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Reverence to the Blessed One, the Holy One, the Fully-Enlightened One.
1. Thus have I heard. The Blessed One was once staying at Benares, at the hermitage called Migadāya. And there the Blessed One addressed the company of the five Bhikkhus[1], and said:
2. 'There are two extremes, O Bhikkhus, which the man who has given up the world[2] ought not to follow--the habitual practice, on the one hand of those things whose attraction depends upon the passions, and especially of sensuality--a low and pagan[3] way (of seeking satisfaction) unworthy, unprofitable, and fit only for the worldly-minded--
[1. These are the five mendicants who had waited on the Bodisat during his austerities, as described in 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' pp. 88, 89. Their names are given on p. 113 of that book; see below, the note on § 32.
2. Pabbagito, one who has gone forth, who has renounced worldly things, a 'religious.'
3. Gamma, a word of the same derivation as, and corresponding meaning to, our word 'pagan.']
and the habitual practice, on the other hand, of asceticism (or self-mortification), which is painful, unworthy, and unprofitable.
3. 'There is a middle path, O Bhikkhus, avoiding these two extremes, discovered by the Tathāgata[1]--a path which opens the eyes, and bestows understanding, which leads to peace of mind, to the higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, to Nirvāna!
4. 'What is that middle path, O Bhikkhus, avoiding these two extremes, discovered by the Tathāgata--that path which opens the eyes, and bestows understanding, which 'leads to peace of mind, to the higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, to Nirvāna? Verily! it is this noble eightfold path that is to say
'Right views; Right aspirations; Right speech; Right conduct; Right livelihood; Right effort; Right mindfulness; and Right contemplation.
'This, O Bhikkhus, is that middle path, avoiding these two extremes, discovered by the Tathāgata--that path which opens the eyes, and bestows understanding,
[1. The Tathāgata is an epithet of a Buddha. It is interpreted by Buddhaghosa, in the Samangala Vilāsinī, to mean that he came to earth for the same purposes, after having passed through the same training in former births, as all the supposed former Buddhas; and that, when he had so come, all his actions corresponded with theirs.
'Avoiding these two extremes' should perhaps be referred to the Tathāgata, but I prefer the above rendering.]
which leads to peace of mind, to the higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, to Nirvāna!
5. 'Now[1] this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning suffering.
'Birth is attended with pain[2], decay is painful, disease is painful, 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, the five aggregates which spring from attachment (the conditions of individuality and their cause)[3] are painful.
'This then, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning suffering.
6. 'Now this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the origin of suffering.
'Verily, it is that thirst (or craving), causing the renewal of existence, accompanied by sensual delight, seeking satisfaction now here, now there--that is to say, the craving for the gratification of the passions, or the craving for (a future) life, or the craving for success (in this present life)[4].
[1. On the following 'four truths' compare Dhammapada, verse 191, and Mahā-parinibbāna Sutta II, 2, 3, and IV, 7, 8.
2. Or 'is painful.'
3. Pañk' upādānakkhandhā. On the Khandhā, or the material and mental aggregates which go to make up an individual, see my 'Buddhism,' Chap. III. Upādāna, or 'grasping' is their source, and the uprooting of this upādāna from the mind is Arahatship.
One might express the central thought of this First Noble Truth. in the language of the nineteenth century by saying that pain results from existence as an individual. It is the struggle to maintain one's individuality which produces pain--a most pregnant and far-reaching suggestion. See for a fuller exposition the Fortnightly Review for December, 1879.
4. 'The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life' {footnote p. 149} correspond very exactly to the first and third of these three tanhās. 'The lust of the flesh, the lust of life, and the pride of life,' or 'the lust of the flesh, the lust of life, and the love of this present world,' would be not inadequate renderings of all three.
