Encyclopedia of Buddhism

In Japanese Buddhism, posthumous ORDINATION,
the monastic ordination of the dying on their death-
bed, is commonly practiced as a means to guarantee
salvation and a better rebirth. In this way it can be said
that all Buddhists in Japan die as MONKSor NUNS.
Tibetan Buddhism also recognizes the value of virtu-
ous actions and proper MINDFULNESSat the moment
of death. In Tibet, special rituals are performed to ac-
tually guide the deceased’s consciousness through the
perilous pathways of the intermediate state (Tibetan,
bar do) and into the next life. These funerary rituals
are inscribed in specific Tibetan Buddhist liturgical
manuals, some of which have achieved notoriety in
Western-language translations, such as the TIBETAN
BOOK OF THEDEAD.

In all of these Buddhist deathbed practices an un-
derlying principle is at work. Virtuous actions per-
formed at the moment of death by the dying and by
surviving relatives can positively affect a person’s fu-
ture destiny. In other words, a good death leads to a
good rebirth.

See also:Ana
tman/A
tman (No-Self/Self); Cosmology;
Death; Hinduism and Buddhism; Intermediate States;
Jainism and Buddhism

Bibliography

Jamgon Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé. Myriad Worlds: Buddhist Cos-
mology in Abhidharma, Ka
lacakra, and Dzog-chen,tr. and ed.
by the International Translation Committee founded by the
V.V. Kalu Rinpoche. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1995.

O’Flaherty, Wendy Doniger, ed. Karma and Rebirth in Classical
Indian Traditions.Berkeley: University of California Press,
1980.

Sadakata, Akira. Buddhist Cosmology: Philosophy and Origins,tr.
Gaynor Sekimori. Tokyo: Ko
sei, 1997.

Teiser, Stephen F. The Scripture of the Ten Kings and the Mak-
ing of Purgatory in Medieval Chinese Buddhism.Honolulu:
University of Hawaii Press, 1994.

Tenzin Gyatso (Dalai Lama XIV). The Meaning of Life: Buddhist
Perspectives on Cause and Effect,tr. and ed. Jeffrey Hopkins.
Boston: Wisdom, 2000.
BRYANJ. CUEVAS

REFUGES

At the beginning of virtually every Buddhist ritual per-
formed in South and Southeast Asia, whether public
or private, the following Pa
li invocation is chanted:

Buddham saranam gaccha
mi.

Dhammam saranam gaccha
mi.

Sangham saranam ga
cchami.

The translation is:

I go to the Buddha as a refuge.

I go to the dhammaas a refuge.

I go to the san ̇gha as a refuge.

Taking refuge in the triratna (triple gem) is usually

first chanted by a monk and then repeated by the laity.

It is a collective confessional statement in which the

three “jewels” of the s ́a
sana(tradition or teaching) are

publicly affirmed, a declaration that the Buddha dis-

covered the truth and made it known to the SAN ̇GHA,

who have preserved and embodied it.

Taking refuge in the triratna is often a prelude to

the acceptance of basic PRECEPTS. Observing the pañ-

cas ́
lla(fivefold morality) is regarded as normative for

all pious Buddhists. Indeed, it is an ancient moral for-

mula shared with other Indian religious s ́ramana (re-

nunciant) and Bra
hmana (priestly) traditions and

comprises the cardinal principles encoded within the

monastic Vinayapitaka(Book of Discipline). This code

includes prohibitions against taking life, against taking

what is not given, against lying about spiritual achieve-

ment, against engaging in sexual misconduct, and

against imbibing intoxicants—five basic precepts for

Buddhists. Atthas ́
lla,the taking of eight precepts by

laity on full-moon days, includes observing the five

precepts plus three more: not taking solid food after

noon, wearing only white clothes without ornamenta-

tion, and sitting and lying only on mats.

See also:Ordination; Vinaya

Bibliography

Carter, John Ross. On Understanding Buddhists: Essays on the

Therava
da Tradition in Sri Lanka.Albany: State University

of New York Press, 1993.

Gombrich, Richard. Precept and Practice: Traditional Buddhism

in the Rural Highlands of Ceylon.Oxford: Clarendon Press,

1971.

JOHNCLIFFORDHOLT

REFUGES