Refuges and Precepts with Mettā
This episode presents a complete traditional Buddhist ceremony beginning with the veneration of the Buddha (Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa) and the formal taking of the Three Refuges (Tisaraṇa) and Five Precepts (Pañcasīla) in Pali. Bhante Bodhidhamma guides practitioners through the full recitation, establishing the foundation of Buddhist practice through taking refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha, while undertaking the ethical guidelines of refraining from harming living beings, taking what is not given, sexual misconduct, false speech, and intoxicants.
Following this foundation, the episode transitions into guided mettā bhāvanā (loving-kindness meditation), systematically developing goodwill toward oneself, loved ones, neutral persons, difficult people, and expanding outward to all beings everywhere. The practice concludes with a beautiful recitation of the Karaṇīyamettā Sutta (Sutta Nipāta 1.8), the Buddha's famous Discourse on Loving-Kindness, which outlines the qualities of a noble person and the boundless cultivation of mettā.
This ceremony serves both as a meaningful ritual for establishing Buddhist commitment and as practical guidance for developing the brahmavihāra of loving-kindness, essential for both formal meditation practice and daily ethical living.
A moment's reflection. A resolution. And we can take the refuges and precepts. So feel free to make three bows.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa. Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa. Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa.
Buddhaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi. Dhammaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi. Saṅghaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi. Dutiyampi buddhaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi. Dutiyampi dhammaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi. Dutiyampi saṅghaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi. Tatiyampi buddhaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi. Tatiyampi dhammaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi. Tatiyampi saṅghaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.
Pāṇātipātā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi. Adinnādānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi. Kāmesumicchācārā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi. Musāvādā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi. Surāmerayamajjapamādaṭṭhānā veramaṇī sikkhāpadaṃ samādiyāmi.
Having taken the refuges and precepts, quoting the last words of the Buddha, let us strive diligently for our liberation.
So now we can practice some metta bhāvanā, developing goodwill. May you be safe, well, and happy. May you live contented in harmony with the world.
We're bringing to mind some of our benefactors, those who are near and dear to us. Friends, people at work, whomever we wish. A neutral person, turning the stream of goodwill towards ourselves. And into the heart of goodwill, someone we find difficult or having difficulties with.
Radiating outwards, first of all, to each other, may we. To our neighbors and neighborhood, to all the people in our country, to all the peoples of Europe, to all people on earth, and to all beings in all directions.
And we can draw the practice to a close with a reading of the Discourse on Loving-Kindness.
If you are wise and want to reach the state of peace, then develop these qualities. Be upright, responsible, gentle, and unassuming. Be easily contented and need only a few things. Be less busy and live simply. Guard the senses and be modest. Do not be attached to only a few people, to the exclusion of others. Do not do the slightest thing that a wise person would blame you for. And be constantly thinking, may all beings be happy.
Whatever living beings there are, be they weak or strong, big or small, large or slender, living nearby or far away, those who have already been born and those who have yet to be born, may all beings, without exception, be happy.
Let no one deceive another or disdain anyone. Do not wish harm to anyone, not even when you're angry. Just as a mother would protect her only child at the risk of her own life, let the warmth of your heart go out to all beings. Let your love and goodwill spread throughout the whole world, above and below, without boundary, without ill will or hatred.
Whether you are standing, walking, sitting or lying down, so long as you are awake, develop this affectionate mindfulness. This, they say, is the noblest way to live. And if you do not fall into unskillful ways, but live well and develop insight and are no longer attached to all the desires of the senses, then truly you'll never need to be reborn into this world again.
May all beings be happy.