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A Lamp Unto Yourself

Be ye lamps unto yourselves,

be ye a refuge to yourselves.

Betake yourselves to no external refuge.

Hold fast to the Truth as a lamp;

hold fast to the Truth as a refuge.

Look not for a refuge in anyone besides yourselves.

- Mahaparinabbana sutta

NB ED – This famous passage reflect the last reported words of the Buddha. It should be understood as an exhortation to never suspend
intuitive insight and critical discernment, and to trust the light and the truth within us to validate, or repudiate, what we are told. “Rely on
yourself” is another common rendering of the essence of this sutra. Do not mistake the form (the “external refuge”) for the substance, it says, so
as not to wrap ourselves in outward forms at the expense of internal wisdom.

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