The last two are in Pāli bhava-tanhā and vibhava-tanhā, on which Childers, on the authority of Vigesinha, says: 'The former applies to the sassata-ditthi, and means a desire for an eternity of existence; the latter applies to the ukkheda-ditthi, and means a desire for annihilation in the very first (the present) form of existence.' Sassata-ditthi may be called the 'everlasting life heresy,' and ukkheda-ditthi the 'let-us-eat-and-drink-for-to-morrow-we-die heresy.' These two heresies, thus implicitly condemned, have very close analogies to theism and materialism.
Spence Hardy says ('Manual of Buddhism,' p. 496): 'Bhawa-tanhā signifies the pertinacious love of existence induced by the supposition that transmigratory existence is not only eternal, but felicitous and desirable. Wibhawa-tanhā is the love of the present life, under the notion that existence will cease therewith, and that there is to be no future state.'
Vibhava in Sanskrit means, 1. development; 2. might, majesty, prosperity; and 3. property: but the technical Buddhist sense, as will be seen from the above, is something more than this.]
'This then, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the origin of suffering.
7. Now this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the destruction of suffering.
'Verily, it is the destruction, in which no passion remains, of this very thirst; the laying aside of, the getting rid of, the being free from, the harbouring no longer of this thirst.
'This then, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the destruction of suffering.
8. 'Now this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the way[1] which leads to the destruction of sorrow. Verily! it is this noble eightfold path[2]; that is to say:
[1. Patipadā.
2. Ariyo atangiko Maggo.]
Right views; Right aspirations; Right speech; Right conduct; Right livelihood; Right effort; Right mindfulness; and Right contemplation.
This then, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the destruction of sorrow.
9. 'That this was the noble truth concerning sorrow, was not, O Bhikkhus, 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 tranquillity), there arose the light (to dispel darkness from it)[1].
10. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I should comprehend that this was the noble truth concerning sorrow, though it was not among the doctrines banded down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
11. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I had comprehended that this was the noble truth concerning sorrow, though it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there
[1. The words in parentheses have been added by Gogerly, doubtless from some comment not accessible to me; and I have included them also, but in parentheses, as they seem to complete the ideas actually involved in the text.]
arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
12. 'That this was the noble truth concerning the origin of sorrow, though it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye; but there arose within me the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
13. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I should put away the origin of sorrow, though the noble truth concerning it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
14. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I had fully put away the origin of sorrow, though the noble truth concerning it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
15. 'That this, O Bhikkhus, was the noble truth concerning the destruction of sorrow, though it was not among the doctrines handed down; but there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
16. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I should fully realise the destruction of sorrow, though the noble truth concerning it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
17. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I had fully realised the destruction of sorrow, though the noble truth concerning it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
18. 'That this was the noble truth concerning the way which leads to the destruction of sorrow, was not, O Bhikkhus, among the doctrines handed down; but there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
19. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I should become versed in the way which leads to the destruction of sorrow, though the noble truth concerning it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
20. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I had become versed in the way which leads to the destruction of sorrow, though the noble truth concerning it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
21. 'So long, O Bhikkhus, as my knowledge and insight were not quite clear, regarding each of these four noble truths in this triple order, in this twelvefold manner--so long was I uncertain whether I had attained to the full insight of that wisdom which is unsurpassed in the heavens or on earth, among the whole race of Samanas and Brāhmans, or of gods or men.
22. 'But as soon, O Bhikkhus, as my knowledge and insight were quite clear regarding each of these four noble truths, in this triple order, in this twelvefold manner--then did I become certain that I had attained to the full insight of that wisdom which is unsurpassed in the heavens or on earth, among the whole race of Samanas and Brāhmans, or of gods or men.
23. 'And now this knowledge and this insight has arisen within me. Immovable is the emancipation of my heart. This is my last existence. There will now be no rebirth for me!'
24. Thus spake the Blessed One. The company of the five Bhikkhus, glad at heart, exalted the words of the Blessed One. And when the discourse had been uttered, there arose within the venerable Kondañña the eye of truth, spotless, and without a stain, (and he saw that) whatsoever has an origin, in that is also inherent the necessity of coming to an end[1].
