TURNING
THE WHEEL OF LAW
DR
MADHUSUDAN MALLIK, M. A., D. phil.
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 back 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 back 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 of the 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.