If one desires to become a Buddhist, there is no initiation ceremony (or
baptism) which one has to undergo….If one understands the Buddha’s
teaching, and if one is convinced that this teaching is the right Path and
if one tries to follow it, then one is a Buddhist.
But according to the unbroken age-old tradition in Buddhist countries, one
is considered a Buddhist if one takes the Buddha, the Dhamma (the Teaching)
and the Sangha (the community of Buddhists)–generally called “the
Triple-Gem”–as one’s refuges, and undertakes to observe the Five
Precepts–the minimum moral obligations of a lay Buddhist:
(1) not to destroy life, (2) not to steal, (3) not to commit adultery, (4)
not to tell lies, (5) not to take intoxicating drinks….
There are no external rites or ceremonies which a Buddhist has to perform.
Buddhism is a way of life, and what is essential is following the Noble
Eightfold Path.
–Walpola Rahula in What the Buddha Taught
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book