Going for Refuge & Taking the Precepts

by Bhikkhu Bodhi

Genres: Buddhism

72 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American Buddhist monk from New York City. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1944, he obtained a BA in philosophy from Brooklyn College (1966) and a PhD in philosophy from Claremont Graduate School (1972).

Drawn to Buddhism in his early 20s, after completing his university studies he traveled to Sri Lanka, where he received novice ordination in 1972 and full ordination in 1973, both under the late Ven. Ananda Maitreya, the leading Sri Lankan scholar-monk of recent times.

He was appointed editor of the Buddhist Publication Society (in Sri Lanka) in 1984 and its president in 1988. Ven. Bodhi has many important publications to his credit, either as author, translator, or editor, including the Buddha — A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya (co-translated with Ven. Bhikkhu Nanamoli (1995), The Connected Discourses of the Buddha — a New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya (2000), and In the Buddha’s Words (2005).

In May 2000 he gave the keynote address at the United Nations on its first official celebration of Vesak (the day of the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and passing away). He returned to the U.S. in 2002. He currently resides at Chuang Yen Monastery and teaches there and at Bodhi Monastery. He is currently the chairman of Yin Shun Foundation.

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful little booklet and a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what taking refuge in the three jewels and abiding by the five precepts in Buddhism mean.

The basic chanting in Buddhist tradition is a daily reminder of our spiritual practise and resolve, and it includes take refuge and protection in the three jewels (Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha) and abiding by the minimally required moral/ethically training for our own protection - not killing, not stealing, not involving in sexual misconduct, not speaking falsehood and not taking intoxicants. Bhikku Bodhi is very precise in how he explains what these mean on different levels, and shares how important it is understand what these mean.

Why do we need a refuge? What do we need protection from?

First, it is not from the vicissitudes of life which are a given - floods, fire, accidental injury, career or financial losses, broken relationships. Even when things are going honky dory for us, there is an undercurrent of fear and dissatisfaction that our good circumstances can change any moment, or a desire for better and more. So there is always an underlying sense of dukkha - a sense of dissatisfaction and unease (not just suffering). And we also cannot avoid the eventual - aging, sickness and death. All these are external to us, and we cannot change them. But our negative responses to these externals add on to become a double whammy. So one of the protection we need is our own mental negative responses, which we can learn to control and master so we can respond to the externals with greater calm and equanimity.

Second, it is from unfortunate rebirths into difficult realms such as the hell, ghostly or animal realms because it is much harder to develop good kamma to move us to better realms which include human and heavenly realms. And thirdly, to protect us from the endless cycles of samsara or rebirths.

Regarding re-births and different realms, Bhikku Bodi said: "We must recognise at once that an objectively verifiable, publicly demonstrable answer cannot be given...the most that can be done is adduce cogent grounds for believing that certain persons or objects possess the qualifications born out of trust, at least until that initial assent is transformed into knowledge by means of direct experience." So he is saying that if you want a scientifically verifiable evidence that is replicable, there is none - but I guess that is the same for claims in all other religions. Who can prove heaven scientifically and replicate outcomes? Who can be 100% certain that experiences of heaven-like places and angels in near-death experiences are not products of the remnants of electrical impulses of the brain state at that particular time?

But in Buddha's teachings, we can verify through our practise and direct experience - eg avoid harming others and then doing good to help others - do we experience peace and happiness not just for ourselves but in others? If yes, then we have verified this. When we meditate, do we get more stillness and have clearer insights? If so, then we have verified what Buddha's teachings. So we need a little faith first, then the faith will grow through direct experience and verification, and that will give us more faith and encourage us to go deeper into the practise.

Buddha himself, in the ancient scriptures said that we should not just accept and believe what others say but to question and verify - he himself said that this includes what he teaches. So I have so much respect for that because many spiritual paths asks for a total surrender in faith.

But in Buddhism, it is a faith borne out of direct and personally verifiable experience. As Bhikku Bodhi said, it is a faith that requires some 1) intelligence and understanding, underpinned by 2) intention and volition (our conscious choices); and 3) inspiring upward pull of the emotions of confidence, reverence and love. So it is not just a leap of faith powered by emotions or initial spiritual experiences, but by both the cognitive and the experiential, and through conscious choices throughout the entire spiritual path.

Bhikku Bodhi stressed that the 3 refuges functions as a triadic relationship: -
1) the Buddha is like a doctor who diagnoses the problem (that is, our craving and clinging to existence due to the ignorance of the reality of things) and prescribes the medication (the noble eight-fold path);
2) the Dhamma or the teaching and practise are like the medication for the cure;
3) the Sangha are those who are the attendants who help the sick with the medication (not the institutional monkhood, but the ariyen-Sangha who had progressed in their spiritual path and reached at least stream-entry (this group will only be subject to 7 re-births at most before reaching nibbana).

I really like this analogy.

I think Bhikku Bodhi made a very important point why the 5 precepts are framed in a "negative" format as in "I shall take the training precept of abstaining from speaking falsehood".

First, in order to grow a garden, one needs to remove the weeds first. Or if you want to dye a cloth, you need to remove the stains and dirt first or it would not absorb the colour correctly or well. So avoidance is the first protection at the most basic level. Once that becomes more second nature, the development of inward virtue is the next step.

This would means cultivating speech that is truthful, noble and gentle. This is the twin effort of varitta (avoidance) and caritta (performance) in Buddha's teachings. -they always come together. It would also be really odd to just tell someone to practise truthful, noble and gentle speech as part of the precepts, when he/she has not even become aware of his/her own false speech and start avoiding them.

When virtuous thoughts and intentions become instinctive, so will speech and thoughts. And these are critical in determining where our consciousness leans towards, like a tree, and sets the directions of our future destinations.

This booklet is a wonderful gem that I would read again and again. The other booklet that is also a wonderful gem is Bhikku Bodhi's The Noble Eightfold Path. Both give me great comfort, because there is a path that I can practise, verify through experience.

I am so deeply grateful for this.

*one impt point I need to mention - Bhikku Bodhi said that it is important to look at our approach as a seed. It has all the links to the other trees in the past, and also all the potential in the future. So I think he means that past kamma and actions especially the wholesome ones have power to propel us to where we are now, and our actions and development now also has many potentialities in future. (pg 34)