On Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, the 93-year old Elder Master Sing Hung and Ven. Dayi Shi presided the ceremony of Three Refuges for 34 disciples and guided 6 Buddhists to vow to uphold Five Precepts at the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sarira Stupa in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

The ceremony lasted for an hour, which was followed by an Offering Prayer before lunch. People at different ages and with various backgrounds all enjoyed the peace and bliss acquired through sincere repentance and taking refuges in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha (the Three Jewels in Buddhism).

Taking refuges in the Three Jewels is an important step to formalise one’s faith in Buddhism. If we consider Buddhism an education, taking refuges in the Three Jewels would be an official registration with this school.

The Five Precepts are the fundamental self-disciplinary rules that help people cultivate virtues through the Noble Eightfold Path (i.e. right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, right understanding, and right thoughts). The five precepts are “not to kill, not to steal, not to indulge in lewdness, not to tell lies, and not to drink intoxicating liquors”.

It is highly recommended that newly registered students (i.e. the ones who just took refuges in the Three Jewels) to take at least one year to learn Buddhist doctrines and understand the basic concepts such as Cause and Effects, the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path before they vow to uphold the five precepts.