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The First Sermon of the Lord BuddhaDhammacakka-pavatanna Sutta:

The Discourse on the Establishing of the Wheel of Truth

Venerable Dhammasami, 1999

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          Today we are meeting here to mark a very special occasion on which the Buddha delivered His First Sermon almost 26 centuries ago in Sarnath, near Baneras city in northern India.

          The best way to celebrate any important events in Buddhism is to try to understand why that particular day or event is important. Therefore, it is only right for us to try to understand about the first sermon that makes today great. I am honoured and privileged to have this opportunity of discussing the First Sermon of the Buddha with you today.

         Before we look at the Sutta itself it would be helpful to see the situation, which formed the inseparable context to the preaching of this First Sermon.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCOURSE

          The 6th century BC in India was quite remarkable in many ways. We can see some social changes taking place. The Brahmins were gradually losing their sole actorship in society. Brahmins were just like an ordinary lay person in their daily life. They had a family. It was just a caste. They derived their authority from Vedas (their holy scriptures). Brahmins monopolised not only religious and educational establishment but also all social affairs. They instructed the Kings what and how to do their business. They said that a man born into a trader's caste could not become a politician or a priest even if he wished to. The opportunity of education, becoming a businessman, entering into politics and being ordained were never opened to a man born into so-called labourer's class. Women were considered inferior and derived of all equal opportunity. They could not even perform a religious ritual practice. This was a general picture of Indian social life at that time.

          However, by the time the Buddha came along people started becoming more critical of what they were doing. The other social groups namely warrior caste and traders were obviously heading for a prominent social position.

          Even among the Brahmins, we had many people challenging the traditional values. In terms of religious practice, there had already been many groups going against Brahmanism — the established faith at that time. We see wanderers, ascetics, Ajivakas, Jainas and even materialists proclaiming their own doctrines with a considerable followers. Among them, Jainism has a very torturous, suffering and painful practice. According to them unless you paid the price for evil deeds done sometime in the past by torturing yourself through a certain practice like staying naked, sleeping on the ground and starving yourself, there cannot be liberation from suffering. This was a diametrical opposite to the relaxed and indulging practice in Brahmanism.

          Brahmins were no longer the only advisors and instructors of the rulers. The Kings and generals sought opinions and advice from the revolutionary doctrines, if you like, of those non-Brahmins. The King constitutionalised no state religion. Instead, he approached every different religious leaders and philosophers for advice. Freedom of expression was enjoyed in this way in the 6th century BC. This was the background of the birth of Buddhism.

         We have now in a possible brief manner examined the socio-religious background of the then India. Let us now have a quick look on the Ascetic Gautama in his search for the answer to the common problems that every living being has to face.

          His search for the truth at early stages was entirely influenced by those pre-Buddhist religious practices like Yoga meditation techniques of the Sankhya Philosophy. We know that he practiced it under the guidance of Alara Kalama and Udaka Ramaputta, two best-known meditation teachers at that time. Being unsatisfied with the achievement under them, he set out for another method. This time he took a more painful path, which he thought, might lead him to the end of suffering. He even starved himself until he became so weak and was almost dead. This kind of self-mortification practice could be the famous practice of Jainism at that time.

          Having gone through himself all the most famous methods under reputed masters he could possibly come across in India, he found that the teachings of those masters could not solve the common problems we all have to face in our life. This is the point where he became sure of what can be achieved through those doctrines and he denounced all of them after thorough examining and investigation. The Ascetic Gautama adopted a completely new path and he worked through that with a firm determination to realise the end of suffering. Now we have tried our best to understand of how the Ascetic Gautama was searching for the truth.

PREACHING OF THE FIRST SERMON

         As we all know the Ascetic Gautama became a Buddha, a full-enlightened one at the age of 35 without outside help. He walked himself the path he discovered. Two months later, He was in Sarnath, Baneras. It is a few hundreds miles away from the place He attained enlightenment. You can imagine how hard the Buddha had to work to share the truth he had found.

          Although His heart was full of compassion, He was very much selective about His listener. You may remember that soon after His Enlightenment when He was reflecting the newly found Dhamma, He came to realise that it is deep and difficult to understand. His own observation was that His philosophy and teachings were going against mainstream. He rejects caste system, which the majority of the society dared not think of any change to it. He elevated the position of women in society proclaiming that the possibility of enlightenment is opened to both man and woman. Only the wise can be convinced of it.

          People said the world was created. He said, "No". He did not believe that we have to rely on some one like Brahma or God to liberate us.

THE WAY TO FREE OURSELVES FROM SUFFERING

          The key to free ourselves from suffering is to first understand suffering itself. Instead of ignoring it, we should recognise that it is there. We should accept it. This is what is known as the First Noble Truth. It is about common suffering all living beings face in life. Separation from loved one or something you like is suffering. To be with the one or in the place you do not like is suffering. Death is suffering. Getting old is suffering and so on. In brief, the whole life is suffering.

          When we have accepted the reality of suffering, we then will come to understand its cause. Therefore, the cause of suffering is the Second Noble Truth. This is to be got rid of. We eliminate the cause of suffering when we follow the path that forms Buddhist way of life.

          The way to accept suffering, the wisdom to see the cause of suffering and the path leading us to the end of suffering is call Noble Eightfold Path. It is Middle Path avoiding both extremes of practice: self-torture and self-indulgence. This is the Fourth Noble Truth. It is a path made of eight factors. It should be followed in daily life. It is divided into three forms of training — Sharing (Dana), Moral Ethics (Sila) and Meditation (Bhavana).

          The end of suffering itself is Nibbana and is the Third Noble Truth. It is something to be achieved. Nibbana means an experience of a living person who has forever destroyed attachment, hatred and delusion. He is always mindful and peaceful.

          It was declared to the Five colleagues that the First Noble Truth should be understood and also has been understood by Him. That was something unheard of before and was greeted everywhere including in the Devalokas (heavenly worlds).

May you all grow in the Dhamma!


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