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A refuge supreme
They go to many a refuge,
to mountains and forests,
to park and tree shrines:
people threatened with danger.
That's not the secure refuge,
not the supreme refuge,
that's not the refuge,
having gone to which,
you gain release
from all suffering & stress.
But when, having gone
to the Buddha, Dhamma,
& Sangha for refuge,
you see with right discernment
the four noble truths —
stress,
the cause of stress,
the transcending of stress,
& the noble eightfold path,
the way to the stilling of stress:
that's the secure refuge,
that, the supreme refuge,
that is the refuge,
having gone to which,
you gain release
from all suffering & stress.
'Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy and rightly self-awakened, consummate in
knowledge & conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the world,
unexcelled as a trainer for those people fit to be tamed, the Teacher of divine
& human beings, awakened, blessed...
'The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, to be seen here & now,
timeless, inviting verification, pertinent, to be realized by the wise for
themselves...
'The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples who have practiced well... who
have practiced straight-forwardly... who have practiced methodically... who have
practiced masterfully — in other words, the four types [of
noble disciples] when taken as pairs, the eight when taken as
individual types — they are the Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples:
worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect,
the incomparable field of merit for the world.'
(These verses are
usually recited prior to taking on the Five
Precepts.)
Buddham saranam gacchami
I go to the Buddha for refuge.
Dhammam saranam gacchami
I go to the Dhamma for refuge.
Sangham saranam gacchami
I go to the Sangha for refuge.
Dutiyampi Buddham saranam gacchami
For a second time, I go to the Buddha for refuge.
Dutiyampi Dhammam saranam gacchami
For a second time, I go to the Dhamma for refuge.
Dutiyampi Sangham saranam gacchami
For a second time, I go to the Sangha for refuge.
Tatiyampi Buddham saranam gacchami
For a third time, I go to the Buddha for refuge.
Tatiyampi Dhammam saranam gacchami
For a third time, I go to the Dhamma for refuge.
Tatiyampi Sangham saranam gacchami
For a third time, I go to the Sangha for refuge.
Rewards of merit
'There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones has gone to the Buddha
for refuge. This is the first reward of merit, reward of skillfulness,
nourishment of happiness, celestial, resulting in happiness, leading to heaven,
leading to what is desirable, pleasurable, & appealing; to welfare & to
happiness.
'Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones has gone to the Dhamma for
refuge. This is the second reward of merit...
'Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones has gone to the Sangha for
refuge. This is the third reward of merit...'
A refuge from pain
If you're afraid of pain,
if you dislike pain,
go to the Awakened One for refuge,
go to the Dhamma & Sangha.
Take on the precepts:
That will lead to your liberation.
A householder's declaration
When the Exalted One had spoken thus, Sigala, the young householder, said as
follows:
'Excellent, Lord, excellent! It is as if, Lord, a man were to set upright
that which was overturned, or were to reveal that which was hidden, or were to
point out the way to one who had gone astray, or were to hold a lamp amidst the
darkness, so that those who have eyes may see. Even so, has the doctrine been
explained in various ways by the Exalted One.
'I take refuge, Lord, in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the
Sangha. May the
Exalted One receive me as a lay follower; as one who has taken refuge from this
very day to life's end.'
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