Page 187 - Popular Deities of Chinese Buddhism (Illustrated) and Symbols

e Refuges are always repeated thrice to ensure that the mind

of the person taking them is fully aware of what has been said.

ey are recited either in Pali or English as given above, or in

Sanskrit, which is as follows:

“N B

N D

N S”

en the monk chants the F P (Pancasila) one by

one which the aspirant repeats after him. e Five Precepts may

be called the “Dharma for human beings” as their practice will

make our world more bearable to live in and they are the basic

and minimal observance of moral conduct by a Buddhist. ey

teach him to refrain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct,

lying and taking intoxicants of any kind.

Going-for-Refuge to the ree Jewels is therefore an open dec-

laration that we are Buddhists. e prayer said should not be

mere recitation but should bring to our mind that the treasures

in this lifetime consists of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

We should understand fully what we are declaring so that we

will commit ourselves to the declaration that we have made.

he uddha

What is meant by going for a Refuge to the Buddha? Do we

know who is the Buddha or what is the Buddha? Surprisingly,

many Buddhists in this country have only a vague idea of Him.

Many also believe that they are Buddhists just because they

 