Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta
| Translations of Dhammachakkappavattana Sutta |
|
|---|---|
| English | Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dharma, Promulgation of the Law Sutra, The First Turning of the Wheel, The Four Noble Truths Sutra |
| Pali | Dhammachakkappavattana Sutta |
| Sanskrit | Dharmachakrapravartana Sūtra धर्मचक्रप्रवर्तनसूत्र |
| Chinese | 轉法輪經, 转法轮经 |
| Sinhalese | ධම්මචක්ක පවත්තන සූත්රය |
| Thai | |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
The Dhammachakkappavattana Sutta (Pali; Sanskrit: Dharmachakrapravartana Sūtra; English: The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dharma Sutta or Promulgation of the Law Sutta) is a Buddhist text that is considered by Buddhists to be a record of the first teaching given by Gautama Buddha after he attained enlightenment. The main topic of this sutta is the Four Noble Truths, which refer to and express the basic orientation of Buddhism in a formulaic expression. This sutta also refers to the Buddhist concepts of the Middle Way, impermanence, and dependent origination.
Dhamma (Pāli) or dharma (Sanskrit) can mean a variety of things depending on its context; in this context, it refers to the Buddha's teachings or his "truth" that leads to one's liberation from suffering. Cakka (Pāli) or cakra (Sanskrit) can be translated as "wheel." The dhammacakka, which can be translated as "Dhamma-Wheel," is a Buddhist symbol referring to Buddha's teaching of the path to enlightenment. Pavattana (Pāli) can be translated as "turning" or "rolling" or "setting in motion."
The sutra contains the following topics:
According to the Buddhist tradition, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta is the first teaching given by the Buddha after he attained enlightenment. According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha attained enlightenment and liberation while meditating under the Bodhi Tree by the Nerañjarā river in Bodh Gaya. Afterwards, he remained silent for forty-nine days. The Buddha then journeyed from Bodhgaya to Sarnath, a small town near the sacred city of Varanasi in central India. There he met his five former companions, the ascetics with whom he had shared six years of hardship. His former companions were at first suspicious of the Buddha, thinking he had given up his search for the truth when he renounced their ascetic ways. But upon seeing the radiance of the Buddha, they requested him to teach what he had learned. Thereupon the Buddha gave the teaching that was later recorded as the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, which introduces fundamental concepts of Buddhist thought, such as the Middle Way and the Four Noble Truths.
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