SuttaCentral
Hello,
I have a question regarding buddhist custom of chanting this phrase:
Araham samma-sambuddho bhagava
Buddham bhagavantam abhivademi.
Svakkhato bhagavata dhammo
Dhammam namassami.
Supatipanno bhagavato savakasangho
sangham namami.
Should this phrase be chanted only by a monk/nun after dhamma talk, or can a group of lay people join and sing/chant along together with the monk/nun? 
I canāt comment knowledgeably on the āshouldā part of this quesdtion, but at the Thai wat I attend in the United States laypeople chant along with the monks when these passages are recited.
When in Romeā¦
Iāve been in some monasteries where the head monk recites each line and then everyone else (monks, nuns and laity) repeats it after him. Iāve been in other monasteries where everyone chants it together. Iāve never seen it being chanted only by monks when laypeople are present.
Thank you for your answers it is good to know
I do meditation groups and I wondered if it was okay if we chant this all together, I wasnāt sure if it is reserved for Sangha but now I know, thank you
This concerns Padasodhamma pÄcittiya rule. Padaso dhamma rule restrain chanting with lay people or who ever it is not fully ordained (with upasampadÄ). Some people argue chanting together without an intention to teach a situation exactly like you are pointing is no offense. But sometimes there are small children and people with no practice of chanting, they cannot get along with the line. Sometimes this makes people even laugh(/ simile. ) So chanting together sometimes could be an offence of pÄcittiya.
Therefore monks who are concerned about vinaya rules preach whatever the dhamma they chant, they chant it line by line (mostly one quality at a time for this particular passage) to the lay people to follow it up after them. Most monks nowadays chant it together with lay people or sÄmanera sÄmanerÄ«s. But there still is a doubt of commiting a pacittiya offense by the monks who do.
Yo pana bhikkhu anupasampannaį¹ padaso dhammaį¹ vÄceyya pÄcittiyanāti.
A monk who teaches an unordained person to learn the word of the Buddha by heart must confess the offense.
(Ven. Brahmali tranl.)
Paritta chanting
It is chanted that way together with dhamma sanga(swÄkkhÄtoā¦ supatipannoā¦) and few sutta parts considered as paritta as a blessing to the lay people.
Iām aware of that, but what was quoted by Invo isnāt part of a paritta chant, i.e., itās not the full list of qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma and Saį¹ gha. Rather itās the lines that serve (in Thailand) as the opening for morning and evening pÅ«jÄ.
Bhante, now I got itā¦
After evening pÅ«jÄ parittachanting is done by the bhikkÅ«s in Sri Lanka.