About the Refuge Ceremony
Taking refuge means relying wholeheartedly on the Three Jewels of the Buddhas, Dharma and Sangha to inspire and guide us toward a constructive and beneficial direction in our lives. The real taking of refuge occurs deep in our hearts and isn’t dependent on doing or saying anything. Nevertheless, we may wish to participate in the refuge ceremony by requesting a monk or a nun to formally give us refuge. The refuge ceremony is brief: we repeat the passages after our teacher and open our hearts to make a strong connection with the Three Jewels. The ceremony also “officially” makes us a Buddhist.
About Taking Precepts
Precepts are a joy, not a burden. They aren’t designed to keep us from having a good time and to make us feel deprived. The purpose of taking precepts is to give us internal strength so that we won’t act in ways that we don’t want to. Having understood that killing, stealing, selfishness and so forth only lead us to harm ourselves and others now and in the future, we’ll want to avoid these. Taking precepts give us energy and strength to do so.
To help people overcome their disturbing attitudes and stop commiting harmful actions, the Buddha set out five precepts. During the refuge ceremony, in addition to taking refuge in the Three Jewels, we can take any or all of the five precepts, and become a lay follower — an upasaka (male) or upasika (female).
Next Refuge Taking Dates
3 Refuges and 5 Precepts Preparatory Classes
In English ,11 March 2012 (Sunday) Ι 9:30am to 11:00am
Ven. Hong Choon Memorial Hall｜1st Floor｜Classroom 8
3 Refuges and 5 Precepts Ceremony
Preceptor：Venerable Sik Kwang Sheng
Date: 11 March 2012｜Sunday
Reporting / Briefing: 12:30pm
Actual Ceremony: 1pm
Venue: Ven. Hong Choon Memorial Hall｜4th Floor｜Hall of No Form
Registration: 11 January 2012 to 11 March 2012, 9am to 4pm at Front Office
