The precepts of refuge states that once you take refuge in the Buddha, you must never take refuge in worldly gods or beings and you must never accept them as your spiritual guide.

Once you take refuge in the Dharma you must never hurt sentient beings and you must never accept what is not the Dharma as the path.

Once you take refuge in the Sangha you must never accept non-Buddhists as your teachers or fellow practitioners on the path.

Although there are many precepts that one must observe after having taken refuge, these are the main rules that you must conform to as a Buddhist.

Regarding the question as to whether it is acceptable to make offerings to worldly gods or not, it is said that it would not hurt one’s refuge vows by just making offerings or showing respect but if one takes refuge in them, then one’s refuge vows are broken or destroyed.

I wanted to share the following excerpt from Sakya Pandita’s teachings in his own words. Though spoken centuries ago, these words are relevant and applicable even in this time and age.

Some also say that to commit disrespectful acts toward the scriptures such as to walk over them, buy and sell them, or use them as a pledge for loans – is to abandon the Dharma and therefore amounts to losing your refuge in the Dharma.

Yet the same people also say, “Do not engage in studying and teaching”, thinking that to obstruct the study and teaching of the Dharma does not damage the taking of refuge. In general, it is indeed a great fault to engage in the business of buying and selling a sacred book. Yet because the book will continue to be used for recitation and so forth when it is in the hands of the new owner, this cannot cause a decline in the doctrine in general, though the seller himself will be worse off. But if you put an end to studying and teaching, the lineage of wise ones will be broken. Even if many volumes of scriptures remain, if there is no one who can understand the teachings, the doctrine of the Buddha will have been destroyed. Therefore those who are afraid of lesser faults, such as trafficking in religious books, but commit the major fault of obstructing religious study and teaching do not understand the root of taking refuge in the Dharma.

I have also seen some who, while saying that to walk over some yellow cloth destroys your refuge in the Sangha, commit acts of harm and irreverence to noble, energetic upholders of the monastic vows and to great adherents of the basic Buddhist scriptures. To walk over yellow cloth is the subsidiary fault of irreverence, but it does not cause the actual refuge itself to be lost.

However, disrespecting or injuring the noble and energetic upholders of the monastic vows and great adherents of the scriptures does impair your refuge in the Sangha.

All distinctions of these sorts should be carefully differentiated and understood.

–Khöndung Asanga Vajra, May, 2018.