24/07/2020
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Today 24th July is the day that the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni gave his first sermon (Teachings) on Four Noble Truths (Turning of Wheel of the Dharma), when Buddha was 35 years old after achieving enlightenment at the Deer Park in Sarnath in India, which is known as Varanasi these days.
When the Buddha set out to give teachings for the first time, a thousand thrones appeared before him. He made circumambulation of the first three thrones, which belonged to the three past Buddhas. He sat upon the fourth, in a cross-legged posture. Hundreds of thousands of devotes gathered from all the three realms. Among them were his five disciples, the gods Indra and Brahma, the Bodhisattvas of all ten directions and the protectors of all directions. Brahma formally requested Buddha to begin his teachings by offering him a golden wheel with a thousand spokes, which represented the opening of the hundred doors of the dharma by the thousand Buddhas. Indra offered a white conch shell with its opening turned to the right to symbolize the flourishing of Dharma and sounding its fame out in all ten directions, thus awakening the world from the slumbering darkness of ignorance. Both of these eminent gods again and again requested Buddha to turn the wheel of Dharma, and they prayed โMay all sentient beings be freed from the root of suffering by turning the Wheel of doctrine. By merely hearing the sound of Dharma, the suffering of life can be ended. Therefore, may you live a long life, giving teachings many times over for the sake of all sentient beings.โ
At that moment, a pair of golden deer appeared from the forest and gazed reverently at the golden wheel. The deer represent the union of the dual eyes of compassion and wisdom. Since then it has become customary to place a wheel held by deer on each side of the entrance to a temple, symbolizing the teachings of the Buddha and the wisdom the teachings bestow.
All morning Lord Buddha remained silent. He said nothing, which was good because it gave space for everybody to clear their minds and marshal their thoughts to focus on the scared gathering they were participating in. At noon Buddha spoke on various subjects to refresh their minds. In the late afternoon a calm, cool breeze offered welcome relief to the attendees of the gathering. This was the Fourth day of the sixth month of the lunar Calendar, the day when Buddha gave his first sermon, at the time of year when temperatures are at their highest, and the heat-laden air is heavy and humid. Finally, Lord Buddha straightened his body and formed both hands into a teaching gesture. He formally invited everyone to listen attentively to his teachings. "All beings throughout the three thousand worldly realms who are interested in listening to my teachings, please come and enjoy my words. Here I shall teach in all languages, including those of gods, nagas, yakshas, flesh eating spirits and of humans." The Buddha gave his first teachings to the group of five ascetics: Anjanata Kaudinya, Ashvajit, Vaspa, Mahanama and Bradrika. Four Noble Truths(Foundation of all Buddhist teachings):
The Buddha Taught the Four Noble Truth which was the Truth of suffering, The Truth of the Origin of Suffering, the Truth of the path leading to Cessation of Suffering, and the Truth of Cessation of Suffering. โNow, this is the noble truth concerning suffering: Birth comes with pain, decay is painful and death is painful. Union with the unpleasant is painful; painful is separation from the pleasant; and any craving that is unsatisfied, that too is painful. In brief bodily conditions, which spring from attachment, are painful. This is the noble truth concerning suffering." When the Buddha expounded on the Truth of Suffering, he declared that suffering should be seen through the lens of wisdom. Ordinary beings are not able to see the true nature of suffering, and thus are tormented by suffering over and over again. They do not have the right view to see the Truth of Suffering.
The Truth of refers to all three types of suffering: the suffering of pain, the suffering of change and pervasive compounded suffering. All Human beings experience the four streams of suffering in one way or another, the four streams being; the suffering of birth, old age, sickness and death. Gods undergo the suffering of knowing the date of their death at the very last moment and seeing the unimaginable suffering of the lower realms into which they will be reborn. Demigods suffer endlessly from fighting and jealousy. Animals suffer from being mute and being subject of exploitation. Hungry ghosts suffer from starvation and thirst. Hell beings suffer from extreme heat and bitter cold, along with numerous other agonies. "Now this is the noble truth concerning the origin of suffering: verily, it is that craving which causes the renewal of existence, accompanied by sensual delight, seeking satisfaction now here, now there the craving, the craving for the gratification of the passions, the craving for a future life, and the craving for happiness in this life. This is the noble truth concerning the origin of suffering." All sentient beings recognize the existence of suffering, but most live in ignorance of the cause of suffering and do not know how to alleviate suffering. This is why the Buddha taught the Truth of the Origin of suffering. If one knows about suffering and understands why we must suffer, then one is able to abandon the root cause of suffering, which is ignorance leading to attachment and anger. One has to practice the path.
Now this is the noble truth concerning the destruction of suffering. Verily, it is the destruction, in which no passion remains, of this very thirst! It is the laying aside of, the being free from, this thirst. This is the noble truth concerning the destruction of suffering." The third line of teaching is the Truth of the Path. The Truth of Path has four features: path, awareness, achievement of definite freedom and the practice of the eight abandonments (condensed as) ignorance, desire, anger, pride, doubt, miserliness, jealousy and wrong view. "Now, this is the noble truth concerning the way, which leads to the destruction of sorrow: Verily! It is this noble eightfold path; that is to say; right views; right aspirations; right speech; right behavior; right livelihood; right effort; right thoughts; right contemplation. This is the noble truth concerning the destruction of sorrow.โ The last line, the Truth of Cessation, is the fruition of practicing the Path. It is the conscious development that occurs through practicing the Path, which leads to the purification of all Karmas and delusions. Suffering should be regarded as an ailment whose root cause need to be expurgated as if it were a poison, and the path as the medicine that needs to be administered. Only then can cessation be achieved.
The Buddha said. "People cleave to their worldly possessions and selfish passions so blindly as to sacrifice their own lives for them. They are like a child who tries to eat a little honey smeared on the edge of the knife. The amount is by no means sufficient to appease his appetite, but he runs the risk of wounding the tongue."
The 4th Day of the Sixth Month in lunar calendar, the merit accumulated by a person if he/she carries out any positive action or a good deeds or virtue with devotion will be multiplied 1000 times more on this day and if someone commits a bad deed knowingly then the sin accumulated will also be tremendous.
May all sentient beings attain enlightenment!
Mantra of Buddha Shakyamuni: Tayatha Om Muni Muni Maha Muni Ye Svaha
Doing no evil whatsoever,
Practice virtue perfectly,
Tame your mind completely.
Train yourself in doing good that lasts and brings happiness.
Cultivate generosity, the life of peace and a mind of boundless love.
โNo one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the pathโ