25. And when the royal chariot wheel of the truth had thus been set rolling onwards by the Blessed One, the gods of the earth gave forth a shout, saying:
'In Benāres, at the hermitage of the Migadāya, the supreme wheel of the empire of Truth has been set rolling by the Blessed One--that wheel which not by any Samana or Brāhman, not by any god,
[1. It is the perception of this fact which is the Dhammakakkhu, the Eye of Truth, or the Eye for Qualities as it might be rendered with reference to the meaning of Dhamma in the words that follow.
They are in Pāli yam kiñki samudaya-dhammam, sabbam tam nirodha-dhammam, literally, 'whatever has the quality of beginning, that has the quality of ceasing.']
not by any Brahma or Māra, not by any one in the universe, can ever be turned back!'
26. And when they heard the shout of the gods of the earth, the attendant gods of the four great kings[1] (the guardian angels of the four quarters of the globe) gave forth a shout, saying:
'In Benāres, at the hermitage of the Migadāya, the supreme wheel of the empire of Truth has been set rolling by the Blessed One--that wheel which not by any Samana or Brāhman, not by any god, not by any Brahma or Māra, not by any one in the universe, can ever be turned back!'
27. [And thus as the gods in each of the heavens heard the shout of the inhabitants of the heaven beneath, they took up the cry until the gods in the highest heaven of heavens] gave forth the shout, saying:
'In Benāres, at the hermitage of the Migadāya, the supreme wheel of the empire of Truth has been set rolling by the Blessed One--that wheel which not by any Samana or Brāhman, not by any god, not by any Brahma or Māra, not by any one in the universe, can ever be turned back[2]!'
[1. Their names are given in the Mahā Samaya Sutta in Grimblot's 'Sept Suttas Palis.'
2. The text repeats § 26 for each of the heavens; and the gods thus enumerated are as follows, beginning with Bhummā Devā in § 25:
1. Bhummā Devā. 2. Katumahārāgika Devā. 3. Yāmā Devā. 4. Tusitā Devā. 5. Nimmānaratī Devā. 6. Paranimmitavasavattī Devā. 7. Brahmakāyikā Devā.
See the Mahā Samaya Sutta in Grimblot's 'Sept Suttas Palis,' and {footnote p. 155} compare Professor Max Müller's note in 'Buddhaghosha's Parables,' p. xxxiii, and Hardy in the 'Manual of Buddhism,' p. 25.]
28. And thus, in an instant, a second, a moment, the sound went up even to the world of Brahmā: and this great ten-thousand-world-system quaked and trembled and was shaken violently, and an immeasurable bright light appeared in the universe, beyond even the power of the gods!
29. Then did the Blessed One give utterance to this exclamation of joy: 'Kondañña hath realised it. 'Kondañña hath realised it!' And so the venerable 'Kondañña acquired the name of Aññāta-Kondañña ('the 'Kondañña who realised')'.
End of the Dhamma-kakka-ppavattana-sutta.
[1. The Mahā Vagga completes the narrative as follows: 'And then the venerable Aññāta-Kondañña having seen the truth, having arrived at the truth, having known the truth, having penetrated the truth, having past beyond doubt, having laid aside uncertainty, having attained to confidence, and being dependent on no one beside himself for knowledge of the religion of the teacher, spake thus to the Blessed One:
'"May I become, O my Lord, a novice under the Blessed One, may I receive full ordination!"
'"Welcome, O brother!" said the Blessed One, "the truth has been well laid down. Practice holiness to the complete suppression of sorrow!"
'And that was the ordination of the Venerable One.'
The other four, Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahānāma, and Assagi, were converted on the following days, according to the 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' p. 113.
It is there also said that 'myriads of the angels (devas) had been converted simultaneously with Kondanya.']