The Benefits of Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels Are Truly Too Many to Count

The benefits of taking refuge in the Three Jewels are truly countless. One can gain happiness in this present life, happiness in future lives, and ultimately attain the supreme peace of Nirvana. Summarized, there are roughly eight such benefits: 1. Becoming a disciple of the Buddha; 2. Laying the foundation for receiving the precepts; 3. Lightening one's karmic obstacles; 4. Accumulating vast merit and virtue; 5. Not falling into the evil realms; 6. Neither human nor non-human beings can disturb one; 7. All good endeavors will succeed; 8. One can attain the path to Buddhahood.

To cite specific examples, the Buddhist scriptures contain far too many to enumerate. I have selected five below, translated and presented as follows:

(1) If a person takes refuge in the Three Jewels, the merit and blessings they will attain in the future are so vast as to be inexhaustible. It is like a treasure trove that the entire population of a country could not empty even after transporting it for seven years. The merit of the Three Refuges is still thousands upon thousands of times greater than this.

(2) In the past, there was a celestial son of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. When his heavenly blessings were exhausted, his body became utterly frail, and his life was to end within seven days. He knew that after death he would be reborn in the womb of a pig, so he was seized with terror. He consulted the Lord of Heaven, but the Lord of Heaven had no solution. The Lord of Heaven instructed him to seek help from the Buddha. The Buddha taught him to take refuge in the Three Jewels. After death, not only was he spared from falling into a pig's womb, but he was reborn among humans, encountered Śāriputra, heard the Buddha expound the Dharma, and thereby attained the holy fruit (of sainthood).

(3) In the past, there was a celestial son of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven whose heavenly blessings had come to an end. With only seven days left to live, all his former joys departed from him. The beautiful celestial maidens no longer drew near to him. His once majestic and dignified countenance became utterly colorless. His body grew weak and foul beyond measure, with stinking sweat streaming from beneath his armpits all day long. He also saw that he would be reborn into a pig's womb. So he lay on the ground, grieving, weeping, and lamenting his plight. When the Lord of Heaven learned of this, he instructed him to take refuge in the Three Jewels with sincere faith, and taught him to recite: "I take refuge in the Buddha, the Honored One of Two Perfections; I take refuge in the Dharma, the Honored One Free from Desire; I take refuge in the Sangha, the Honored One Among Assemblies." He followed the Lord of Heaven's instructions and took refuge in the Three Jewels.

When the seven days had ended, he passed away. The Lord of Heaven wished to know where he had been reborn, but with all the power at his disposal, he searched every place he could see and could find no trace of that celestial son's whereabouts. He had no choice but to ask the Buddha. The Buddha told him: "Through the merit of taking refuge in the Three Jewels, his descent has been reversed into ascension. He has risen to Tuṣita Heaven. You celestial beings can only look downward; you cannot see what lies above."

(4) If throughout the four great continents of the east, south, west, and north, every single person were a saint of the Two Vehicles' fruit, and someone were to make offerings to them throughout the entirety of their life, even building a stupa for each one, that person's merit would be beyond calculation. Yet it still falls far short of the merit of taking refuge in the Three Jewels.

(5) In the past, there was a bhikṣu named Śādu who devoted himself solely to chanting the names of the Three Jewels. After ten years, he attained the first fruit of Sakṛdāgāmin. Today he abides in the Universal Fragrance World as a Pratyekabuddha.

From the five examples cited above, one can understand that taking refuge in the Three Jewels is an exceedingly rare and precious matter. At the same time, the Buddha has also said that whenever a person takes refuge in the Three Jewels, the Four Heavenly Kings dispatch thirty-six benevolent deities to protect that person constantly. The Buddha also hoped that disciples who have received the Three Refuges would write down the names of these thirty-six benevolent deities and carry them on their persons, for by doing so they may ward off evil and go forth without fear. Now let me copy out the names of these thirty-six benevolent deities for the practitioner's use:

Milìtóu Bùluópó (Good Light), presides over illness and disease.

