First Sermon of Lord Buddha -The way I understood.

Meeting the Five Ascetic Friends

Having decided to teach Dhamma, Lord Buddha inquired the whereabouts of his five ascetic friends.  Having learnt that they were dwelling in Banarus, Lord Buddha walked to Banarus from Gaya to tell his five ascetic friends what he had found.  Lord Buddha found them in Deer Park at Isipatana, now called Sarnath. 

Seeing Lord Buddha coming, one of the five ascetics said; “This friends, is the ascetic Gautama coming, who had abandoned austerities and has turned to life of abundance and luxury.  He has committed a sin.  We must not greet him, nor rise in respect, nor take his bowl and robe.  We will only set apart a seat for him.  If he wishes, he may sit down.”  All five agreed to it, since they had deserted him considering good-for-nothing ascetic and did not come forward to receive.

But as Lord Buddha came nearer they began to notice that somehow he was not the same as he used to be in the days when they had lived with him.  They saw something noble, something majestic, such as they had never seen before.  Instantly all their mind changed and received Lord Buddha with respect.  They all rose in their seat, one took his bowl, one took his robe, one prepared the seat, and one brought water to wash his feet.  It was indeed a great welcome to an unwelcome guest. 

The five ascetics were astonished with Lord Buddha who had given up extreme ascetic practices, the reason for which they had deserted him.  They were going to scoff Lord Buddha but instead they venerated him. 

The five ascetics enquired; “Tell us Gotama, what have you found?  When we were living with you, you practiced stern ascetic practices that no human could possibly practice to find the truth and for that reason we took you as our teacher, yet you were not able to find the truth.  We deserted you because you stooped the stern ascetic practice and began to eat like a normal person.” 

Lord Buddha replied; “You are mistaken O Bhikkhus -ascetics!  I did not give up my effort.  I am not living a life of self-indulgence and comfort.  Let me tell you that I attained supreme knowledge and insight as you deserted me.  And I can teach that to you so that you also may attain the supreme knowledge and insight that I have attained.” 

The First Sermon

Reverence to the Blessed One, the Holy One, the Fully-Enlightened One, Lord Buddha, thus gave His First Sermon to his five ascetic friends at Deer Park at Sarnath, in Banarus:

Thus have I heard:  The Blessed One gave his First Sermon to five Bhikkhus at the Migadaya hermitage, in the Deer Park at Isipatana, now called Sarnath, in Banarus on the first full moon day of July.

“Practicing stern ascetic practice only harms you and with it you will not attain either worldly pleasure or heavenly peace.

I say unto you that to satisfy the need of life is not an evil; to keep the body in good health is a duty, or else you shall not be able to keep your mind strong and clear and have the lamp of wisdom burning.

How can you have heavenly peace by leading a wretched life of self mortification; without being subdued the Ahangkar –Ego.  Only when you subdue Ahangkara and passion for worldly pleasure alive in you, you will be liberated.  You will have heavenly peace.  your body needs to be nourished.  Let you eat and drink according to the need of your body.

Sensuality of all kinds is enervating.  The sensual man is a slave of his passion.  All pleasure seeking actions are degrading. 

These two extremes man ought not to follow; the habitual indulgence in one hand, of those things whose attraction depends upon the passions, especially of sensuality; and on the other hand, of asceticism or self mortification, which is painful, unworthy and unprofitable.

Both, a life of pleasure and a life of self mortification, are unbecoming to man.  I have rejected these two extremes.  I have abandoned them and have found the Majjhima Patipada-the Middle Path, which is neither the path of pleasure nor the path of self mortification.

The Majjhima Patipada -the Middle Path is what I have found.  With it I have found a new path for living a noble life.  This Middle Path opens the eyes, and bestows understanding.  It leads to peace of mind, to the higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, and to Nirvana.

know you O Bikkhus! People are living in sorrow, in misery and poverty.  This world is full of suffering.  People are suffering physically, mentally, emotionally.  How to remove the suffering arising from all its sources is the purpose of my Dharma.” 

