SN 56.11PTS SN 5.4205 min read

Rolling Forth the Wheel of Dhamma

Dhammacakkappavattanasutta

The famous first discourse, taught at Varanasi to the group of five ascetics. It begins by rejecting the extremes of asceticism and indulgence and recommends the middle way of the eightfold path. Then it defines the four noble truths and analyzes them in twelve aspects. It ends with Venerable Kondañña becoming the first person apart from the Buddha to realize the Dhamma.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 56.11Linked Discourses 56.11
0.22. Dhammacakkappavattanavagga2. Rolling Forth the Wheel of Dhamma

0.3DhammacakkappavattanasuttaRolling Forth the Wheel of Dhamma

1.1PTS 5.421Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā bārāṇasiyaṁ viharati isipatane migadāye.At one time the Buddha was staying near Varanasi in the deer park at Isipatana.¹1.2Tatra kho bhagavā pañcavaggiye bhikkhū āmantesi:There the Buddha addressed the group of five mendicants:²

2.1“Dveme, bhikkhave, antā pabbajitena na sevitabbā.“Mendicants, these two extremes should not be cultivated by one gone forth.³2.2Katame dve?What two?2.3Yo cāyaṁ kāmesu kāmasukhallikānuyogo hīno gammo pothujjaniko anariyo anatthasaṁhito, yo cāyaṁ attakilamathānuyogo dukkho anariyo anatthasaṁhito.Indulgence in sensual pleasures, which is low, crude, ordinary, ignoble, and pointless. And indulgence in self-mortification, which is painful, ignoble, and pointless.⁴2.4Ete kho, bhikkhave, ubho ante anupagamma majjhimā paṭipadā tathāgatena abhisambuddhā cakkhukaraṇī ñāṇakaraṇī upasamāya abhiññāya sambodhāya nibbānāya saṁvattati.Avoiding these two extremes, the Realized One understood the middle way of practice, which gives vision and knowledge, and leads to peace, direct knowledge, awakening, and extinguishment.⁵

3.1Katamā ca sā, bhikkhave, majjhimā paṭipadā tathāgatena abhisambuddhā cakkhukaraṇī ñāṇakaraṇī upasamāya abhiññāya sambodhāya nibbānāya saṁvattati?And what is that middle way of practice?3.2Ayameva ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo, seyyathidaṁ—It is simply this noble eightfold path, that is:3.3sammādiṭṭhi sammāsaṅkappo sammāvācā sammākammanto sammāājīvo sammāvāyāmo sammāsati sammāsamādhi.right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion.⁶3.4Ayaṁ kho sā, bhikkhave, majjhimā paṭipadā tathāgatena abhisambuddhā cakkhukaraṇī ñāṇakaraṇī upasamāya abhiññāya sambodhāya nibbānāya saṁvattati.This is that middle way of practice, which gives vision and knowledge, and leads to peace, direct knowledge, awakening, and extinguishment.

4.1PTS 5.422Idaṁ kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhaṁ ariyasaccaṁ—Now this is the noble truth of suffering.4.2jātipi dukkhā, jarāpi dukkhā, byādhipi dukkho, maraṇampi dukkhaṁ, appiyehi sampayogo dukkho, piyehi vippayogo dukkho, yampicchaṁ na labhati tampi dukkhaṁ—saṅkhittena pañcupādānakkhandhā dukkhā.Rebirth is suffering; old age is suffering; illness is suffering; death is suffering; being coupled with the disliked is suffering; separation from the liked is suffering; not getting what you wish for is suffering. In brief, the five grasping aggregates are suffering.⁷

4.3Idaṁ kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhasamudayaṁ ariyasaccaṁ—Now this is the noble truth of the origin of suffering.4.4yāyaṁ taṇhā ponobbhavikā nandirāgasahagatā tatratatrābhinandinī, seyyathidaṁ—It’s the craving that leads to future lives, mixed up with relishing and greed, taking pleasure there wherever it alights. That is,⁸4.5kāmataṇhā, bhavataṇhā, vibhavataṇhā.craving for sensual pleasures, craving for continued existence, and craving for nonexistence.⁹

