How Should I Take Refuge As A Buddhist? VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH. Four Types of Secular Refuge The first is to bow down to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha . Instead of saying I take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, say I bow my head to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. When we bow in submission, we say, " Starting today, I obey the Buddha Dharma Sangha ". The sentence " starting from today " is the sentence I translated literally according to the Pāḷi text. This sentence means that starting from today onwards, I humble myself to obey the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The second is to accept the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as our Ultimate Refuge . This sentence means to take the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as the most perfect Shelter and Refuge. When we use this second meaning to take refuge, when we take refuge we say " starting today I take the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha as my Supreme Refuge " or " starting today" now I have the Supreme Refuge which is the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha .” The third is to accept oneself as a student of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha . Sometimes you don't say " I bow my head to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha " or " starting today I accept the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha as my Supreme Refuge " but say " I am learning the role of the Buddha, the disciple of the Dharma, the disciple of the Sangha ". When we say this, we have taken refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Thus, the third way is to recognize oneself as a student, a disciple of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The fourth is to respectfully pay respects to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha through reverence . In this way, when we are sitting and see a Buddha or a monk passing by we stand up to pay respects. It is also a form of Secular Refuge. In practice, Buddhists show this Refuge by prostrating or joining hands to show reverence. All the above acts of showing respect show that we take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Although we do not say it in words, when we bow down to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, we have taken refuge. Usually when we take refuge we read sentences according to the pattern: “Buddaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi, Dhammaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi, Saṇghaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi” (I take refuge in the Buddha with all my heart. I wholeheartedly ask for refuge in the Dharma. I take refuge in the Sangha with all my heart.) Saying such sentences means that we have taken refuge in the Three Jewels in a second way. two. The sentence " Starting from today onwards, I take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha ". This sentence is only used when we take refuge for the first time. Now, every day we read for refuge. Actually, since childhood we have taken refuge and every day we take refuge. So we don't need to say " starting from today onwards" . If we say the sentence " from today onwards I take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha"” means that we did not take refuge yesterday. Therefore, this sentence only applies to those who have just taken refuge for the first time. As for Buddhists, we have already taken refuge and read the three rules and five precepts every day, so we don't need to read the sentence " starting from today onwards ". Regarding the matter that when we respect someone, we bow, show respect, or when we are afraid we also bow or when we bow to our relatives, it does not mean that we Medical surname. When the Buddha returned to the city, relatives of the Shakyamuni ( Koliya lineage ) bowed to the Buddha as a relative, a respectable relative. Even if it is bowing to the Buddha, it is not taking refuge. If you bow to the Buddha because the Buddha is your relative, it is not taking refuge. When you bow, show respect. If one pays respects to the Buddha with fear, thinking: the hermit Gotamarevered by the king and hermit has great powers. If we do not reverently bow to him, he will harm us, or the king or others will harm us, then that is not taking refuge. If you are afraid, because you are forced to do it, or for some other reason that is not an expression of your reverence and trust in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, then it is not really taking refuge when you pay respects. respect for that person. That reverence is based on the person's good spiritual worth. It means that when we pay respect to the Buddha because we believe or understand that: The Buddha is the person with the most noble qualities, worthy of our respect and offerings. Only then can it be called taking refuge in the fourth sense. The Problem of Taking Refuge Let us now discuss this issue of Refuge further. When you have taken refuge in the Three Jewels, but you have a relative of another religion, assuming that person is a Christian, you worship and respect that person because he or she is your relative. When you have to pay respects to someone of a different religion because that person is your relative, do you break the Three Refuges? The answer is no. In the monarchy era, there was a king in the country. You must reverently bow to the king. You bow before the king because you are afraid that if you don't you will be punished, you may go to jail or be beaten. Because of fear, if you have to bow to the king, you will not break the Tam Quy. According to the customs of the East, the teacher is very revered, people as well as students often bow to those people because they are the teacher. Those who bow down to someone, paying respect to that person because that person is a teacher, is not taking refuge. You have a teacher who later becomes a monk of another religion. You pay homage to this teacher because this is your old teacher, so do you break the Three Refuges? The answer is no. You meet a monk of another religion, he is not your relative, he is not your teacher, you are not afraid of him, but you think: this is a spiritual person, even Even if belonging to another religion is worthy of our respect, you should pay homage to that person. So do you break Tam Quy? The Commentary doesn't explain this, it's up to you what you want, you have to decide for yourself. I think: as long as you do not consider this person as a teacher who can lead you out of the cycle of birth and death, you will not break the Three Refuges, or you do not consider this person as a teacher who teaches you to meditate, to help you. If you get rid of the afflictions in your mind, you will not break the Three Refuges. In short, when you follow someone and you think: this is the teacher who can help us get out of the cycle of birth and death, this is the teacher