Milìtóu Póhēsuō (Good Brightness), presides over headaches.

Milìtóu Póluóbō (Good Strength), presides over chills and fever.

Milìtóu Zhāntuóluó (Good Moon), presides over abdominal distension.

Milìtóu Tuólìshē (Good Vision), presides over abscesses and swellings.

Milìtóu Ālóuhē (Good Offerings), presides over madness and insanity.

Milìtóu Qiépódì (Good Renunciation), presides over foolishness and ignorance.

Milìtóu Xīchǐduō (Good Quiescence), presides over anger and hatred.

Milìtóu Pútísà (Good Awakening), presides over lust and desire.

Milìtóu Tíbōluó (Good Heaven), presides over malevolent spirits.

Milìtóu Hēsuōdì (Good Abiding), presides over injuries and deaths.

Milìtóu Bùruòluó (Good Fortune), presides over tombs and graves.

Milìtóu Bìshéqié (Good Craft), presides over the four directions.

Milìtóu Qiélìsuō (Good Sovereignty), presides over enemies and adversaries.

Milìtóu Luóshézhē (Good Lord), presides over theft and robbery.

Milìtóu Xiūgàntuó (Good Fragrance), presides over creditors.

Milìtóu Tánnàbō (Good Almsgiving), presides over bandits and thieves.

Milìtóu Zhīduōnà (Good Intent), presides over pestilence and poison.

Milìtóu Luópónà (Good Auspice), presides over the five plagues.

Milìtóu Bōpótuó (Good Mountain), presides over flying corpses.

Milìtóu Sānmótuó (Good Harmony), presides over contagious afflictions.

Milìtóu Lìdìtuó (Good Preparation), presides over recurring afflictions.

Milìtóu Bōlìtuó (Good Reverence), presides over enticement and leading astray.

Milìtóu Bōlìnà (Good Purity), presides over evil factions.

Milìtóu Qiángāqí (Good Quality), presides over venomous curses.

Milìtóu Pílìtuó (Good Binding), presides over terror and fear.

Milìtóu Zhītuónà (Good Longevity), presides over distress and hardship.

Milìtóu Qiélínmó (Good Departure), presides over childbirth and nursing.

Milìtóu Āliúqié (Good Vow), presides over magistrates and officials.

Milìtóu Shélìtuó (Good Steadfastness), presides over disputes and slander.

Milìtóu Āqiétuó (Good Illumination), presides over worry and affliction.

Milìtóu Āhēpó (Good Birth), presides over restlessness and unease.

Milìtóu Suōhéluó (Good Arrival), presides over a hundred strange occurrences.

Milìtóu Bōlìnà (Good Treasury), presides over jealousy and envy.

Milìtóu Gùtuónà (Good Sound), presides over curses and imprecations.

Milìtóu Wéituóluó (Good Wonder), presides over hexes and prayers.

The thirty-six benevolent deities listed above are drawn from the Sutra of the Consecration and the Body-Protecting Mantra for Wearing the Three Refuges and Five Precepts. This sutra states that anyone who has received the Three Refuges will have these deities dispatched by the Four Heavenly Kings to protect them. At the same time, each of these thirty-six spirit-kings commands a retinue of spirits as numerous as myriad kotis of the sands of the Ganges, who take turns guarding those who have received the Three Refuges. It is best if one can write out the spirit-kings' names and wear them on one's person. The twenty-fourth and thirty-fourth transliterated names happen to be identical, though their translated meanings differ; this is of no consequence.

However, we should understand this: while taking refuge in the Three Jewels can bring peace and happiness in this present life, the ultimate purpose of taking refuge in the Three Jewels is to return to the embrace of the Three Jewels and to make oneself one of the Three Jewels as well—for all can attain Buddhahood. One must never abandon or belittle oneself.