The five Bhikkhus -ascetics, extremely impatient to know about the Dharma requested the Blessed One to explain.

Lord Buddha said his Dharma and its path have nothing to do with God and Soul, and with life and death.  Nor has his Dharma any concern with rituals and ceremonies. 

His Dharma is righteousness.  His Dharma is living in harmony.  His Dharma consists of Prajna –understanding, the wisdom, and Karuna –love and compassion.  The centre of his Dharma is people and their life here on earth.  It is neither personal nor communal but Pradnya –to serve others and societies as a whole consciously and unconditionally.  His Dharma is universal which need not protection.

Four Noble Truths

Thus have I heard:

"O Bhikkhus!  There are Four Noble Truths concerning the way that leads to the destruction of sorrow.

O Bhikkhus! I comprehended the Four Noble Truths of the existence of sorrow, the origin of sorrow, destruction of sorrow, and I discovered the way to destroy sorrow. 

These Four Noble Truths are not among the doctrines handed down, but there arose within me the eye to perceive it, there arose the knowledge of its nature, there arose the understanding of its cause, there arose the wisdom to guide in the path of Dharma, there arose the light to dispel the darkness.

As my knowledge and insight were clear regarding each of these Four Noble Truths, I become certain that I had attained to the full insight of that insight of that wisdom which is unsurpassed in the heavens or on earth, among the whole race of Samanas and Brahmans, or of gods or men.

And now this insight and this knowledge have arisen within me.  Immovable is the emancipation of my heart.  This is my last existence.  There will now be no birth for me!

O Bhikkhus! Dharma emanates from Four Nobel Truths:

1...Existence of Dukkha: Life is permeated by Dukkha -suffering, the un-satisfactoriness.

2...The origin of Dukkha: Dukkha originates from Avidya -ignorance and Tanha -craving, leading to clinging and attachment, all resulting in un-satisfactoriness.

3...The cessation of Dukkha: The cessation of Dukkha is possible by eliminating all forms of Tanha. 

4...The way to eliminate Dukkha: The way to eliminate Dukkha is the Eightfold Noble Path."

Lord Buddha said he was enlightened only after he understood these Four Noble Truths. 

The Four Noble Truths are not only truths that seek to describe reality but truths that propose a practical way to realize these truths and be free from suffering eternally. 

Lord Buddha then explained the Four Noble Truths in details:

i...Dukkha

"O Bhikkhus!  There is un-satisfactoriness in Samsaric existence.  Birth is attended with pain, ageing is painful, disease is painful, and death is painful.  Union with unpleasant is painful, painful is the separation from pleasant; and any craving that is unsatisfied, that too is painful.  All results is Dukkha –suffering, the un-satisfactoriness.

O Bhikkus! Human beings are a temporal integration of Panch Skandhas –Five Aggregates: (i) Rupa -form, (ii) Vedana -feeling, (iii) Sanjna -perception, (iv) Sankhara –Volitions and (v) Vijnana –Consciousness. 

1...Rupa –the form, the objects of five senses made up of five great elements

2...Vedana –feeling and sensation

3...Sanjna –ideas, from which arise conception, perception and awareness

4...Sankhara: mental formation or volition, the instinct

5...Vijnana: the stream of consciousness

The existence of a being is a result of temporal aggregation of five Skandha.  Nothing exist indepedently.  The Ahangkara, the I, is a function of the Panch Skandhas.  It is illusion and the source of suffering.

The body-mind complex with which man is made of is impermanent and craving and clinging to what is impermanent and wanting it not to change is Avidya -ignorance.  It only brings about suffering. 

ii...Origin of Dukkha

"O Bhikkhus!  There is a cause to Dukkha.  That cause is Tanha -craving rooted in ignorance. 

Craving for sensual pleasure, craving for existence, and craving for non-existence, wnating to have or not to have are the causes of Dukkha.  Wanting things to be different than they naturally are is the prime cause of Dukkha.

