The True Meaning of Taking Refuge. Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels: The Biggest Thing in Life The biggest thing in the world is taking refuge in the Three Jewels, so it is necessary to be careful, not to be underestimated or impulsive. You must first choose a virtuous master to take refuge in. Thus, if there is something that is not clear, it will be taught and guided by that good-knowledge, in order to understand and enter the Buddha's knowledge and understanding, but do not listen to heretical doctrines. It is not only now that there are evil shamans appearing, but also when the Buddha was still in the world, it was also full. At that time, there were 96 non-Buddhist religions and 72 sects, which expanded even more strongly than the True Dharma. People are gullible because they do not understand the truth. Such evil ways are harmful because they can lead us astray. At first, wishing for more or less benefits, But if you have lost your way, you will only suffer losses. It's dangerous! If you want to take refuge in the Three Jewels, attain the true Dharma eye, and the wondrous mind of Nirvana, seek the Good-Knowledge. However, among the monastics, there is still confusion between the real and the fake, not all of them are the same. If you mistakenly follow a pagan religion, you will face great harm, but believing in the heresy of a magician is even more harmful. Therefore, if you are studying the Buddha-Dharma, avoid that mistake. Instead of pursuing the higher path, you will fall into hell. Instead of pursuing happiness, you will receive boundless suffering. That's why I say taking refuge is the highest choice, nothing more important. When you take refuge with me, think carefully and clearly see the path you want to take. Before the Buddhas, let each one reveal a sincere repentance for all past sins. In this way, sins will be eliminated and good roots will grow. If you are not sincere, your sins will remain intact and your good roots will be difficult to germinate. It all depends on sincerity and determination, avoiding false thoughts. When you take refuge in the Three Jewels, you must be sincere, otherwise you will not be touched. After actually taking refuge in the Three Jewels until the day you become a Buddha, if you have firm faith and good morals, you will not face any problems. Otherwise, forget about becoming a Buddha, and it is not easy to become a human. If you don't practice, not only lay people but also monastics will still fall into hell. Therefore, lay people, please work hard to study the Buddha-Dharma. Respect the Three Jewels, make offerings to the Three Jewels, trust and serve the Three Jewels for the rest of your life, and you will be inspired. Otherwise, it is like having never taken refuge and there is no induction at all. When you wake up in the morning, make four great vows before the Buddhas, as the Bodhisattvas have done. Early in the evening, ask yourself: "Are sentient beings boundless, do they have a vow to save them? Do they have a vow to end their endless afflictions? Should they wish to save sentient beings, vow to end their afflictions? Even if I'm busy with work, I still have to spend time chanting sutras and practicing countless Dharma doors. Unsurpassed Buddhism, do I wish to succeed? I haven't become a Buddha yet, I'm still a commoner. to attain Buddhahood." Every day when you wake up, make four great vows, and at night check yourself to see if you have practiced the vows or not? *** Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels: Turning Back to the Shore. "The sea is immense, if you turn back, you will reach the shore." Taking refuge is the first step and must be bravely stepped forward, must not step back. That is the path to Buddhahood. If you turn your back, you will fall into the three evil paths and fall into the eight tribulations. That's why there is a saying: Master leads to the door. One must specialize in cultivation. If you eat, you will be full. You will cut off birth and death yourself. Don't think: "I have taken refuge so I can rely on the Buddha Dharma Sangha." Even if the Buddha Dharma Sangha has enough miraculous powers, it will not help us achieve Buddhahood, nor will it help us to understand the Buddha-Dharma and practice the path of cultivation. Thanks to the Sangha, the new Buddha-Dharma was propagated in the world. Even though you have taken refuge in the Three Jewels, you still have to work hard to advance. If you can keep from killing, not stealing, not engaging in sexual misconduct, not lying, and not drunk, you have really taken the five precepts. If you still kill, steal, commit adultery, lie, and get drunk, you haven't really received the five precepts. If you have lived a long time without keeping the five precepts, your karma will be even worse because then you have intentionally broken the precepts, and will fall down. It is not possible to say: "I have taken refuge in the Three Jewels and taken the five precepts, then I am protected. It doesn't matter if I kill, steal, commit adultery, lie or get drunk." Some people think: "If lay people do not keep the five precepts but have to receive such heavy karma, what about the monastics who do not keep the precepts? Will they receive