The request for the eight precepts together with the three refuges, said three times, with a note on the singular form.
- When chanted
- Spoken by those about to take the eight precepts, before the monk administers them.
A note on this chant. The book prints this chant in Pali only, with no Thai translation. The English here is a working translation prepared for this edition — it is not the book's own, and has not yet been checked by a teacher.
Historical background
The asking half of the exchange. Like the request for the Uposatha precepts earlier in the book, it establishes that the precepts are sought rather than imposed.
It is shorter than the Uposatha version because it is not tied to a particular day. These are the eight taken by anybody at any time, including those going forth as มีชี.
Meaning and purpose
What is asked for is one thing, not two: the eight precepts together with the three refuges. Refuge and precepts arrive in a single request, as they do throughout this book.
Said three times, in the plural — มะยัง, we — because the occasion is usually a group.
Then the practical note the book adds in brackets: if alone, say อะหัง in place of มะยัง, and ยาจามิ in place of ยาจามะ. Two words changed, and a page written for a group works for one person. That kind of note is what makes this a handbook rather than an anthology.
The chant
As the book prints it: page 299 →
page 299มะยัง ภันเต ติสะระเณนะ สะหะ อัฏฐะ สีลานิ ยาจามะ.
Mayaṃ bhante tisaraṇena saha aṭṭha sīlāni yācāma.
Venerable sir, we ask for the eight precepts together with the three refuges.
มะยัง ภันเต ติสะระเณนะ สะหะ อัฏฐะ สีลานิ ยาจามะ.
Mayaṃ bhante tisaraṇena saha aṭṭha sīlāni yācāma.
Venerable sir, we ask for the eight precepts together with the three refuges.
มะยัง ภันเต ติสะระเณนะ สะหะ อัฏฐะ สีลานิ ยาจามะ.
Mayaṃ bhante tisaraṇena saha aṭṭha sīlāni yācāma.
Venerable sir, we ask for the eight precepts together with the three refuges.
(ถ้าคนเดียว อะหัง แทน มะยัง และ ยาจามิ แทน ยาจามะ)
(If alone, say ahaṃ in place of mayaṃ, and yācāmi in place of yācāma)