No narrative setting is given; this is a formula, not a discourse delivered on a specific occasion
Speaker
Not the Buddha — the words are spoken by whoever takes refuge, in the first person
Form
A short homage line followed by the three-refuges formula, repeated three times in full
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The three refuges formula, in close to this exact wording, is foundational across every Buddhist tradition; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching text
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — the shortest and most widely recited text in the entire collection
Why this text
The Khuddakapatha (“Basic Passages”) opens with the single most widely recited formula in the entire Buddhist tradition: taking refuge in the Buddha, the teaching (dhamma), and the community (saṅgha), stated a first time, then repeated word for word a second and third time. It is not a discourse the Buddha delivers; it is a formula anyone can speak, in the first person, to formally commit to the tradition.
Reading guide
The shortest text in this collection
Nine short passages make up the Khuddakapatha, and this is the first and shortest: a homage line, then the three-refuges formula stated three times over, with nothing else added.
Not a discourse, but a formula
Unlike almost every other text in this project, this passage names no speaker, no audience, and no occasion. It is written in the first person (“I take refuge”), meant to be spoken by whoever recites it, not narrated as something the Buddha once said to someone else.
Three refuges, three repetitions
The Buddha, the teaching, and the community — the three things taken refuge in — are stated identically all three times; only the ordinal marker changes (‘for the second time’, ‘for the third time’). Repeating a formal declaration three times, rather than once, is itself a widespread convention for making a commitment binding in this tradition, not unique to this text.
A homage line older than the formula itself
The opening line, ‘Homage to him, the blessed one, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha!’, is not part of the refuges formula proper; it is a separate, extremely widely used homage (namotassa) that traditionally opens a great deal of recited and chanted material across the canon, not just this passage.
Nine passages, building outward
The Khuddakapatha's nine texts move from this shortest possible formula toward progressively longer material: precepts, a list of the body's parts, a children's catechism, and several full verse suttas closing the collection.
Key terms
saraṇa — “refuge” — the act this text's title names, taken here in the Buddha, the teaching, and the community.
Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha — the “three jewels” (tiratana) — the awakened teacher, his teaching, and the community that preserves and practices it.
namotassa — the opening homage line, ‘Homage to him...’ — a separate, very widely used formula distinct from the refuges themselves.
dutiyampi, tatiyampi — “for the second time”, “for the third time” — the only words that change across the formula's three repetitions.
Khuddakapatha — “Basic Passages” or “Short Passages” — this collection's own title, and the first of the Khuddaka Nikāya's texts covered in this project.
The text
The text in full: the homage line, then the three refuges, stated three times over. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Homage to him, the blessed one, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha!
§2I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Teaching, I take refuge in the Sangha.
§3For the second time I take refuge in the Buddha, for the second time I take refuge in the Teaching, for the second time I take refuge in the Sangha.
§4For the third time I take refuge in the Buddha, for the third time I take refuge in the Teaching, for the third time I take refuge in the Sangha.
· · ·
Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What three things does this text take refuge in?
Correct: A. The 'three jewels' (tiratana).
Question 2 of 10
How many times is the refuges formula stated in this text?
Correct: A. 'For the second time...', 'for the third time...'
Question 3 of 10
Who is the speaker of this text?
Correct: A. Unlike most texts in this project, no narrative speaker or setting is given.
Question 4 of 10
What is the opening homage line, and is it part of the refuges formula itself?
Correct: A. Namotassa traditionally opens a great deal of recited material, not just this text.
Question 5 of 10
What collection does this text open?
Correct: A. The first and shortest of this collection's nine texts.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'saraṇa' mean?
Correct: A. The act this text's title, Saraṇattaya ('the three refuges'), names.
Question 7 of 10
What words change across the formula's three repetitions?
Correct: A. Dutiyampi, tatiyampi — the only variation.
Question 8 of 10
What does the Khuddakapatha do after this opening text?
Correct: A. Nine texts total, building outward from this shortest formula.
Question 9 of 10
Why might a formal declaration be repeated three times rather than stated once?
Correct: A. Not unique to this text; a broader convention across the tradition.
Question 10 of 10
What is this text's overall form?
Correct: A. The shortest and most widely recited text in this entire collection.