heavier karma?" Remember this: "The bodhisattva does not know others." Amitabha Buddha contemplates himself. Day and night must examine oneself, control behavior and reflect back. "Do I keep the precepts, have I broken any precepts? Since taking refuge until now, have I been a devout Buddhist, or have I turned to the Way of God? Islam or another religion? Am I learning the evil Dharma?" After taking refuge, I must have a decisive attitude, "Even if someone threatens to kill me if I believe in the Buddha, or let me live if I abandon the Buddha, I still don't believe in it. Outsider religion includes all the gods and demons in the heavens, possessing all kinds of supernatural powers, natural changes, and incalculable mysteries. We always develop supernatural powers. On the contrary, Buddha's disciples do not show gods. If there is, they will not tell anyone. Those who boast of having supernatural powers, heavenly ears, etc. are all types of evil spirits mentioned in the chapter "The realm of 50 warm ghosts" of the Shurangama Sutra. , or if they are disciples of angels, or disciples of non-Buddhists. Therefore, we Buddhists must have the eye of the Dharma-eye. While looking for a teacher to learn the Way, don't get greedy, don't be greedy for inspiration, Today, if you hear that Tantra is good, you will follow it. Tomorrow, if you hear that Tantra is good, you will follow Tantra. Thus, even if you practice to the fullest, if you don't keep your mind single-minded, you'll only end up wasting your time. Take refuge and then avoid breaking the precepts. Please seriously and diligently observe the Three Precepts of the Five Precepts. The Five Precepts are the basis for attaining Buddhahood. Lay people have five precepts. The Buddha Dharma Sangha is very fair, anyone who practices can obtain it, if he doesn't, he won't. Please follow the example of the generals who never dismounted, always moving forward and not backward. The merit of leaving home to cultivate the Way and practice the precepts will support you to be reborn in Ultimate Bliss. But please don't forget sentient beings, come back to save them. Therefore, you should be determined to achieve Bodhi fruition to save all sentient beings. So everyone must work hard to practice, don't be dependent, thinking, "My master is a great wise man." Even if you have obtained it, your Master will not be able to share his wisdom with you. You still have to practice on your own, otherwise the Buddha standing in front of you is unlikely to be able to help you. *** Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels Must Keep Precepts. Today you have taken the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts. In the past, Buddhists took refuge in the Three Jewels without taking refuge in precepts. After the Buddha entered Nirvana, sentient beings must take precepts as teachers. Therefore, taking refuge in the ceremony includes taking refuge in the precepts. What is gender? It is to avoid evil, to do good, not to see small good deeds and not do them, and to do small evil things. Many Buddhists made the mistake of praising their religion while still following the Buddha, and disparaging it when they abandoned it. There are professionals who go here and there, today believe in this religion, tomorrow believe in another religion, the next day follow another religion. Believe in those cults that one day they will go to hell without knowing it! Because they don't have a consistent creed, just seek profit, like novelty, study tantra, or join clandestine sects that don't live openly. Finally, become a hungry ghost and go to hell or an animal to suffer the retribution. It's pitiful! In today's refuge ceremony, first of all, we take refuge in the Buddha, it is better to give up our lives than to take refuge with evil cults or non-Buddhist gods, for example, with Self at Thien ma. The two words Freedom refers to the pleasure in heaven, or maybe in some paradise that you have only heard about but never seen, so you are curious to go but don't know which direction to go. Then, wandering around in the six realms of samsara, going into the belly of a horse, out of a donkey, meeting King Jamal forever, not escaping hell but still being an animal. Therefore, it is better to die than to take refuge in the Heavenly Demon Self. Disciples of non-Buddhist gods always boasted and sanctified themselves, saying, "If you believe my words, you will immediately become enlightened. You can become Buddhas in this life. You don't have to keep them. gender, fasting or shunned by the opposite sex." They preach all kinds of dharmas that make you confused, mistakenly think that they are wonderful, and then get lost in the wrong way and it is difficult to turn back. So don't be greedy for comfort, don't be greedy for pleasure, don't be greedy for enjoyment. If you have taken refuge in the Three Jewels, you must live a life in harmony with natural principles, not taking advantage of deception or flattery of others. Do not take refuge with Self-Defense, but only respectfully take refuge in the Buddha, the Tathagata, the omniscient and great-wisdom Tathagata. Having taken refuge in the Dharma, it is better to give up one's body and life than to take refuge in a non-Buddhist