The Eight Prohibitive and Fasting Precepts, Five Precepts and Three Refuges Ceremony 2024

The Eight Prohibitive and Fasting Precepts,
Five Precepts and Three Refuges Ceremony 2024

Shakyamuni Buddha established the precepts as moral and ethical guidelines for Buddhist practitioners. From December 31st, 2023 to January 1st, 2024, Chung Tai Chan Monastery held a special ceremony to welcome the new year by imparting the Eight Prohibitive and Fasting Precepts, along with the Three Refuges and Five Precepts.

The ceremony was led by Venerable Abbot Jianying, who served as Precept Master, and attended by approximately 4,300 people, including Chung Tai members from Taiwan, the United States, Japan, Australia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. Among them, 1,300 individuals took the Three Refuges and Five Precepts. Additionally, there were 900 volunteers who supported the ceremony.

During the observance of the Eight Precepts, the preceptees maintained silence and refrained from unwholesome activities in body and mind. The precept period involved various Buddhist practices such as the “Grand Meal Offering to Buddhas,” formal Chan meals, repentance, meditation, precept lectures, as well as morning and evening services. Through these practices and by studying the precepts, participants aimed to cultivate moral conduct in body, speech, and mind. With diligent cultivation, they welcomed the new year with a mind of purity.

The Eight Precepts Lead to Liberation

On the morning of December 31st, the preceptees gathered in Perfect Illumination Lecture Hall and Prajna Lecture Hall. The ceremony then began with a reverential chant:

“The Eight Precepts are the light from the ocean of true nature. The master of the mind is free from all hindrances...”

Following this, the Precept Master, Abbot Jianying, explained the significance of the Eight Precepts and led the assembly in an invocation of the Three Jewels. Together, they repented unwholesome deeds and sought refuge in the Three Jewels. Precept Master Jianying then encouraged all preceptees to forsake moral misconduct, cultivate wholesome karma, and strive to benefit all sentient beings.

During the ceremony, Precept Master Jianying read the eight precepts to the assembly:

  • Will you refrain from killing for twenty-four hours?
  • Will you refrain from stealing for twenty-four hours?
  • Will you refrain from sexual conduct for twenty-four hours?
  • Will you refrain from lying for twenty-four hours?
  • Will you refrain from intoxication for twenty-four hours?
  • Will you refrain from wearing garlands, jewelry, and perfume, and from dancing, singing, playing music, or engaging in the activities above for twenty-four hours?
  • Will you refrain from sitting or lying on grand, luxurious seats or beds for twenty-four hours?
  • Will you refrain from taking food after midday for twenty-four hours?

Each preceptee responded with determination, affirming their commitment by saying “Yes, I will!” This symbolized their dedication to upholding the precepts. Precept Master Jianying then reminded them to always act in accordance with the precepts as a way to repay the four kindnesses and alleviate the suffering of the three lower realms. He concluded by urging them to bring forth the bodhi mind and attain the purest level of moral conduct.

In his Dharma talk, Precept Master Jianying elaborated on the significance of the eight precepts, explaining how they serve as a means to close the door to samsara and open the path to liberation. He emphasized two essential aspects:

Firstly, by observing these precepts, participants immerse themselves in the monastic lifestyle for one day and night. This includes engaging in five traditional sessions of practice: morning service, evening service, formal breakfast, formal lunch, and the grand meal offering to buddhas. This dedicated practice allows them to focus on nurturing their minds, cultivating right mindfulness, mastering themselves, and perceiving things truthfully.

Secondly, participants learn how to integrate the eight precepts into their daily lives. Precept Master Jianying stressed that upholding the precepts is not about imposing restrictions, but about facilitating genuine liberation. As the sutras teach, “The precepts are the foundation of unsurpassed enlightenment,” serving as the bedrock and essence of one’s practice. By observing the precepts, Buddhist cultivators can establish right view and ultimately attain true liberation.

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  • 1-3. Participants gather at Perfect Illumination Lecture Hall and Prajna Lecture Hall, respectfully inviting Precept Master Jianying to formally transmit the Eight Precepts.
  •    4.Precept Master Jianying delivers a Dharma talk to the disciples, guiding them on how to observe the precepts.

In his concluding sermon on the morning of January 1st, Precept Master Jianying urged participants to internalize the precepts and teachings received during the observance. He encouraged them to allow their thoughts, speech, and actions to undergo positive transformation. Emphasizing the importance of rectifying mistaken views and improving mental stability, he reminded them that the practice of observing the precepts in daily life had already begun.

To inspire the assembly, Precept Master Jianying shared a poem from Chan Master Yunfeng Wenyue:

Scattering all the clouds, dropping all the flowers

These words suggest not rejecting everything, but rather seeing through impermanent phenomena, transcending all and embracing everything.

From start to finish, the moon illuminates our life path

If our minds are as luminous as the moon, we can experience intrinsic freedom throughout our lives.

As six curtains the heavens extend, beyond countless mountains.

The six curtains represent six directions—north, south, east, west, above, and below. This signifies that all things are within this Dharma realm: one’s very mind.

Wherever there is a clear wind, one is at home.

With a gentle breeze purifying our afflictions, we naturally return to our original abode, the home of the bodhi mind.

This poem tells us the benefit to upholding the precepts. If we possess self-mastery and wisdom, we can return to our intrinsic home—the enlightened mind. Then, we will experience a state of freedom and tranquility wherever we go.

The Three Refuges and Five Precepts, An Entryway to Buddhahood

At noon, Chung Tai Chan Monastery held a “Taking the Three Refuges and Five Precepts Ceremony,” led by Abbot Jianying. The Three Refuges and Five Precepts form the foundation of Buddhist practice. As the Upasaka Precepts Sutra states, “If one wishes the cross the great ocean of birth and death, one should wholeheartedly receive and uphold the Five Precepts.” Observing the Five Precepts enables practitioners to progress on the path toward buddhahood.

During the ceremony, over one thousand participants earnestly took the Three Refuges, and over eight-hundred received the Five Precepts. Together with the Abbot, the assembly acknowledged their faults, made heartfelt vows to benefit themselves and others, and pledged to never regress from the path.

The ceremonies marked an auspicious start to the new year for all participants. Filled with Dharma joy, they vowed to purify their conduct, accumulate merits and wisdom, and confidently stride towards the ultimate freedom of enlightenment.

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  •    1.The preceptees purify body, speech, and mind through Buddhist practices such as repentance and cultivating mindfulness.
  • 2-3.Near the end of the ceremony, the Precept Master encouraged the assembly to internalize the precepts and apply them in daily life.

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  • 4-6.On January 1st, around 1,000 participants took Three Refuges and over 800 received the Five Precepts, formally becoming Buddhist disciples.
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