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"The Three Treasures" Ceremony
Just wondering if anyone on here has gone thorugh this ceremony:
"According to the unbroken age-old tradition among Buddhists, one is considered a Buddhist if one goes through the formal ceremony of 'Taking Refuge in the Three Treasures'. The 'Three Treasures' refer to the Buddha, The Dharma (Teachings), and the Sangha (Homeless Orders of Monks and Nuns). The ceremony means 'committing to the belief of the Three Treasures' or 'leading our lives by following the guidelines of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.
One should not overlook the importance of the ceremony. One should not have the misconception that because he does not know any. of the Buddha's teaching and the ways to practise Buddhism, or he is not mentally ready, he should not 'take refuge.' Actually, as long as one feels that he wishes to learn and believe in Buddhism, he should 'take refuge, especially when one does not know the Buddha's teachings and how to practise Buddhism. One who feels that he does not have the equirements to become a Buddhist has a greater need to. 'Take Refuge in the Three Treasures."
I am thinking I want to go through the ceremony. Do I need to find a temple, or how do I go about doing this?
Kim
"According to the unbroken age-old tradition among Buddhists, one is considered a Buddhist if one goes through the formal ceremony of 'Taking Refuge in the Three Treasures'. The 'Three Treasures' refer to the Buddha, The Dharma (Teachings), and the Sangha (Homeless Orders of Monks and Nuns). The ceremony means 'committing to the belief of the Three Treasures' or 'leading our lives by following the guidelines of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.
One should not overlook the importance of the ceremony. One should not have the misconception that because he does not know any. of the Buddha's teaching and the ways to practise Buddhism, or he is not mentally ready, he should not 'take refuge.' Actually, as long as one feels that he wishes to learn and believe in Buddhism, he should 'take refuge, especially when one does not know the Buddha's teachings and how to practise Buddhism. One who feels that he does not have the equirements to become a Buddhist has a greater need to. 'Take Refuge in the Three Treasures."
I am thinking I want to go through the ceremony. Do I need to find a temple, or how do I go about doing this?
Kim
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Comments
"I take refuge in the Buddha" - let's make that more comfortable for westerners, by re-translating it:
"Wow, a person who has become fully self-aware and fully self-enlightened is amazing. If he can do it, so can I, all I have to do is listen to what he said - he gave me instructions on how he did it, how cool!"
"I take refuge in the Dhamma" - again, stuffy, perhaps uncomfortable to someone raised in the west. Retranslation, perhaps:
"Hey, the dude who became self enlightened gave us these instructions. This is actually how he did it. It works, so I guess this is what I have to do"
and last "I take refuge in the Sangha" - huh? Translation for westerners:
"Wow, this is not going to be easy. It's nice to have the support of others who are going through what I am attempting. I'll help them out, and perhaps they will help me out. Share and share alike"
see how much importance we ascribe to the actual words? When you put it in terms that are more comfortable to us, it changes the whole color and context, doesn't it?
This story has led me on my path alot.
River - I have read that story before and really liked it as well.
http://www.zenbuddhisttemple.org/programs/precepts.html
I agree with the posts above - you don't have to take the precepts. It's just a cermony, and ceremonies are easy. The path, on the other hand, is long, winding and sometimes hard.
Having said that, I think you should consider it when you are ready. I waited 10 years before I took them.
You make a great point.
It is my belief that ceremony is mostly for us. Just like funerals are basically for the living. The dead certainly don't get anything from it.
Christ said "Do this in rememberance of me" (eating of unleavened bread and wine). He said, "Love ye one another." Basic statements like that.
He never said, "Go find someone that wants to build tall, opulent buildings in my name and go and follow him. Create choirs of singing people. Create "Praise And Worship' bands so that people can spend more time in these buildings worrying about playing music more than thinking about me. Create a thing called Mass. Pray to the Virgin Mary" Swing lots of incense around when you do this. Humiliate and torture thousands of people under the direction of a guy you should elect and call The Pope."
Whew!, I kind of went off on a rant there, didn't I?
Anyway, as little as I knew of Buddha - I don't think he mentioned all this stuff. Did he mentioned using Prayer Wheels? Did he say that his image is to be placed all over building of worship that should be erected in his name? Did he require people to wear robes? Did he require people to monestaries or convents in his name?
As Brian stated - if it's in your heart - that's really the "only" thing that matters. Yes, other things do matter - but if you take teachings to heart - your heart will guide you on the path.
Michael
If you are ready and comfortable, I suggest that you to go through the ceremony.
cheers,
Speaking to the priest I said that I wanted to take refuge. When asked why I wanted to go through with the cerermony I had a good think and to be honest it was just because of what I'd read else where. It's almost as though I wanted to do it so I could justify to myself that I was a "proper Buddhist". Very much a case of - I've done my meditating, I'm integrating the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path into my life and now all I need to do is formally take refuge and BINGO- I'm a Buddhist!
