Refuge Commitments
By taking refuge in the Three Jewels one should also commit to the path by keeping the vows. The actual vows associated with taking refuge depend on who one takes refuge with and to some degree on the type of practitioner you are. In general, it is said that one accumulates great virtue minute by minute as one uphold their vows.
In the less strict version of the refuge vows the one mandatory vow is not wanting to harm other sentient beings. The optional other vows are:
- Not killing: refers to humans and animals; it is both not killing or harming sentient beings.
- Not stealing: not taking what is not given; (including not paying what is owed, like taxes).
- No sexual misconduct: refers usually to committing adultery and the like.
- Not lying: refers usually to not lying about spiritual attainments, but can include all lying.
- No intoxicants; refers traditionally to alcohol, but anything robbing clarity of mind is usually included.
In the more strict version of the refuge vows the commitments associated with taking refuge are:
- Not seeking refuge in worldly objects and dieties once you have
taken refuge in the Buddha
- Not harming any living being once you have taken refuge in the
Dharma
- Not associating closely with people who do not believe in the path
once you have taken refuge in the Sangha
- Considering any representation of the Buddha, regardless of the
quality of the artistry or material, as though it were the Buddha
himself, once you have taken refuge in the Buddha
- Considering any written material at all, from a single letter on up,
as though it were the Dharma itself, once you have taken refuge in
the Dharma
- Considering even a single scrap of the saffron robe as though it
were the Sangha itself, once you have taken refuge in the Sangha
- Going for refuge over and over again, by calling to mind the good
qualities of the refuge objects
- In remberance of their kindness, offering the first part of any food
or drink to the refuge object
- Encouraging others to take refuge
- Taking refuge three times each day, and three times each night, by
bringing to mind the benefits of doing so
- To put all your trust in the objects of refuge, during any activity you
may undertake at all
- Not giving up the Three Jewels, even if it could cost you your life,
and in every situation from that on down to doing so just in jest
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