Refuge in the modern vipassanā movement (the concept/practice, not the ceremony/commitment) How much discussion of refuge is there in the modern vipassanā movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipassana_movement)? If there is significant emphasis, what is its character? 

I am particularly interested in Western vipassanā circles such as IMS and Spirit Rock, but also their Eastern progenitors.

I am not speaking here of the formal ceremony or commitment of taking refuge as much as the concept and ongoing practice of refuge.
By taking refuge you are aspiring to build the qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha in your self than any ceremonial right or ritual.

There are virtues can also be further used as a form of recollection meditation to gain inspiration from the qualities and develop them within oneself:


Buddhanusssathi
Dhammanussathi
Sanghanussathi