4.6Idaṁ kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhanirodhaṁ ariyasaccaṁ—Now this is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering.4.7yo tassāyeva taṇhāya asesavirāganirodho cāgo paṭinissaggo mutti anālayo.It’s the fading away and cessation of that very same craving no residue left behind; giving it away, letting it go, releasing it, and not clinging to it.¹⁰

4.8Idaṁ kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā ariyasaccaṁ—Now this is the noble truth of the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering.4.9ayameva ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo, seyyathidaṁ—It is simply this noble eightfold path, that is:4.10sammādiṭṭhi …pe… sammāsamādhi.right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion.¹¹

5.1‘Idaṁ dukkhaṁ ariyasaccan’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu cakkhuṁ udapādi, ñāṇaṁ udapādi, paññā udapādi, vijjā udapādi, āloko udapādi.‘This is the noble truth of suffering.’ Such was the vision, knowledge, wisdom, realization, and light that arose in me regarding teachings not learned before from another.¹²5.2‘Taṁ kho panidaṁ dukkhaṁ ariyasaccaṁ pariññeyyan’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe …pe… udapādi.‘This noble truth of suffering should be completely understood.’ Such was the vision that arose in me …¹³5.3‘Taṁ kho panidaṁ dukkhaṁ ariyasaccaṁ pariññātan’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu cakkhuṁ udapādi, ñāṇaṁ udapādi, paññā udapādi, vijjā udapādi, āloko udapādi.‘This noble truth of suffering has been completely understood.’ Such was the vision that arose in me …

6.1‘Idaṁ dukkhasamudayaṁ ariyasaccan’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu cakkhuṁ udapādi, ñāṇaṁ udapādi, paññā udapādi, vijjā udapādi, āloko udapādi.‘This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering.’ Such was the vision that arose in me …6.2‘Taṁ kho panidaṁ dukkhasamudayaṁ ariyasaccaṁ pahātabban’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe …pe… udapādi.‘This noble truth of the origin of suffering should be given up.’ Such was the vision that arose in me …¹⁴6.3‘Taṁ kho panidaṁ dukkhasamudayaṁ ariyasaccaṁ pahīnan’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu cakkhuṁ udapādi, ñāṇaṁ udapādi, paññā udapādi, vijjā udapādi, āloko udapādi.‘This noble truth of the origin of suffering has been given up.’ Such was the vision that arose in me …

7.1‘Idaṁ dukkhanirodhaṁ ariyasaccan’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu cakkhuṁ udapādi, ñāṇaṁ udapādi, paññā udapādi, vijjā udapādi, āloko udapādi.‘This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering.’ Such was the vision that arose in me …7.2‘Taṁ kho panidaṁ dukkhanirodhaṁ ariyasaccaṁ sacchikātabban’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe …pe… udapādi.‘This noble truth of the cessation of suffering should be realized.’ Such was the vision that arose in me …¹⁵7.3‘Taṁ kho panidaṁ dukkhanirodhaṁ ariyasaccaṁ sacchikatan’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu cakkhuṁ udapādi, ñāṇaṁ udapādi, paññā udapādi, vijjā udapādi, āloko udapādi.‘This noble truth of the cessation of suffering has been realized.’ Such was the vision that arose in me …

8.1‘Idaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā ariyasaccan’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu cakkhuṁ udapādi, ñāṇaṁ udapādi, paññā udapādi, vijjā udapādi, āloko udapādi.‘This is the noble truth of the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering.’ Such was the vision that arose in me …8.2‘Taṁ kho panidaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā ariyasaccaṁ bhāvetabban’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe …pe… udapādi.‘This noble truth of the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering should be developed.’ Such was the vision that arose in me …¹⁶8.3‘Taṁ kho panidaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā ariyasaccaṁ bhāvitan’ti me, bhikkhave, pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu cakkhuṁ udapādi, ñāṇaṁ udapādi, paññā udapādi, vijjā udapādi, āloko udapādi.‘This noble truth of the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering has been developed.’ Such was the vision, knowledge, wisdom, realization, and light that arose in me regarding teachings not learned before from another.¹⁷