Craving for self gratification, gratifying the Ego is the source of suffering.  Verily not knowing one’s true nature is ignorance.

O Bhikkhus! ignorance and craving drives man ceaseless wandering through lifetime after lifetime in Samsaric existence. 

O Bhikkhus! In the wheel of existence there are six realms each with specific inhabitants.  Determined by one’s karma, one may take birth in any one of these realms. 

1...Deva Loka: The heavenly abode; inhabited by Devas-Gods.

2...Nara Loka: This world at present; the realm of human beings. 

3...Asura Loka: The realm of Asuras -demons; characterised Ahangkara -Ego, malevolent attitude, envy and jealousy. 

4...Tiryag-Yoni: The realm of animals; characterized by anger, ignorance and confusion. 

5...Preta Loka: The realm of ghosts and the denizens are characterized by insatiable cravings and miserliness. 

6...Narak: The hell where the dwellers endure un-describable sufferings.

Know you O Bhikkhus!  These six realms of existence are the mental state with which people are living their life here on this earth.  The six realms of existence exist in mind as six layers representing six world of existence. 

Being born in human realm, in human form, one can think and act like divine beings and be divine being.  Also one can be demon with thoughts and actions governed by Ahankara-Ego. 

Man can also fall down to animal realm; to ghost realm and to hell and live a life in those realms here on earth. 

What one is, and what one would be, depends on what one thinks and what one does."

iii...Cessation of Dukkha

"O Bhikkhus!  There is an end of Dukkha.  It can be destroyed.  When one comes out of ignorance and carving, Dukkha disappears. 

Nirvana -an utterly peaceful and happy state of being, awaits those who come out of ignorance and renounce craving, her on earth.

Verily; one can get rid of ignorance, be free from, and no longer harbour craving and clinging, and passion for sensual pleasure." 

iv...Path of cessation of Dukkha

"O Bhikkhus!  There is a way to end Dukkha.  That way is the Eightfold Noble Path. 

The recognition of the existence of Dukkha and to show the way out of it is the Dharma. 

Verily O Bhikkhus !  Whosoever understands not, the misery in the world and remove it, are in my opinion not to be regarded as preachers of Dharma."

The five ascetics then asked: “If the foundation of your Dharma is the recognition of the existence of Dukkha and its removal, tell us how your Dharma removes Dukkha.” 

Eightfold Noble Path

"O Bhikkhus! To bring about the end of Dukkha, one should follow the Ashtanga Marga -the Eightfold Path.  This is the path of righteousness.  Whoever follows the Noble Eightfold Path with devotion is sure to bring about the end of Dukkha.

Verily!  It is this Noble Eightfold Path: that is to say:

1...Samma Dysti:           Right understanding, or right View

2...Samma Sankalpa:     Right thought or Right aspiration

3...Samma Vaca:            Right Speech

4...Samma Karmanta:    Right Action or Right conduct

5...Samma Ajiva:            Right livelihood

6...Samma Vayama:       Right Effort

7...Samma Smrti:           Right Mindfulness

8...Samma Samadhi:      Right Concentration or Right contemplation

Know you O Bhikkhus!  The Noble Eightfold Path has three major constituents: (1) Panna –Wisdom, (2) Sila -Morality, and (3) Samadhi –Concentration.

Panna has two folds, while Sila and Samadhi have three folds each:

Panna -Wisdom

i…Samma Dristi -Right Understanding

ii…Samma Sankalpa -Right Thought

Sila -Morality

i...Samma Vac -Right Speech,

ii...Samma Karmanta -Right Action, and

iii...Samma Ajiva -Right Livelihood

Samadhi -Concentration

i...Samma Vyama -Right Effort

ii...Samma Smrti -Right Mindfulness

iii...Samma Samadhi -Right Concentration

Panna -Wisdom

i...Samma Dristi:  Right Understanding.

