very active," putting a direction in our life. Precision about the Jewels: the Dharma Jewel is the actual true stoppings and pathway minds; the Sangha Jewel is the aryas with non-conceptual cognition of voidness — not just monastic communities. Part 2
Full commentary: studybuddhism.com
Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche Karma Kagyu
"Genuine Dharma is the process of actualizing within our minds the wisdom that realizes emptiness and selflessness." Ultimate refuge is direct realization of emptiness, which self-liberates the afflictions. Brahma can't help; he's a prisoner too.
Full commentary: dharmaebooks.org (Free ebook, trans. Suzanne Schefczyk.)
Khenpo Sodargye Nyingma, Larung Gar
Buddha as teacher, Dharma as path, Sangha as companions — "only the Three Jewels possess the rare and supreme qualities of absolute wisdom and impartial compassion." Three progressive stages of faith: vivid (on encountering), eager (aspiring to embody), confident (from verified understanding). Refuge is conviction, not ritual.
Full commentary: khenposodargye.org (Free ebook PDF.)
Ven. Thubten Chodron Sravasti Abbey, Gelug
"One drowning person trying to save another drowning person. It ain't going to work!" The actual refuge is the Dharma — practical teachings that transform suffering by changing the mind; meditating on the Buddha's qualities generates joy and trust. Verses 7–9 talk · Sangye Khadro
Full commentary: thubtenchodron.org
Ken McLeod Shambhala / independent
His rendering universalizes it: ordinary gods are "locked up in the prison of their own patterning" — refuge in anything still caught in patterns (people, systems, substances, ideologies) can't hold. Tricycle verse 7 · Talk 3 (2006)
Full commentary: unfetteredmind.org (Tricycle's per-verse written commentary is behind a subscriber paywall.)
Further reading: Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, The Heart of Compassion (Shambhala). A purchased book — no text is reproduced here.