She soon put me straight about that one! She said that once you decide to take up the Buddhist path in your heart then you have effectively already taken both refuge and the Precepts. The ceremony, although important, wasn't necessary to consider oneself a Buddhist, which is just another label anyway.
She summed it all up by saying that the even Buddha wasn't a Buddhist which kind of makes sense really and put it all into perspective for me!
Kinlee made a good point to my rantings. If you're ready and this is something that you think would benefit you - then you should do it.
My only point was that - if this is something that you're doing because you feel you "have" to - or you're caught up on the materialism or trappings of a ritual - then I think that would be doing it for the wrong reason.
If you want to - great. If you don't want to - great.
I don't think I would do it at this point because I really don't know what the hell I'm doing
Michael
Yea, me either! But you seem to know a lot more about what you are doing than me!
It's all a facade. I've been sent over here by the Christian Coalition group to find out what the evil Buddhist are doing on the internet and their invasion of the U'nahted Stated of 'Mercuh!
I have no idea what I'm doing and if I write something that seems to make sense, it was all by accident
Michael
Perhaps it would be more fair, not to mention accurate, to say that you see no meaning in the ceremony, not that the ceremony per se is that way.
While an honest intent to take refuge in the three jewels (not baskets, those are the written teachings) is planting the seed; one has not really taken refuge yet. We have to make sure, through daily cultivation, that the seed is planted in rich soil of pure ethics, watered with confidence in the path, and that it receives plenty of meditative sunshine.
Taking refuge is part of the foundation for all daily Buddhist practices that I know of.
My only point is:
There are multiple flavors of Buddhism. Each flavor of Buddhism has rituals specific to that flavor of Buddhism. The rituals of one flavor hold no meaning to the other flavors. So, does that discount them? No - if you find refuge in those rituals - then that's great. But if rituals hold no meaning for you - they really aren't something you can take refuge in.
And a ritual is just a sequence of actions. I truly believe to be caught up in any "set of actions" without the importance of why you're doing them - is so much "tinkling cymbols and sounding brass".
That's all I was saying. To me, putting rituals before the Three Jewels is like putting the cart before the horse. Enlightenment is able to be found without rituals.
-bf
So is life a "sequence of actions" and if one finds no meaning, then of course life (or ritual or anything else) is vapid.
I am just holding forth for "listening for the meaning not the words", which is the same idea from another context - of Dharma study.
Would you not agree that lack of meaning, automatic, mechanical, mindless living is the problem - not life itself?
Taking refuge vows (and precept vows usually) with a refuge Master, in a temple, in front of others, who have gone before one; all this can be pointless or rich with inspiration. But of course, which one, as always, is up to you.
Even the modern favored self-refuge, alone with some candles etc., can in a few months or years become - "it was my idea to do this, now I do not want to anymore, I can change my mind - why not".
I would have to agree. Vapid, might be a little too harsh because there are people that interact with others on a daily basis - that while they may feel lost or without a purpose - their participation in others lives can be a positive influence.
I would have to definitely agree with that. I think it's part of Mindfulness that ZM posted just after you.
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Yes, I would agree. Right Mindfulness and all the other items in the Eightfold Path and meditation point towards this or, at the very least, deal with/discuss/reference it.
But you do have a point that deep involvement in ritual can be a distraction and lead to investing too much hope & energy in them, which can further lead to reliance on the elements of the ritual, rather than the significance behind it.
Another point we should have made is: Everything BF says should be taken with a grain of salt
-bf
I have no doubt that it was ritual which kept me in a regular practice when, without the structure that it contained and imparted, I would have wandered off. I can also see where it held me immobile for a time. There is an expression that our Novice Master used to use which comes to mind: he told us to 'sit lightly'.
Great ritual ceremonies such as initiations and ordinations have a general impact which goes beyond the immediate. Two psychologists, Adam Biela and Jerome J. Tobacyk published a fascinating study of the psychological effect of self-transcendence after Pope John Paul II's 1979 visit to Poland (Journal of Humanistic Psychology. Fall 1987 Vol.27 No.4). Their conclusions are now accepted as historically accurate: that the explosion of support for Solidarnosc can be directly linked to the papal visit. The high spots of the visit were the ceremonies, the rituals.
We are complex creatures and putting our bodies and voices into ritual mode can have a useful effect in predisposing the mind. It also remains in memory because it has structure, a gestalt. The memory of promises made and intentions stated can be very helpful at times of future stress - as those of us who made marriage vows at a ceremony will testify!