9.1PTS 5.423Yāvakīvañca me, bhikkhave, imesu catūsu ariyasaccesu evaṁ tiparivaṭṭaṁ dvādasākāraṁ yathābhūtaṁ ñāṇadassanaṁ na suvisuddhaṁ ahosi, neva tāvāhaṁ, bhikkhave, sadevake loke samārake sabrahmake sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya ‘anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddho’ti paccaññāsiṁ.As long as my true knowledge and vision about these four noble truths was not fully purified in these three rounds and twelve aspects, I didn’t announce my supreme perfect awakening in this world with its gods, Māras, and divinities, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its gods and humans.¹⁸

10.1Yato ca kho me, bhikkhave, imesu catūsu ariyasaccesu evaṁ tiparivaṭṭaṁ dvādasākāraṁ yathābhūtaṁ ñāṇadassanaṁ suvisuddhaṁ ahosi, athāhaṁ, bhikkhave, sadevake loke samārake sabrahmake sassamaṇabrāhmaṇiyā pajāya sadevamanussāya ‘anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddho’ti paccaññāsiṁ.But when my true knowledge and vision about these four noble truths was fully purified in these three rounds and twelve aspects, I announced my supreme perfect awakening in this world with its gods, Māras, and divinities, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its gods and humans.

10.2Ñāṇañca pana me dassanaṁ udapādi:Knowledge and vision arose in me:10.3‘akuppā me vimutti, ayamantimā jāti, natthi dāni punabbhavo’”ti.‘My freedom is unshakable; this is my last rebirth; now there’ll be no more future lives.’”¹⁹

10.4Idamavoca bhagavā.That is what the Buddha said.10.5Attamanā pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinandunti.Satisfied, the group of five mendicants approved what the Buddha said.

11.1Imasmiñca pana veyyākaraṇasmiṁ bhaññamāne āyasmato koṇḍaññassa virajaṁ vītamalaṁ dhammacakkhuṁ udapādi:And while this discourse was being spoken, the stainless, immaculate vision of the Dhamma arose in Venerable Koṇḍañña:11.2“yaṁ kiñci samudayadhammaṁ sabbaṁ taṁ nirodhadhamman”ti.“Everything that is liable to arise is liable to cease.”

12.1PTS 5.424Pavattite ca pana bhagavatā dhammacakke bhummā devā saddamanussāvesuṁ:And when the Buddha rolled forth the Wheel of Dhamma, the earth gods raised the cry:²⁰12.2“etaṁ bhagavatā bārāṇasiyaṁ isipatane migadāye anuttaraṁ dhammacakkaṁ pavattitaṁ appaṭivattiyaṁ samaṇena vā brāhmaṇena vā devena vā mārena vā brahmunā vā kenaci vā lokasmin”ti.“Near Varanasi, in the deer park at Isipatana, the Buddha has rolled forth the supreme Wheel of Dhamma. And that wheel cannot be rolled back by any ascetic or brahmin or god or Māra or divinity or by anyone in the world.”²¹

12.3Bhummānaṁ devānaṁ saddaṁ sutvā cātumahārājikā devā saddamanussāvesuṁ:Hearing the cry of the earth gods, the gods of the four great kings …12.4“etaṁ bhagavatā bārāṇasiyaṁ isipatane migadāye anuttaraṁ dhammacakkaṁ pavattitaṁ, appaṭivattiyaṁ samaṇena vā brāhmaṇena vā devena vā mārena vā brahmunā vā kenaci vā lokasmin”ti.12.5Cātumahārājikānaṁ devānaṁ saddaṁ sutvā tāvatiṁsā devā …pe…the gods of the thirty-three …12.6yāmā devā …pe…the gods of Yama …12.7tusitā devā …pe…the joyful gods …12.8nimmānaratī devā …pe…the gods who love to create …12.9paranimmitavasavattī devā …pe…the gods who control what is created by others …12.10brahmakāyikā devā saddamanussāvesuṁ:the gods of the Divinity’s host raised the cry:12.11“etaṁ bhagavatā bārāṇasiyaṁ isipatane migadāye anuttaraṁ dhammacakkaṁ pavattitaṁ appaṭivattiyaṁ samaṇena vā brāhmaṇena vā devena vā mārena vā brahmunā vā kenaci vā lokasmin”ti.“Near Varanasi, in the deer park at Isipatana, the Buddha has rolled forth the supreme Wheel of Dhamma. And that wheel cannot be rolled back by any ascetic or brahmin or god or Māra or divinity or by anyone in the world.”

