Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

3. To become a Buddhist, is it necessary formally to
take the three refuges and five precepts from a
teacher (or recite them oneself), before taking up the
practices of Buddhist meditation?
The transcriber said that he had asked this question
as it was reported that some non-Buddhists had
been practicing specifically Buddhist techniques of
meditation and it was claimed that good results had
been obtained by them even though the meditators
had not become Buddhists.
"More pride!" exclaimed Mr. Chen. Bhante broke
his usual silence by remarking, "Just as a student
wanting to learn mathematics would not see much
point in first being converted to the religion of his
math teacher (for he can surely learn mathematics
without taking such a step), so these people think
that one can learn Buddhist meditation without
becoming a Buddhist, as though Buddhism and
mathematics were on the same level!"
Meditation is not a cold, impersonal physical science.
Not at all! We should understand the three refuges
properly. To make our meditation succeed, we need the
grace of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha; and
without taking the Refuges, we have no such help.
Meditation is quite difficult enough for most people, so
it is important for them to use all available methods
which might aid them. The three refuges can help—for
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