who teaches us to meditate, this is the teacher who helps us to get rid of defilements. In the mind, then you break the Tam Quy. Taking refuge in the womb Suppose there is a pregnant woman who says: "The baby in my belly takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha" or "I take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha for this baby." etc… In this case, will that child get Refuge? At the time of Buddha there was a prince named Bodhi . The prince invited the Buddha to his house to be a monk. After the ceremony, Prince Bodhi asked the Buddha about his practice before attaining enlightenment, how he had endured hardships and efforts to become a Buddha. The Buddha recounted in great detail about his practice, about the practice of Meditation according to the non-Buddhist teachers, about the six years of asceticism in the forest, and then the Middle Way practice. When the Buddha finished explaining, a friend of Prince Bodhi said: " Friend, you reverently praise the Buddha, but you have not taken refuge with the Buddha ". Prince Bodhi, hearing this, replied: "Although growing up I had Refuge to Buddha, but when I was in the womb, my mother took me to the Buddhist Refuge and then " . Prince Bodhi's statement shows that the prince considered himself a person who took refuge in the Three Jewels. The Commentary explains: there will be no Refuge without understanding, without concern for taking refuge. This means that although the prince's mother took refuge in him from the womb, it is true. It turned out that he had not taken refuge because the prince at that time did not know. After the prince was born, when he had enough understanding, the prince's mother said: she gave him refuge in the womb. At the time when the mother said this, the prince knew that he had taken refuge, and at that moment he had taken refuge. The Buddha, before Enlightenment, was still a Bodhisatta , because he was a man of wisdom, he sometimes taught others something, if those people, because of the Bodhisattva's guidance, should respect and pay homage to him. Not only that, even when the Bodhisattva became a Buddha, the Buddha often instructed lay people how to improve their business or teach them how to do business. use the wealth they have earned. When they heard that instruction, they bowed down to the Buddha because they were grateful that the Buddha showed them how to use their property, which is not taking refuge. You probably already know that the Buddha taught how to use your income well by dividing it into several parts. The first part to use for his life, the second and third parts to be used as business capital. The fourth part is reserved in case the wind turns against the sky or there is trouble. So you must divide your income into four parts. Twenty-five percent to spend on yourself and your family, fifty percent to develop your business. The remaining twenty-five percent put it in the bank just in case something goes wrong. Many times the Buddha taught that money earned should be divided into five parts. The first part to feed yourself (put in the blank), the second part to support parents (pay off old debts), the third part to raise children (new debt loans), the fourth part is for self-defense (digging a hole to save), the fifth part is to give alms, make offerings, help people with diseases, accidents, natural disasters (scattered on the ground). When Will Taking Refuge Be Accomplished? Taking refuge is achieved when there is clear understanding or awareness. When we take refuge or when we say: “Buddaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi Dhammaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi Saṇghaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi” (I take refuge in the Buddha with all my heart. I wholeheartedly ask for refuge in the Dharma. I take refuge in the Sangha with all my heart) then we must understand that we are taking refuge in the Three Jewels. In Buddhist countries like Burma, for example, people are used to the way of taking refuge. They only read pre-existing stereotypes, sometimes they don't know the meaning of the refuge statements they are reading. . I once asked people, “ What are you reading? What is the meaning of those words ?” They don't understand anything. So I tell them that if you want to take refuge seriously, you have to understand what you're saying. When you say Buddaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi, Dhammaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi, Saṇghaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmiEven though you don't understand the meaning of each word, you should at least understand that: these are the sentences asking for refuge or more specifically, " I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha. ". That's what I always remind Buddhists when they take refuge. Taking refuge is a very serious, important and precious job. This is an act of showing confidence in the Triple Gem. Therefore, each time we take refuge, we must do it with enthusiasm, solemnity, and sincerity, not for the sake of taking refuge or it is a formal thing that we have to do every day. We must understand the meaning of the sentences of taking refuge. When reading the sentence " I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I ask for refuge in the Sangha ", we must clearly understand in our hearts that we are trying to follow the Buddha's good example, France, Sangha. That is, I accept the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as my spiritual guide. In a Buddhist's life, he reads the precepts many times. One question that arises is is it necessary to take refuge every day? Most Buddhists take refuge or read the precepts daily. Do we have to read every day or not if we are busy with business and if they are busy that day do not read the precepts, is that day they do not take refuge? How long does its effect last each time? Three years, five years or a lifetime until you have not abandoned the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Actually there is no need to read the daily precepts. The first time when we take refuge we say " from today until the rest of my life I take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha".. Based on this saying, we only take refuge once, but we are advised to re-read the precepts almost daily because we want to confirm our faith in the Three Jewels. We want to confirm that we are always a child of Buddha, always a disciple of the Three Jewels. When we reread the Three Refuges, we cultivate faith. Taking refuge, re-reading the Three Refuges is a benevolent act. Although, in an absolute way, there is no need to take refuge every day, but in my opinion re-reading the precepts is something that should be done every day. The Commentary mentions the defilements in taking refuge. The afflictions and defilements in taking refuge.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).BUDDHIST DHARMA WHEEL GOLDEN MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.1/10/2021.