Interesting article... just sharing :)
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Buddhism does not accept the Christian notion of original sin,
so Buddhists do not think infants are inherently sinful. If an
infant carries any ‘sin’, it is because of its behavior, or karma,
in previous lives has made impressions on the infant’s eighth
consciousness, the primary entity of life. So babies do not
invariably inherit some “original sin of mankind” simply because
they are born.
As infants, people do not yet have the ability to make judgments
for themselves. And to perform the ceremony of taking refuge to
become a Buddhist, one must make vows out of one’s volition
[intention]; otherwise, the ceremony is invalid. Children are
required to reach the age of seven before they can become Buddhist
monastic; taking this as a point of reference, we could say that
people should be at least seven years old and have the ability to
make judgments for themselves before they participate in a ceremony
to take refuge.
On the other hand, Buddhists strongly believe in the ability to
transfer merit. So people should make merit through activities such
as sponsoring vegetarian meals for monastics, giving donations and
charity, reciting a Buddha’s name [e.g. Amituofo], or reciting
sutras both before and after the child’s birth and in order to
celebrate occasions such as the child’s completion of one month and
one year of life [though such celebrations are secular]. People
should perform such activities along with prayers for the child’s
good fortune, longevity and wisdom.
http://thedailyenlightenment.com/2011/07/can-a-baby-take-refuge-in-buddhism/
Ermm....... Before we released animals, the Ven. would chant 3
refuge to the animals. I think it is more on "planting seeds" for
the animals. I think it should be the same for babies who take
refuge when they are young. Though they can't understand but
"seeds" are planted. When conditions are right, the "seeds will
grow".