"O Bhikkhus!  Mind generates thoughts and draw insight, which can either be right or wrong.  It is the mind that binds a man to different realms of life.  But the mind can be trained to understand life and have right attitude and perception.

In man there is a thing called will.  The will can be awakened and set in motion. 

From a trained mind combined with will, there comes the Samma Dristi, the Right Understanding or Right View of the Four Noble Truths.

O Bhikkhus!  The right understanding of the Four Noble Truths requires:

1...Giving up of belief in the efficacy of rites and ceremonies,

2...Abandoning the superstition and supernaturalism, and

3...Abandoning the doctrines that are mere speculations without any basis of fact and experience."

ii...Samma Sankappo:  Right Thought

"O Bhikkhus!  Samma Sankalpa, the Right Thought, means the thought must be pure, noble and praiseworthy, and righteous.  Thought should be non-violent extending selfless love and compassion to all being, and it should arouse generosity and renunciation of all kinds of negativity.

Every man has aims, aspirations and ambitions, which determine the destiny of his life.  The destiny of one’s life is determined by his thought. 

One must ensure that mind generates only the righteous thoughts of goodwill to others.  Every thought must lead to noble action.  It must be void of intent, expectation or attachment to results, and it must be harmless to others and environment. 

It is the thought with intent, expectation or attachment that binds a man to Samsara.  Always remember that you live a life with right thought and a personal decision, not something that is put on you. 

O Bhikkhus!  To ensure righteousness of thought, one must follow the following three precepts:

1...A person must be free from covetousness.  Coveting, craving, clinging and dissatisfaction are the sources of suffering,

2...Harbour no malevolence or wicked thought.  Always wish that all living being around you live in peace and happiness, and safe from all enmity and oppression, and

3...Be right and ensure to be right in outlook.  Understand others’ view with right perception."

Sila -Morality

i...Samma Vacca:  Right Speech

"O Bhikkus!  Vacca -the Speech, must be Samma -Right.  The thought generated by the mind is communicated through Vacca and it must be righteous and wholesome. 

O Bhikkhus!  To ensure righteousness of speech, one must follow the following four precepts:

1...Speak truth and only truth.  Let you not lie.  Let you not prompt or sanction lies.  Renounce untruth by your mind and speech.

2...Not speak evil of others and refrain from slander.  Shun from slander speech; be promoter of harmony and restorer of amity concord.  Derive your happiness from concord.

3...Speak kindly and courteously.  Let there be no bitterness in your tongue and abstain from bitter speech.  What you say should be without gall.  Be pleasant, friendly, hearty, urbane, agreeable, and welcome by all.

4...Never use abusive language and always speak sensibly to the purpose.  Abstain from tattle.  Speak what is truth, of the doctrine and rule, which is memorable, illuminating and of benefit to others."

ii...Samma Kamanto:  Right Action

O Bhikkhus!  Samma Kamanto –the Right Action, is the path of renunciation of Ego-led motivation.  It is the path of selfless devotion to one’s action benefiting others without any expectation out of it, not even thinking of it. 

Action must be selfless and generous.  It must be consistent, void of intent, expectation and attachment.  Every action must reflect the feelings and rights of others.

Action should be based on right attitude and respect for others with a feeling of equanimity, and action should be conducted with right behaviour, code of conduct and ethic. 

Respect the outcome of the action and accept it as it comes graciously.  Just think of the action only and renounce the result of it.  Do not attach to the outcome of the action, just wonder about it. 

When one thinks of the outcome of the action, a feeling of insecurity is created from which the feeling of weakness, doubtfulness and deprivation is created with which corruption in one’s life begins.  When the result is not what would have thought, un-satisfactoriness and suffering destroys one’s life.

One should develop trust and have confidence on Right Thought and Right Action that, no matter what happens in life or in the world, one have the inner strength, the will power to create something good from it all.

O Bhikkhus!  The bodily action must be righteous and wholesome.  To ensure righteousness of bodily action, one must follow the following Panch Sila -the five precepts:

     1...Slay not, nor sanction or cause slaughter.  Hurt none, strong or weak.

