WTDS Upāsaka

upāsaka, noun. an ordained lay householder who serves the Three Refuges:
the Buddha, his Dharma, and our Sangha

Sanctuary is a throughline that runs from my education as a historian of ancient religion and from my Buddhist upbringing to ministry today. Historians investigate more than just the past and its larger context with its vast web of causes and conditions: they write to profess a philosophy about life itself.

My dissertation or doctoral thesis, “Roman Sanctuary (400 BCE – 200 CE),” argued that the Romans’ own past contributed to their moral and religious understanding of sanctuary as a refuge that protected those in need. This divine imperative of hospitality shapes my dharma ministry. We Buddhists first enter the spiritual path by going to the Buddha, his teachings, and the community of his followers as our refuge. Refuge and the hope that all have refuge is the basis of the whole spiritual path.

Today my activities include education on and service to these sources of refuge. As a lay Buddhist teacher, I bring my focus on sources, like the historically rich text of the Vinaya, to dharma talks and have led lessons on important historical figures, like Guru Padmasambhava, Milarepa, and other Kagyu founders. I am working on converting my dissertation into a public history manuscript on refuge in ancient “Western” civilization. I bring this rich perspective to my creative outlets as a micronational citizen of the State of Sandus and to modern polytheist devotion.

Upāsaka William Tseten Dorje Soergel
Karma Yeshe Jungne

“Although all beings seek refuge in one way or another, few people understand all the different ways we can go for refuge and what their varying significances are. We are always taking refuge in something we perceive to be a source of protection, whether it be immediate, temporary, or permanent.”

Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche’s epitome of Karma Chagme’s Mountain Dharma (vol. 1, pg. 181) on the significance of going for refuge