false book, or according to theories, bibliographies, documents published and published by non-Buddhist disciples. Not taking refuge with false books means not reading, not studying and studying those kinds of things after taking refuge in the orthodox Buddhadharma. Everyone, be aware of this: After you have taken refuge in the Three Jewels, but you are still confused, seeing cow dung also bows, seeing dog dung (dog) also clasps your hands, it is so pitiful! Definitely do not read any pagan publications. Taking refuge in the Sangha is taking refuge with the Saints of the ten directions, not with the disciples of the sects that have lost their way. According to them, you will go to hell with them, so don't take refuge with them. So which Sangha to take refuge in? Take refuge in the pure blessings of the Sangha, just like you sow seed and plant rice in a blessed field. Why take refuge in the Sangha? Because the Dharma is propagated by the Sangha. If you take refuge in the Sangha, you will have the opportunity to understand the Buddha-Dharma, and when you have mastered the Buddha-Dharma you can become a Buddha. Therefore, you must take refuge with the Sangha, not with the wild evil spirits that propagate wrong views. Don't listen to their boast that their eyes glow, their nostrils speak, and their ears eat and drink. Even the demons themselves can't do that, let alone them. They brag to deceive people. Having taken refuge in the Three Jewels, you must have the right view, let go of the wrong view! Why compare the pure Sangha with a field of merit? Purity means no contamination. People who are not contaminated will advise you not to fight, not to be greedy, not to seek, not to take advantage of, not to be selfish, and not to lie. Whoever keeps the precept not to be greedy for money is a pure monk, a field of merit. If someone is very happy to receive some money, it is not a meritorious increase. To be offered or not to be offered is not moved, nor to flatter the rich, nor to look down on the poor, that is the pure blessing of the Sangha. You must know the difference between the two. Otherwise you will always remain unsophisticated. Next is taking refuge in the Precepts, that is, not doing evil but only doing good, even if there is not a single bit of evil thought in the mind. Some people will say, "But bad thoughts often arise, so what to do?" Starting a bad idea? Slowly let the negative thoughts fade away, don't let it drag you along with it. For example: "Ah! I want to kill that person." Next thought: "OK, let's go kill it immediately." That's me being attracted by the evil thought of murder. But if that person thinks, "Ah! He has a very rare diamond, I have to find a way to steal it." It was an evil thought, but he was not carried away, and the evil thought of murder also disappeared. Normally, if you don't have bad thoughts like fantasizing about men and women, that's mindfulness. On the contrary, it is evil. Therefore, diligently practice the precepts of concentration and wisdom, extinguishing greed, hatred and delusion. There is also a saying: "Do not do a small evil deed, do not neglect a small good deed." Practicing that morality is taking refuge in the precepts. Taking refuge in the precepts, with time, we will gradually accumulate merit, open up great wisdom, perfect the basis of happiness, and finally attain unsurpassed enlightenment, attain the fruit of ananda-la-tam. - the bodhi tree. Having attained Bodhi, turn the boat of compassion back to the universal salvation of sentient beings. That is the basic thing that all Buddhists who have taken refuge in the Three Jewels should keep in mind. We must not create bad karma, take advantage of Buddhism to make profit for ourselves. To do so would be a huge mistake. Do you understand what I say? We must practice four great vows: 1. "Boundless sentient beings vow to save." Ask yourself, have you saved any sentient beings? If not, am I self-sufficient? What is Auto? Am I worthy to be a devout Buddhist who has taken refuge in the Buddha? Or do I just come to Buddhism to make ends meet? Do I use religion to deceive people for money? If you do that, you will not only be unable to save sentient beings, but will also fall into hell. That's what I have to be aware of first. I must set a good example for people in the world to arouse the Bodhi mind. It's okay just for one person. Gradually there will be two people, three people, four people, more or less with time. Saving sentient beings is like that. 2. "Endless affliction swear paragraph." Ask yourself, have you got rid of afflictions, anger, and other qualities? Am I a human or an animal? Do I want to end my affliction? First, cut off defilements, eliminate anger and delusion. That is what true Buddhism is. 3. "The Dharma is immeasurable and vows to learn." Ask yourself, do you study any Dharma subjects, or do you just read pornography all day? Or read romance novels? Or just thinking about unjust things, and wasting time on useless things? Do I study classics? Please answer those questions. And we have to practice the methods. Why? Because we vow to attain the Buddha Way Unsurpassed Bodhi. 