13.1Itiha tena khaṇena tena layena tena muhuttena yāva brahmalokā saddo abbhuggacchi.And so at that moment, that second, that hour, the cry soared up to the realm of divinity.13.2Ayañca dasasahassilokadhātu saṅkampi sampakampi sampavedhi, appamāṇo ca uḷāro obhāso loke pāturahosi atikkamma devānaṁ devānubhāvanti.And this ten-thousandfold galaxy shook and rocked and trembled. And an immeasurable, magnificent light appeared in the world, surpassing the glory of the gods.²²

14.1Atha kho bhagavā imaṁ udānaṁ udānesi:Then the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:14.2“aññāsi vata bho, koṇḍañño, aññāsi vata bho, koṇḍañño”ti.“Koṇḍañña has really understood! Koṇḍañña has really understood!”

14.3Iti hidaṁ āyasmato koṇḍaññassa “aññāsikoṇḍañño” tveva nāmaṁ ahosīti.And that’s how Venerable Koṇḍañña came to be known as “Koṇḍañña Who Understood”.

14.4Paṭhamaṁ.

Translator’s notes

This is the Buddha’s first discourse proper. In the narrative following the Buddha’s awakening (Kd 1:6.16.9), it follows the apparently fruitless encounter with Upaka on the road from Bodhgaya to Varanasi (MN 26:25.1), and precedes the teaching on not-self (SN 22.59). It is included in full in the later treatise the Paṭisambhidāmagga (Ps 2.6:1.1), and is alluded to many times in the Suttas, sometimes by name (MN 141:32.1), sometimes implicitly (MN 26:29.1). It is still a key text in Theravāda Buddhism, and is regularly memorized and recited.
↩ sn56.11:1.1
These are the ascetics with whom the Bodhisatta practiced before rejecting their path of extreme asceticism (MN 36:20.2). The Buddha has traveled especially to teach them out of gratitude, because they were very helpful to him (MN 26:24.5). Their names are listed in the Vinaya account: Koṇḍañña, Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahānāma, and Assaji (Kd 1:6.31.6).
Note that he calls them “mendicants”, a term typically reserved for Buddhist renunciates. For a similar usage, see MN 140:3.4. In the Vinaya account, they ordained after this teaching.
↩ sn56.11:1.2
Expanded on at SN 42.12:2.1.
↩ sn56.11:2.1
The Buddha begins by finding common ground with the ascetics—the rejection of sensual pleasures, repudiating their idea that he had given himself up to luxury (see DN 29:23.2). Only then does he reject the five ascetics’ own practice of self-mortification. The descriptions in the Suttas make it clear that these practices were closely allied to the Jains, although the Buddha does not formally identify them (MN 85:10.2).
↩ sn56.11:2.3
Also at MN 139:3.2, SN 42.12:2.7.
↩ sn56.11:2.4
These are defined at SN 45.8.
↩ sn56.11:3.3
Further defined at MN 28:3.2 and MN 141.
↩ sn56.11:4.2
This definition clarifies two common misunderstandings. First, not all desire causes suffering, for some kinds of desire lead out of suffering (SN 51.15:4.1). Second, rebirth is not a tangential part of the Buddha’s teachings, uncritically inherited from cultural suppositions; it is baked into the fundamental meaning of the four noble truths.
The idiom tatratatra (literally “there, there”) is not selective (“here and there”) but distributive (“each and every place”, “everywhere”). By taking pleasure in sense experience, the mind binds itself to the need for continued stimulation in future lives. The distancing sense “there” is important, for craving does not merely satisfy itself with what it currently experiences, but must always seek out renewed gratification. For an Upaniṣadic precursor, see the note to the same idiom at MN 2:8.8.
↩ sn56.11:4.4
Craving for sensual pleasures in this life or the next, binding oneself to a form that can experience such pleasures. In Buddhism, this includes not only the human realm, but all of the heavenly realms too, so far as the Brahmā realm. When a person has good kamma, they are reborn in a realm where they enjoy such pleasures, if not, in a lower realm.
