Overview : Introduction

Meditation

Meditation for Beginners

 

Overview : Introduction

 

 

the Buddha sat further to absorb the bliss of his Enlightenment and further to consider the Dhamma which he had learned

 

After the Enlightenment  which transformed Siddhatthe Gotama into the Lord Buddha beneath the Bodhi tree on the banks of the River Neranjara, Bodhgaya on the full moon night of the month of Visakha (May), the Buddha sat further to absorb the bliss of his Enlightenment and further to consider the Dhamma which he had learned, for a period of another seven days before finishing hismeditation. The Buddha then moved to continue his consideration of the Dhamma under the Ajapalanigrodha Tree for another seven days. The Buddha ther spent another seven days doing the same underneath a Jik Tree. From there he spent another seven days underneath a ketaka Tree. Thus it was only twenty – eight days after his Dnlightenment that he returned to sit beneath  the Ajapalanigrodha Tree again. As the Lord Buddha was considering the Dhamma there the Brahma Sahampati and a retinue of 10,000 bade the Buddha to have compassion and to teach what he had known for the benefit of the beings of the world. The Buddha surveyed the potential of the beings of the world to profit from what he had learned.

 

He agreed to teach the Dhamma, but remained undecided as to exactly who he should teach first. Eventually, the Buddha decided to make the journey to teach the ‘Group of Five’ [pancavaggiya] who were residing at the Isipatana Deer Park close to Benares.

 

 

The Buddha is able to explain the dangers of these other paths

 

The inaugural teaching which the Lord Buddha preached to the ‘group of Five’ was the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta. The reason why the sutta was thus named, was because it was compared to a ‘royal chariot of Dhamma’ which the Lord Buddha would use to transport the beings of the world out of the Cycle of Existence [vadda samsara] to the eternal safety of Nirvana with the Buddha himself at the reins.

 

One indespensible component of such a chariot, necessary for it to reach its destination, would be its wheels [cakka], Thus as the chariot was a ‘Dhamma chariot’ then the wheels would-be Dhamma wheels [dhammacakka].

 

Any whee; has three important components: hub, spokes and rim. The Dhammacakka was also composed of these three components: the Lord Buddha compared the hub to the Thirty-seven Factors of Enlightenment; the spokes were compared to the Links of Dependent Origination; and the rim was compared to the Four Noble Truths.

 

For as long as the components were separated, they could not be called a wheel. Just as, a skilled wheelwright can assemble the components to make a strong wheel ready to be put to work, the Buddha, through his preaching of the three groupings of Dhamma to the ‘Group of Five’, and relating them, gave rise to a ‘Dhammacakka’ which would bear the practitioner towards benefit and ultimately liberation. There is no other spiritual teacher apart from the Buddha who could expound the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta to fulfil the same function.

 

 

The inaugural teaching which the Lord Buddha preached

 

We find that after the Buddha had expounded the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta to the’Group of Five’ on this occasipn, he never taught it again throughout the forty-five years of his dispensation-however, all the teaching which the Buddha gave during this time were simply expansions upon the details of the Sutta. Furthermore, it is well known to scholars, that the expounding of the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta is the traditional first sermon which is given not only by gotama Buddha, but every Buddha down the ages.

 

The Recording of the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta

 

The Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta which is recorded for us in the Buddhist Scriptures, is preserved for us by Ananda who when he accepted the post of personal attendant to the Buddha, did so on the condition that if the Buddha should give any teachings in his absence, then those teachings should be repeated to him at a later date.

 

The Main Issues of the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta After the Buddha had developed the wish to transport the beings of the world out of the cycle of existence to the shores of Nirvana, each of his teachings, whether short or long, is given with the intention of leading the listener to The attainment of Nirvana. In the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, further to the clarification of the profitable path of practice, the Buddha stipulates paths of practice that are unprofitable and might even be harmful. The Buddha is able to explain the dangers of these other paths because, He himself had practiced all three paths of practice, namely: sensual-indulgence [kamasukhallikanuyoga]; 2. Self-mortification [attakilamathanuyoga], and; 3. The Middle Way between these two extremes [majjhima patipada].

 

to be continued...

 

Meditation - Related Articles

What is meditation?

7 Bases of mind 

How many kinds of meditation are there?

The Right Concentration

The False Concentration 

How to Meditate 

A Meditation Guide

Learning Meditation

Basic Meditation Method 

Meditation is not difficult 

Dhammakaya Temple  

Meditation Retreat