Make vows to take refuge in the Three Jewels
Today, I kneel in front of
the Buddha
Sincerely make vows to be
industrious in cultivating,
Take three refuges and practice
definitely
Pray the great, holy One to
grant and help me.
Take refuge in the Buddha
The first is taking refuge
in the Buddha,
Cultivate Bodhi mind,
fulfill Buddha-body
Rely on the Buddha’s
constantly true nature
Quit defilement and purify
unwholesome karmas
Practice the nobly Bodhi
Path and right mediation
Keep my own mind pure and
perfect
Always live with a true
happiness in this life
Manifest the transcendental
wisdom everywhere
Follow the Buddha’s compassion,
extreme perfection
And progressively cultivate
every good deed
Obtain a completely pure and
good mind
Abandon fame and wealth and
illusive habits
Avoid craving loves and
binding situations
Vow to practice disciplines
strictly
Don’t need delicious foods
and tasty drinks
Don’t need to stay in
luxurious houses
Use ten good virtues to
make-up Buddha nature
Give up doing all evil and
impure things
With my pure nature,
enlighten myself and others
Take refuge in the Buddha is
likely to become a Buddha
Pray for all sentient beings
understand Buddhism clearly
Always live with right
awareness and mindfulness
Likely attain the
enlightenment, escape the dark hell
Fulfill the unborn and enlighten
result together
Namo Buddhas existing in ten directions (Repeat 3 times).
Taking refuge in the Dharma
The second is to take refuge
in the Dharma
Cultivate right thoughts and
succeed dharma-body
Stop wrong, impure and
misleading thoughts
Practice the mindful
awareness, cultivate the true dharma-nature
Study four noble truths and
cultivate eightfold path:
Right understanding,
recognize real characteristics of the true nature
Right thought, perceive unreal
essence of universe
Right speech, say true and
right words
Right action, set one’s mind
on doing good virtues
Right livelihood, to be
diligent in doing good works
Right effort, persevere in
discover Buddha-mind
Right mindfulness, always
reflect on the Dharma
Right concentration, practice
meditation and gain insight.
Attain the Buddhahood, have an
insight in the true nature
Cultivate the greatest
vehicle, extinctive and unconditioned Nirvana
Refuse superstitions, unreal
forms and appearances
Avoid false, superstitious
and illusive theories
Those are root of obstacles
of our virtuous minds
Make up one’s mind on to be
free from the birth-death cycle.
Take refuge in the Dharma, keep
in mind the Dharma,
Pray for all sentient beings
to understand scriptures deeply
Right understanding, clearly
perceive the Buddha-path.
Whereby escape the hungry
ghost realm and false schools
Fulfill the noble and
righteous result together.
Namo Dharma existing in ten directions (Repeat 3 times).
Take refuge in the Sangha
The third is taking refuge
in the Sangha
Keep a pure mind and complete
the Sangha
Quit craving, desires and impure
thoughts
Follow Buddhas and Sages to
come to a right way
Eliminate three poisons,
seven emotions and six desires
Those are things created hell
and made people overwhelmed in misfortune
Stop sufferings and desires
which make us unhappy
Quit four forms and three
unwholesome thoughts
Often confess sources of
guilt and bad karma
Always keep our threefold action
completely pure
Keep our body-action righteous
and do pure practices
Avoid stealing, killing, and
sexual misconduct
Practice pure speech and
speak kind words
Don’t embellish, don’t
incite and stop saying unreal things
Refuse telling lies and
evil, harmful words
Keep our mind pure and purify
our thoughts
Abandon our greed, hatred,
and delusion.
These are ten noble virtues
Taking refuge in Sangha
makes our mind pure
With a pure body one certainly
becomes a Sangha
Wish for Sangha always live
in harmony and respect,
For all sentient beings
follow the bright and noble path,
To be freed from six paths of
birth-death circle
Fulfill the perfectly pure
result together.
Namo Sangha existing in ten directions (Repeat 3 times).
I have already taken refuge
in the Buddha, I vow not to take refuge in any Gods, evil spirits and animals
for ever and ever.
I have already taken refuge
in the Dharma, I vow not to take refuge in any other religions and false
philosophies for ever and ever.
I have already taken refuge
in the Sangha, I vow not to take refuge in any harmful friends and evil groups
for ever and ever.
Namo Sakyamuni Buddha (Repeat 3 times).
Make vows to take the five precepts
Today I sincerely make vows
To observe five good and
righteous precepts
1.
The first precept is to avoid killing and protect human beings
Not to kill any human and
animal life
Follow the Buddha who had
boundless compassion
Love every piece and vow to
save all sentient beings
Don’t let the evil and
harmful thoughts occur
Always keep in mind the
thought of protecting lives.
Because animals and human
beings both have life,
Both are born from an equal
origin.
All sentient beings crave for
living and scare death,
Have the Buddha-nature and
the potential of improvement.
The cause and effect law
shows good fortunes and misfortunes clearly
Series of enemy borrows and
returns definitely.
Not because of my own
satisfaction of desires and protect myself
To create the karma of
killing human beings or animals.
