Turning the Wheel of Law

DR MADHUSUDAN MALLIK, M. A., D. phil.

Adhyapaka, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan

Turning the Wheel of Law is traditionally regarded as the first religious sermon preached by the Buddha. In the history of Buddhism this discourse occupies a unique position. This sermon attempts to give in a nutshell the fundamentals of Buddhism from the very day of enlightenment of Buddha down to his eternal rest in the Sala-groves of the Mallas at Kusinara.

The first sermon is known as “Dhamachakrapravartana” which is usually translated as ‘Turning the Wheel of Law’. The idea of a wheel (Chakra) is very ancient in India. Terms like Sudarsanachakra, Brahmachakra, etc., are of frequent use. The earliest word was Dharmatakka, which occurred in one of the poems of the Parayana Vagga of the Sutta Nipata. The substitution of the word ‘cakka’ for ‘takka’ was gradual and logical. The term ‘cakka’ implies the idea of dynamism and effectively represents a vehicle for men and women to attain emancipation from the trials and tribulations of the world.

Buddha renounced the world at the age of 29 and entered the life of a recluse. He approached the two famous teachers to guide him in his quest for the truth but to no purpose. He moved here and there and at last arrived at Uruvela, a town on the Neranjana river at Gaya. Here he was joined by five Brahmin ascetics and practised self-mortification for six long years. Ultimately he came to the realisation that by itself penance was of no avail. He then took the normal diet and got his lost health and vigour. At this point his former companions left him. He sat cross-legged under a tree (later known as Bo-Tree or Tree of Enlightenment) at Gaya (now Bodh Gaya) on the of Neranjana and remained firm in his resolve until he attained supreme emancipation.

Experiencing the bliss of emancipation the Buddha sat for a week at the foot of the Bo-Tree. He then pondered over Dependent Origination. Six more weeks went by in this way. On the seventh week he discovered that the truth he had realised was too deep for men of average intelligence. He recalled the names of Ruddakaramaputta and Alala Kalama and came to know through intuition that they had passed away. He then thought of his five former companions who were then residing in the Deer-Park at Isipatana (modern Sarnath) near Varanasi. He covered a distance of 150 miles to reach Varanaai. On the Full Moon Day of Asadha (July) he addressed the five ascetics. “Two extremes must not be served by one who has renounced the world, the life of extreme self-mortification and the life of voluptuousness. Avoiding these two ends, one should follow a middle path which is another name for the “Eight-fold Path” and the “Four Aryan Truths.”

Buddha recommended for his followers a Middle way. Philosophically speaking, the term Middle Path seeks to disapprove the doctrine of extremes. The term ‘path’ is metaphorical in content and does not indicate any numerical order. The eight steps stand for eight mental factors which are inter-related and which act in unison. The first discourse also speaks of four truths–suffering, origin of suffering, cessation of suffering and the path leading to the cessation of suffering. The eight-fold path consists of right speech, right action, right livelihood, right exertion, right mindfulness, right concentration, right resolution and right understanding.

The four noble truths are taken as articles of Buddhist Faith. They are not dogmas which must be accepted without any reservation. These four truths may be likened to the medical procedures–disease, diagnosis, cure and medicine.

The term ‘suffering’ is taken in a physical, psychological and philosophical sense. At the lowest stage stands physical suffering, i.e., bodily pain, privation, etc. The psychological stage, i.e., disappointment in life, fills the second stage. In the philosophical stage suffering becomes universal, as part of the state of man.

The Pali Texts take birth as suffering, old age as suffering, disease as suffering, death as suffering, lamentation as suffering, grief as suffering, unrest as suffering, contact with what is unpleasant is suffering, dissociation with what is pleasant is suffering, not obtaining what we desire is suffering. In short, the five aggregates of existence are suffering.

In Buddhism the origin of suffering is traced to craving which is the source of rebirth. Craving may stand for sensual pleasure, continued existence and even for non-existence. It is the one element which keeps the existence going. This craving of the Buddhists must not be equated to the First Cause of the Hindus. It has neither a beginning nor is it an end in itself. It is interdependent and relative. Life, to a Buddhist, is not an entity. It is a continual process of ‘becoming’ and a “flux of psychophysical metabolism.”

Feeling or sensation is the proximate cause of suffering. Cessation of suffering is another name for Nibbana, the summum bonum ofthe Buddhist. The path that leads to the cessation of suffering is the Eight-fold Noble Path.

The eight-fold noble path may be looked upon from three standpoints virtue, development of mental discipline and wisdom. They may be compared to the three jewels of the Jains–right conduct, right knowledge and right vision and the three virtues of the Zorastrians–good thought, good word and good deed.

Right speech consists, in abstaining from speaking falsehood, hard and malicious words and frivolous tale. This is, however, rather a negative approach. Buddha was a positive thinker and wanted to prepare the mind by restraining certain unwholesome thoughts which appear in the shape of greed, hatred and delusion.

Right action consists in abstaining from slaughter, stealing and sexual intercourse. Buddha was a free thinker and enforced no ‘commandments’. He merely wanted to stress these factors simply to mould the character.

Right living is a very difficult thing in this sordid and alluring world. A wrong avocation may bring untold misery to an individual.

Right effort is always a difficult thing. The world is moving fast. There is burning sensation on all sides, “burning, burning, burning” as T. S. Eliot has recalled. Buddha was not a Saviour. He would not guarantee man to be free from the cycle of births and deaths. He could only guide and encourage them to seek the truth.

Right effort consists in an endeavour to eliminate evil and to promote and cultivate healthy thoughts. In the ultimate analysis right efforts help one to prevent, to abandon, to develop and to maintain oneself.

Right recollection is a factor that strengthens our character and sharpens our mental outlook. To turn away from the world is not idleness or escapism but a positive asset to mental discipline. Right recollection in Buddhism consists in brooding over body, feelings, mind and phenomena (Dharma). These are analytical factors that lead to synthesis of an intensification or consciousness.

Right concentration (meditation) of mind does not mean a state of unconsciousness or coma. It is a state of mind when enticing factors are calmed and controlled. It is a state when the mind enters the region of clear consciousness.

Right thought works towards establishing man’s character. It consists in renunciation, goodwill and non-injury.

Right understanding is the most intriguing feature that distinguishes Buddhism from all other religions of the world. It is the right understanding which helps us to comprehend the riddle of the universe and the solution Buddha offered for it, Hearing the good law and ‘doing in the mind’ (Manasikara) are conducive to right understanding. The very noble eight-fold path is nothing but a result of right understanding, a moral discovery or victory that experience cannot but confirm.