     2...Eschew from stealing.  Take but only what others give freely.  No one should even wittingly steal, order theft, or sanction theft.

     3...Shun immoral behaviour and debauch no one.  Put aside all kinds of sensual misconducts and immoral behaviour.

     4...Speak the truth with right speech on right time, and avoid hurtful speech or spread false rumours. 

     5...Shun intoxicating drink, make no one drink and do not sanction taking intoxicating stuff that diminishes the clarity mind." 

iii...Samma Ajiva:         Right Livelihood

O Bhikkhus!  Samma Ajiva –the Right Livelihood, should not compromise with any of the Panch Sila. 

Every individual has to earn livelihood and there are ways to earn.  Some are good; some are bad.  Good ways are those by which the individual earns livelihood with love and compassion, without harming or causing injustice to others. 

The way one earns his living can be by itself the source of suffering.  One should be aware of the consequences of one’s action on others and reciprocal impact on oneself. 

If one’s livelihood is not harming others and nourishing the society, then that livelihood is Right Livelihood."

Samadhi -Concentration

i...Samma Vyayamo:  Right Endeavour

O Bhikkhus!  With Samma Vyayamo -the Right Endeavour, one should, with highest level of consistency and integrity, strive to:

1...Prevent arising of the state of mind which is in conflict with Dharma,

     2...Suppress such state of mind, in conflict with Dharma, which may already have arisen,

     3...Generate the state of mind which is in compliance with Dharma, and

     4...Promote such state of mind that is in compliance with Dharma, which already may have arisen."

ii...Samma Satti:  Right Mindfulness

"O Bhikkhus!  Samma Smriti -the Right Mindfulness, calls for constant wakefulness. 

One should, with highest degree of consistency and integrity, remain aware and mindful of one’s thought; speech and body.  One should be mindful of one’s own feeling and of others with a feeling of equanimity. 

One should be mindful of every thought passing by one’s mind and one should watch and ward the evil passions if any."

iii...Samma Samadhi:  Right Concentration

"O Bhikkhus!  Samma Samadhi –the Right Concentration, trains mind to think of and concentrate on good thoughts and deeds.  It attunes mind to think positive that motivates to do wholesome deed. 

Samma Samadhi is mind training by which the mind is trained to stay in one object with one-pointedness as opposed to distracted mind.  With Samma Samadhi, one attains Citta Vriti Nirodha, controlling the wondering mind. 

Remember O Bhikkhus! The mind is the origin of all sufferings, mind is the master, and mind is the cause.

If in the midst of mind there are evil thoughts, then the words are evil, the deeds are evil, and the sorrow which results from the sin follows that man, as the chariot wheel follows the horse drawing the chariot. 

If in the mind there are good thoughts, then the words are good and deeds are good, and the happiness which results from good words and deeds follows that man, as shadow accompanies the object.

O Bhikkhus!  Follow the Noble Eightfold Path.  May you succeed in your endeavour seeking Nirvana!"

This was Lord Buddha’s first sermons given to the five ascetic friends.  This was the Lord Buddha’s First Sermon that laid the foundation of the kingdom of righteousness.

The five ascetics at once realized that this was really a new Dhamma.  They were so struck by this new approach that they unanimously said:

“Never in the history of the world has any one taught that the recognition of human suffering was the real basis of a religion.

Never in the history of the world has any one taught that the removal of suffering is the real purpose of a religion!

Never in the history of the world had a scheme of liberation been put forth, so simple in its nature, so free from supernatural and superhuman being, so independent of, even so antagonistic to the belief in soul, to the belief in God, and also to the conventional belief in life after death.

Never in the history of the world had a scheme of religion been put forth which had nothing to do with revelation, which are not the orders of a God but purely born out of the examination of the social needs.

Never in the history of the world has liberation been conceived as the blessing of happiness to be attained by man in this life and on this earth by righteousness born out of his own effort.”

