There is a single answer to the question of what makes someone a Buddhist, and it is unusually clear: going for refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

Not belief in a creed, not membership of an organisation, not a birth or a baptism. An act of orientation, expressed in a formula that takes half a minute to say.

The formula #

In Pali, recited three times:

Buddham saranam gacchami — I go to the Buddha for refuge. Dhammam saranam gacchami — I go to the Dhamma for refuge. Sangham saranam gacchami — I go to the Sangha for refuge.

Then twice more, prefaced with dutiyampi (for the second time) and tatiyampi (for the third time).

The Sanskrit and the various vernacular versions differ in wording and not in substance. It is the same formula everywhere in the Buddhist world, which is a rare thing in a tradition this varied.

The Three Jewels #

Triratna — the three treasures, or three jewels.

The Buddha #

The historical teacher, and — depending on tradition — the principle of awakening he represents, or one’s own buddha-nature.

What refuge in the Buddha does not mean: that he is a god, that he can save anyone, or that he answers prayers. He is not present in the statue, does not intervene, and the canon is explicit that he is a guide rather than a rescuer — the Dhammapada says that you yourselves must make the effort, and that buddhas only point the way.

What it does mean is taking his awakening as evidence that the thing is possible, and taking him as the model.

The Dharma #

The teaching, and what it points at: the Four Noble Truths, the path, and, in the fullest sense, the reality the teaching describes and the liberation it leads to.

The standard formula describes it as well-expounded, visible here and now, immediate, inviting inspection, onward-leading, and to be personally experienced by the wise.

The Sangha #

Strictly, the ariya-sangha: the community of those who have attained at least stream-entry. This is what the formal refuge refers to.

More broadly, the monastic community, and more broadly still the whole community of practitioners. In Western usage “sangha” is generally used for one’s local group, which is a loosening of the term the tradition would not recognise but which is now universal.

The point of refuge in the Sangha is that the path is not walked alone. Ananda once suggested to the Buddha that good friendship was half the holy life, and was corrected: it is the whole of it.

What “refuge” means #

The word sarana means a shelter, a protection, a place to go.

The traditional explanation is a sober one. There is no safety in the ordinary sense: things end, people die, circumstances fail. The Dhammapada verses on refuge say that people driven by fear go for refuge to mountains, forests, groves, trees, and shrines — and that these are not a safe refuge, not the supreme refuge, and do not release one from suffering. Refuge in the Three Jewels is offered as what does.

Three things this is not.

Not an exclusive membership. The tradition has never required renouncing other affiliations, and taking refuge does not, in most Buddhist teachers’ understanding, prevent someone continuing Christian or Jewish practice. Some teachers disagree; most do not.

Not a promise of protection. Buddhists get ill, lose people, and die. The refuge is from dukkha in the structural sense, not from misfortune.

Not an initiation into a secret. The Buddha said on his last night that he taught without the closed fist of a teacher who holds something back.

The ceremony #

Most traditions have one, and the form is simple everywhere.

Typically: the candidate requests the refuges from a monastic or teacher; the teacher recites each line and the candidate repeats it, three times through; the five precepts are usually administered immediately afterwards in the same way; and in many traditions a Dharma name is given.

In Tibetan traditions a lock of hair is cut, symbolising renunciation, and a refuge cord may be tied around the neck.

In Zen, jukai — receiving the precepts — is a more elaborate ceremony, often following a period of study and the sewing of a rakusu, a small garment representing the Buddha’s robe, stitched by the candidate.

In Theravada, it is very often not a ceremony at all: the refuges and precepts are recited at the start of essentially every gathering, and a layperson may have said them a thousand times.

Do you need a ceremony? #

The tradition’s answer is no, strictly speaking. Refuge is an act of mind, and the Vinaya records laypeople going for refuge simply by saying so in the Buddha’s presence — the merchants Tapussa and Bhallika, the first lay followers, took refuge in the Buddha and the Dharma before a Sangha existed.

What a ceremony adds is real but not doctrinal: a witness, a date, a community that now knows, and the psychological weight of having said something out loud to another person. Most teachers recommend it for that reason rather than because it is required.

Practitioners in traditions with a formal ceremony sometimes wait years. Practitioners in traditions without one may never have a specific moment. Both are normal.

Renewing it #

Refuge is not a one-off. Across traditions it is renewed constantly:

Daily, as part of a morning practice, and before formal sitting. At the start of any gathering, which is standard Theravada practice. Before any other practice — in Tibetan traditions, refuge and bodhicitta precede every session as a matter of course. In the preliminary practices, where 100,000 refuge recitations with prostrations is the standard requirement.

The repetition is the point. Refuge is a direction, and directions need re-taking.

What it changes #

Practically, less than people expect and more than nothing.

There is no obligation to change diet, dress, or occupation. There is no institution to join, no dues, and no register. Taking refuge does not require leaving another religion, though some teachers and some traditions take a firmer line.

What it does is establish an orientation, and orientations have consequences. Practitioners commonly report that the specific change is a reference point: a question about what to do acquires a different frame once there is something one has formally aligned with.

Common questions #

Am I a Buddhist if I haven’t taken refuge? By the tradition’s own criterion, refuge is what makes someone a Buddhist. In ordinary usage a great many people identify as Buddhist without a ceremony, and nobody polices this.

Can I take refuge and remain a Christian or a Jew? Most Buddhist teachers say yes; a minority say no. It is worth asking the specific teacher. In practice a significant number of Western practitioners hold dual affiliations.

What if I lose confidence later? Then you do. There is no excommunication, no penalty, and no register to be removed from. The tradition’s own framing treats refuge as something to be renewed, which implies it can lapse.

Do I need a teacher to take refuge? For a formal ceremony, yes, someone administers it. For the act itself, no.

What is a Dharma name? A name given at refuge or ordination, usually in Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan, or Japanese depending on the tradition, often reflecting a quality to be developed. It is used within the community and is not a legal change.

What do I do at the ceremony? Nothing complicated: repeat what you are asked to repeat. Someone will tell you when to bow. Nobody expects a newcomer to know the forms.

Sources & further reading #

Bhikkhu Bodhi, Going for Refuge and Taking the Precepts (BPS, 2nd ed. 1981) — the clearest short exposition; freely available. Thubten Chodron, Buddhism for Beginners (Snow Lion, 2001). Sangharakshita, The Three Jewels (Windhorse, 1967). Bhikkhu Bodhi (ed.), In the Buddha’s Words (Wisdom, 2005), ch. 4. Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism (Cambridge, 2nd ed. 2013), pp. 246–250.