Many consider the Refuge Ceremony to be the moment in which one officially becomes a Buddhist. It is also the time one receives a dharma name (or refuge name).

Taking the Refuge Vows marks your formal commitment to practice the path of Dharma. Of course, to practice Buddhism, we don’t have to make this official commitment, but if we do so it serves to solidify our sense of purpose. We go for refuge because we are determined to overcome our suffering and help others overcome their suffering.

Taking the Refuge Vow means making a commitment to the path of looking within and practising Dharma. One takes refuge in the Buddha as an example, in the dharma as the path, and in the sangha as companionship.

The essential point of Dharma practice is to transform the mind, and we formally devote ourselves to this inner journey when we take this vow. It can be viewed as marking a time of change in our life, a time when we are ready to turn inward and work with the conditions of our own minds and hearts, as a method to bring greater ease, happiness and meaning to life.

The Refuge Ceremony itself consists of a short guided meditation, a talk on the meaning of Refuge, and then the actual Taking the Vows. Anyone is welcome to come along, and you can decide whether or not to take the vows after hearing the talk.

The Five Precepts

For those who wish to take them, David will also offer the Five Lay Vows (The Five Precepts).

The five vows to be kept by a full upasika (Tib. ge nyen, “nearing virtue”) are to avoid:
1. killing
2. taking what has not been given
3. sexual misconduct
4. telling lies
5. drinking alcohol

The root vows are the first four: avoiding killing, taking what has not been given, sexual misconduct, and telling lies. The fifth vow of avoiding alcohol protects the other vows from being broken, since when one is intoxicated, it is more difficult to control one’s actions. This vow protects the others like a fence around a field of crops.

You may take as many of the vows as you like and are able to keep. With the lay refuge vows, you are not required to take all five, but should take as many as you are able to keep, due to the benefit of keeping vows.

Other dates will be planned in the future once we have enough requests, to register interest for future dates please do not book below but use the form here.