Keep body, mouth and mind
are pure as Buddha’s
Spread compassion to save
animals and benefit humans.
Killing life and beating,
torturing animals and humans,
And feel cheerful when we
see or hear others do so
These things have the same
sin, same karma
The effect of these seeds is
that we will be killed in future
And transform into the life
of animal with horns or fur.
2.
The second precept is to avoid stealing
Follow the righteous and
moral principles
Stop stealing possessions
which belong to others,
Don’t have greedy thoughts
as seeing beautiful things.
With possessions belong to
the Three Jewels,
We promise never steal or
hide them.
Set our mind on cultivation
and keep it righteous
Not to steal even if it is a
bit of fur.
Keep in mind words “Honest and Righteousness”.
Abandon craving thoughts and
then practice True Path.
Imitate the Buddha’s and
Sages’ noble purity
Keep far away wealth, the
factor disturbs our mind
Keep our mind, mouth and
body pure and righteous
Stop wrong thinking and not
to be infected by six sense objects
Pray to the Buddha for
pinpointing the Truth
Vow to cultivate our body
and mind precisely.
Neither concern nor struggle
for a wealth
Exterminate worldly life and
try to be born in Pure Land.
The desires are a main cause
of sufferings,
Now we set our mind to cease
them
And avoid the sea of pains
and sorrows.
3.
The third precept is avoid sexual misconduct,
Always keep our mind civil
and our sexual organ pure.
Vow to cultivate and purify
ourselves,
Avoid sexual misconduct, the
action of wasting our energy,
It damages our body and
causes diseases,
Also makes our intelligence
dispersed and declined.
In Sangha, men and women
follow up their precepts
Keep separated and give up
sexual misconduct.
Avoid seeing and hearing any
uncivil words or scenes,
Skip and not to talk about
obscene issues
Keep our body pure, avoid
doing evil actions
Take care of our spirit and
nourish the root of wisdom.
Purify our thoughts and
restrain our sexual desires,
Practice pure living and
improve the Buddha’s wisdom
Constantly think of protect
the True Boddhi Body,
Follow the Buddha’s and
Sages’, never forget the righteousness.
Vow to live purely from now
on.
Free from three realms, get
out of the suffering sea.
Pray the Buddha for transferring
sexual habits
To enter a pure realm and continue
to cultivate.
4.
The fourth precept is avoid telling lies
Conserve faithfulness, keep
our mind honest.
Stop telling lies and not to
do wrong things,
Not to deceive others, delude
the Good Conscience.
Often tell artful words and
inconsistent opinions,
Create evil karmas and to be
caught in an unfortunate life.
In the Sangha, friends have
to be polite with each other,
Believe each other because
of the sincerity.
Lying leaves a bad
reputation in our world
Everybody will despise and
make us shameful.
Unfaithful people draw up
schemes, create false things
No one believes and people
keep far away.
Vow to practice honesty and
faithfulness
Dare not to tell untruthful
and false things.
To conserve the faithfulness
with sincere mind
Study the True Path and
recognize the nature of this life
Cultivate the
bodhi-noble-dharma body
Follow the Buddha and Sages,
to be reborn in the Pure Land.
If we do unfaithful and evil
things,
We produce sufferings and
will be banished to the hell.
5.
The fifth precept is avoid taking alcohol and other intoxicating drugs
Keep our wise nature in
order to practice the Noble Path.
Taking intoxicating drugs destroys
our body and declines our mind
Eating meat and drinking
alcohol make us violent and obscure
Develop dishonesty, greed,
violence and produce sins.
Give rise of disasters and
create bad and disastrous things.
In the alcohol has poisonous
and harmful enzyme,
Intoxicating drugs have full
of injurious viruses,
One has fell into these
substances
Will destroy his life and
ruin his merits.
Make his body breakdown and
his mind frightened,
With such mental disorders,
not easy to receive the noble wisdom.
Now we take refuge in the
Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
Set our mind to stop taking
those poisonous drugs.
Always keep our wise mind strong
Strengthen our bodhi-body
from day to night
Not to go to the dissolute
places,
Keep our body, mouth, mind,
eyes, ears and noses clean.
Follow the Buddha and sages,
cultivate our wisdom
If we are delirious, we must
wear the yoke of sufferings.
Namo Sakyamuni Buddha (Repeat 3 times, kowtow 3 times).
I vow to observe five
precepts for ever and ever:
Not to kill humans, harm
animals
Not to steal and not to be
dishonest, greedy.
Not to indulge in sexual
misconduct
Not to make false speech
Not to drink alcohol and not
to take other intoxicating drugs
Namo Sakyamuni Buddha (Repeat 3 times).
I have taken refuge in The
Buddha, have taken refuge the Dharma, have taken refuge the Sangha, I vow:
Not to do any evil things,
To cultivate good things,
To purify my mind,
To become a true Buddhist.
Namo Sakyamuni Buddha (Repeat 3 times). (Kowtow 3 times)
Translated from Vietnamese into English by Minh Nguyen
