How Do You Become a Buddhist?

More and more people in the West are documenting the Buddha through books, websites, and even news about the Dalai Lama and monks in Burma. Buddhism is an ancient path, a gentle path that has much to challenge modern people, seeking answers and seeking peace.

There are probably as many reasons for being Buddhist as there are people, so now let’s assume that you have decided on your own reasons that you would like to become a Buddhist. How do you start?

To become a Buddhist, to “take refuge” in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. We note “Buddha” because the word Buddha is not his name. His name was Siddhartha Gautama, and he lived centuries before Christ and became the Buddha, enlightened. He is not the one and only Buddha, just the latest in a series of Buddhas. Nor is Siddhartha Gautama the last of the Buddhas. Buddhists already teach about Maitreya, who will be the next Buddha.

Think about Presidents of the United States. If I ask you who the president of the United is, you know the answer. But there was a different answer (because there was a different president) twenty years ago, just as there will be a different answer twenty years from now.

Dharma (or Dhamma) is the teaching of the Buddha. Most of the original Buddhist texts were written in either Sanskrit or Pali, two languages ​​related to each other. For example, in Pali, the word is Dhamma, in Sanskrit, Dharma, just as the Sanskrit word for karma (which names a very important, but often misunderstood concept in Buddhism) is kamma in Pali.

Sangha traditionally meant an order of monks and nuns. In modern times the word sangha is generally used in the sense of a congregation, to which a Buddhist group belongs. The point of taking refuge in the Sangha, no matter how you define it, is that you have to accept it as a Buddhist in some context. There are many forums and groups on the Internet and on MySpace and FaceBook. There is also a “World Buddhist Directory” where you will be surprised to find Buddhist centers in your area.

You may ask a Buddhist monk to hear you take refuge. If one is not available to you, take refuge in a Buddha image (and again, there are many Buddhist images available on the Internet). Ask your friends to join you. Traditionally, you kneel, bowing three times to the image, with your forehead touching the floor. It may strike you as odd, even as idolatry, but to worship before a Buddha statue is no more to worship that statue than to salute a flag is to worship a flag. Leaning and bowing, although they have little place in today’s society, give us a state of humility, open and ready to take refuge, to turn to something or life outside of us.

You can speak your vows of refuge in the ancient language of Pali, but perhaps it is more meaningful to speak the words in your own language. What goes on in your mind is much more important than the words you speak or the gestures you make. Traditionally, you bend your knees and bring your palms to your chest. Compose yourself, calm your mind and worship the image three times, so that your palms and forehead touch the ground. Then we will recite this formula;

I take refuge in the Buddha.
I take refuge in the law.
I take refuge in the Sangha

For the second time I take refuge in the Buddha.
I take refuge in the law for the second time.
I take refuge in another in the Sangha.

For the third time I take refuge in the Buddha.
I take refuge in the Law for the third time.
I take refuge in the Sangha for the third time