These were the sentiments the five ascetics uttered after they heard Lord Buddha’s First Sermon on his Dhamma.  They felt that in him they found a reformer, full of most earnest moral purpose and trained in all the intellectual culture of his time. 

In the Blessed One they found the originality and courage to put forth deliberately with the knowledge of opposing views, the doctrine of liberation to be found here, in this life. 

The five ascetics understood that inward change of heart could be brought about by the practice of self-culture and self-control.

The five ascetics’ reverence to Lord Buddha became so unbound that they at once surrendered to Lord Buddha and requested him to accept them as his disciples. 

At the end of the Sermon, there arose within the venerable Kondana the eye of truth, spotless, and without a stain, and he saw truth that whatever has an origin, that inherently comes to the end. 

Knowing what had transpired in the mind of Kondanna, the Blessed One expressed his exclamation of joy: “Kondanna hath realized it.  Kondanna hath realized it!”

Kondanna was one of the five Bhikkhus who, as the Blessed One completed the sermon, saw the truth, arrived at truth, knew the truth, penetrated the truth, past beyond doubt, laid aside uncertainty, attained confidence, being dependent on no one beside himself for knowledge of the teacher.

Kondanna responded; O Blessed One!  “May I become, O my Lord, a novice under the Blessed One, may I receive full ordinance.” 

“Welcome, O my brother!” Said the Blessed One; “The truth has been well laid down.  Practice holiness to the complete suppression of sorrow!” 

And that was the ordinance of Kondanna who became the first disciple of Lord Buddha and later acquired the name Annata Kondanna, the Kondanna who realized. 

The ordination of the other four Bhikkhus; Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahanama, and Assaji took place on the following days.

Lord Buddha admitted them into his order by uttering “Ehi Bhikkave”; Come on O Bhikkhus.  Later the five ascetics were known as the Pancha-Vargiya Bhikkus.  Among the five, Kondanna was the wisest.  He listened to Lord Buddha so attentively that he understood the meaning of whole teachings fully and immediately attained the first level of Arahata. 

With the First Sermon on Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path, Lord Buddha turned the First Wheel of Dhamma.  The earliest record of it is recorded in Dharma-Cakra-Pravartana Sutta. 

In his very First Sermon, Lord Buddha emphasised moral conduct, which forms the basis for higher spiritual attainment, eventually leading to purity of vision, harmony and happiness.  It emphasizes human effort, our own effort, and not on outside entity or God, and do not need to pray and worship or have faith on rites and rituals. 

The five Bhikkhus, glad at heart, exalted the words of the Blessed One. 

As the supreme wheel of the truth had rolled on by the Blessed One, the Gods of the earth hailed:

“In Banarus, at the hermitage of Migadaya, the supreme wheel of the empire of Truth has been set rolling by the Blessed One.  That wheel can ever be turned back by any Samanas or Brahman, not by any God, not by Brahma or Mara, not by any one in the universe!”

And when the guardian angels of the four quarters of the world heard the voices of the Gods of the earth, further exclaimed:

“In Banarus, at the hermitage of Migadaya, the supreme wheel of the empire of Truth has been set rolling by the Blessed One.   That wheel can ever be turned back by any Samanas or Brahman, not by any God, not by Brahma or Mara, not by any one in the universe!”

And thus as the Gods in each of the heavens heard the cheers of the inhabitants of the heavens beneath, they took up the cheer until the Gods of highest heaven of heavens gave forth the cheer, saying:

“In Banarus, at the hermitage of Migadaya, the supreme wheel of the empire of Truth has been set rolling by the Blessed One.  That wheel can ever be turned back by any Samanas or Brahman, not by any God, not by Brahma or Mara, not by any one in the universe!”

And in an instant, the sound was heard in the world of Brahma: and the whole universe of ten-thousand-world-system quaked and trembled and was shaken, and an immeasurable bright light appeared in the universe, beyond even the power of Gods!