Craving to continue existence (bhavataṇhā) refers to any desire, whether conscious or not, to continue existence after death. When it solidifies as a view it is called eternalism, and motivates religious and spiritual practices aiming at “eternal life”. As such, it especially applies to rebirth in the Brahmā realms. However, it is still present even in those who do not ascribe to such a view; craving is more primal than view (see SN 12.2:6.3 and notes).
Craving for nonexistence is the longing to destroy the self, in contrast with the Buddhist perspective that the self is a false construct. When it crystallizes as a view it is called annihilationism.
↩ sn56.11:4.5
These are all terms for Nibbāna.
↩ sn56.11:4.7
Thus the four noble truths include the noble eightfold path as the final factor, just as the path includes the truths as its first factor, right view. They are different perspectives on the same thing.
↩ sn56.11:4.10
Each of the truths is analyzed in three “rounds”: the knowledge of each truth (saccañāṇa); the knowledge of what is to be done in respect to each truth (kiccañāṇa); and the completion of work (katañāṇa). Normally the realization of the four truths indicates stream-entry, which, if that applies here, suggests that the Buddha first attained stream-entry, then practiced according to the relevant duties, before culminating in arahantship. This progression through the stages of awakening could have happened in a single night.
↩ sn56.11:5.1
Suffering should not be avoided, but should be “known all around”, “completely understood” (pariññeyyaṁ).
↩ sn56.11:5.2
Note that it is not suffering that should be given up, but its cause.
↩ sn56.11:6.2
“Should be realized” (sacchikātabbaṁ) is literally “should be seen with one’s own eyes”, “should be witnessed”.
↩ sn56.11:7.2
“Developed” is literally “made to be more”, “amplified”, rather than brought into being from nothing. This implies that the potential is already present.
↩ sn56.11:8.2
The Buddha rejects the idea that his fundamental insight was passed down through oral tradition. He had studied the texts of the Brahmins (MN 26:15.7) and showed a detailed knowledge of them, as I have documented extensively in my notes. He also shows knowledge of Jain texts, but does not actually say that he memorized them. He was not shy to adopt things he thought worthwhile, but he always insisted that the key teachings were discovered through his own experience.
↩ sn56.11:8.3
The related passage at AN 8.64:10.1 shows that the “three rounds and twelve aspects” apply to the knowledge and vision, not the truths.
↩ sn56.11:9.1
Whereas the final of the three rounds indicates the attaining of arahantship, this indicates the reviewing knowledge by which the Buddha realized that he had become an arahant, completing his spiritual quest.
↩ sn56.11:10.3
The wheel, like that of the wheel-turning monarch, echoes both the unstoppable conquests of the the ancient Indo-Europeans in their wheeled chariots, and the unstoppable progress of the sun in the sky.
↩ sn56.11:12.1
The cry to the gods is inserted between noting that Koṇḍañña had realized the Dhamma, and the Buddha’s acknowledgement of that fact. This serves to highlight the cosmic significance of Koṇḍañña’s achievement: he showed that others, not just the Buddha, could realize the Dhamma. Some versions of this text lack the passage on the gods, suggesting that it was added later.
↩ sn56.11:12.2
This phrase is only associated with key events in the Buddha’s life (MN 120:17.5). At the conclusion of the Brahmajālasutta the galaxy is more modestly said to tremble (DN 1:3.74.6).
↩ sn56.11:13.2