4. "Unsurpassed Buddhism, vow to be." Ask yourself have you attained Bodhi? To do so, we must courageously generate bodhicitta, always diligently and never give up. If so, the power of the four great vows will support us in our practice to attain Bodhi, Perfect Enlightenment. If you do not practice the above, even if you have taken refuge in the Three Jewels, you will not understand what the true meaning of the Three Jewels is. *** Take Refuge in the Three Jewels: Not To Follow the Crowd Those who have taken refuge before, don't take refuge anymore. Why? 1. To avoid the situation of competing for disciples and opposing each other within Buddhist followers. Because they compete for rights, they create hostility towards each other like water in conflict with fire. 2. Because if those who come to take refuge today have already taken refuge before, Buddhism will not have any new disciples. Buddhists who jump from temple to temple are not true disciples of the Buddha. You must be true Buddhists, not delusional. If you don't trust your guru, what's the point of taking refuge? Use the Tradition-faith-eye, not blindly following others. Buddhists should not seek personal gain, but must bear the disadvantage. The world is getting worse and worse because people only know self-interest and kill each other because of greed for profit. Even though Cold dies, there's no predestination Even though hunger and death, no pleas Even though poverty dies, don't ask for help. The Three Great Disciplines we always keep. Here is the first part of the stanza. Here is the continuation of the verse: Sacrificing yourself for the Buddha's work Creating a life is the duty of Right Livelihood to increase the Righteousness, the reason, and the reason. Try to operate the circuit that the Patriarch has passed on. Because of Buddhism, we have to put all our heart into serving, can sacrifice our lives without ever stopping, in accordance with the following philosophy of "creating a life": Life is built by us, happiness is created by us. Praying for the blessing of the soul, self-imposed. "Right livelihood for the Sangha" means that the monks must strictly observe the precepts of the Buddha. For example, the Sangha must especially wear the medical precepts. If you don't wear medical precepts, you'll be truly worldly. Buddha also set to eat only one meal a day before noon. Limit such eating to ward off evil spirits and control desires (we ourselves have three ghost bodies. If we eat too many ghost bodies, we will rebel). Although no one is perfect, but I hope that each of us will try to correct ourselves to progress on the spiritual path. *** Speed ​​Up The Buddha Way Today is the day when your good roots and Bodhi seeds are germinated. Taking refuge in the Three Jewels is like being born with open eyes, but don't go astray. What does it mean to be born with open eyes? It means you start your new life with your eyes open to the right path. You must be aware of these two things. Why do I take refuge? Why do I want to take refuge in the Triple Gem? This is important. Don't take refuge just because others also take refuge, or imitate others and bow to the Buddha and you will also bow to the Buddha! What is taking refuge in the Triple Gem? I do not know! What is Buddha worship? I do not know! You come to take refuge without knowing why! So is it not to close your eyes to practice, to follow others with your eyes closed? Please open your eyes, clearly identify the road ahead, then bravely step forward, not turning back. Today is the end of the Dharma. What is Dharma? That means the Buddha-dharma is on the way to decline. We are living in the autumn of the Buddha-dharma. The sun is setting, and the road ahead is still dark. Hope is very small. However, this is also the time when we need to be brave and diligent on the road to reach the destination. That is the main idea of ​​taking refuge in the Triple Gem. Today, there are people with profound good roots who come to take refuge in the Three Jewels, there are Bodhisattvas incarnations to take refuge, incarnations of dragons and dragons come for refuge, there are humans who take refuge, and there are even ghosts and spirits who take refuge again. It can be said that this is the first refuge ceremony held on a large scale at the Holy City of Dharma Realm (*). The guardian deities, heavens and dragons, full of space, come to this ashram to protect the Dharma. Your prayers and prayers for the future will be witnessed by the good deities of the Dharma Protectors. Go forward bravely, don't indulge in laziness, turn bad habits into good, avoid evil and do good, renew yourself day by day. Be courageous and diligent in your pursuit of Bodhi. Don't make me wait too long! Maybe I won't have the strength to wait any longer. Let's each imitate like a general who goes to war and never gets off his horse, only determined to advance! Don't make me wait too long! Maybe I won't have the strength to wait any longer. Let's each imitate like a general who goes to war and never gets off his horse, only determined to advance! Don't make me wait too long! Maybe I won't have the strength to wait any longer. Let's each imitate like a general who goes to war and never gets off his horse, only determined to advance!END=NAMO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.15/6/2021.