法苑珠林 88.12

88.12

'I, so-and-so, take refuge in the Buddha, take refuge in the Dharma, take refuge in the Saṃgha' (spoken three times). 'I, so-and-so, have taken refuge in the Buddha, have taken refuge in the Dharma, have taken refuge in the Saṃgha' (spoken three times). 'I am an upāsaka (or upāsikā) of Śākyamuni Buddha; bear witness to me. I, so-and-so, from this day until the end of life take refuge.' The precept master should say: 'Listen, upāsaka! The Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksaṃbuddha, who knows people and sees people, has spoken the five precepts for upāsakas in this way. You must receive and uphold them all. What are the five? First, throughout your physical life, not killing living beings: this is an upāsaka precept; wherein throughout your physical life you should not intentionally kill living beings. If you can do this, you should say: "Yes." (Although the treatise says "yes", changing "yes" to "I can" carries no fault.)