Becoming a Buddhist
	When a person wishes to become a Buddhist, he needs only to go to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha for refuge. is means that he will henceforth whole-heartedly, accept the ree Jewels as his shelter and guiding ideal. General y the simple ceremony is done before a monk or, if one is not available, to do it at a shrine on which there is a Buddha-image, the symbol of one's spiritual direction and eventual realisation. Offering flowers, incense and light, one bows before the image, declares his intention, and repeats the Refuge prayer three times, making a bow after each repetition. e prayer may be in Pali, Sanskrit, English or Chinese, depending on the tradition one chooses to fol ow. When the reefold Refuge is done before a monk, one has to request for the ree Refuges and the Five Precepts. is clearly shows that one becomes a Buddhist after he has a thorough understanding of the Dharma and he should not be converted by others because Dharma is not a mat er of belief, it uses no force, not even persuasion, to make convert. One will not make a good Buddhist if he is not ready to put to practice the Buddhist way of life. One should then make three bows to the monk and see in him as the personification of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. e monk will then recite 3 times, the salutation to the Buddha: "NAMO TASSA BHAGAVATO ARAHATO SAMMASAMBUDDHASA" which means `Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One'. en he will recite the Refuge prayer and the aspirant should repeat after him, each line that has been recited: "BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI To the Buddha I go for Refuge." "DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI To the Dharma I go for Refuge." "SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI To the Sangha I go for Refuge." "DUTIYAMPI BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI For the second time, to the Buddha I go for Refuge." "DUTIYAMPI DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI For the second time, to the Dharma I go for Refuge." "DUTIYAMPI SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI For the second time, to the Sangha I go for Refuge." "TATIYAMPI BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI For the third time, to the Buddha I go for Refuge." "TATIYAMPI DHAMMAM SARANAM GACCHAMI For the third time, to the Dharma I go for Refuge." "TATIYAMPI SANGHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI For the third time, to the Sangha I go for Refuge." ¡ûBACK¡û |INDEX| ¡úNEXT¡ú