Wheel

Although he could stand on his own and had decided he would share what he had learned and understood, the Buddha was not quite ready to leave the site of his awakening.  He spent 7 weeks lingering. During that time he meditated and thought through his teachings.  He circumambulated the tree — placing himself in different areas where he could face the seat from which it had all happened. During his fifth week, a Brahman — a member of high caste society — saw the Buddha sitting in contemplation. Something about the look of calm and peace upon the Buddha’s face struck the Brahman.  The Brahman stepped close to the Buddha and asked him, “What caste are you?”  The Buddha opened his eyes. This was the first person he had interacted with since that woman who mistook him for a forest spirit those many months ago. “I come from no caste and it matters not as to who I am,” the Buddha replied. The Brahman was stunned.  This was a land where one’s identity was defined by the caste within which one was born. So, your fate in this life was set in stone from the second you entered. If you were born a Brahman as he was, then the fates had smiled upon you because your life had the highest worth and you received entitlements due to such worth.  “Surely you jest! You cannot think that the Dalits or untouchables are of the same worth as the Brahmans?” “One does not become a Brahman by birth. It is only by one’s deeds that one is a Brahman.”  The Buddha saw the look of shock on the Brahman’s face and knew he had to sketch a more vivid picture of what he meant. “If one wishes to make a fire, then one will use any dry piece of wood to do so. So, just as fire can come from any type of wood, a noble or wise person can rise from any caste. Only through knowing the truth does one become wise and that does not happen at birth. For at birth, there are only attachments to be clung to that obscure the truth. But, when one frees himself from these attachments and realizes the truth behind why things are the way they are, then one becomes wise. Then one becomes what you call a Brahman. But, what I would call being Awakened.”  The Brahman wobbled in awe. He had never heard such words nor had such words ever been uttered.  The Buddha had just given his first teaching! Though neither he nor the Brahman would have ever planned on their meeting resulting in a sermon. It had just happened. The Brahman could only thank the Buddha for his words and then he shuffled off still pondering the message that had been shared with him. As the Buddha watched the Brahman walk away, he realized that he would have to present his teachings through a framework that would be transparent and easy to understand. He knew he could explain the first step towards arriving to the supreme understanding he had attained. This was the Middle Path and it more or less was a general guide to living day-to-day that people would understand. But once one had committed to this Middle Path, then one would have to proceed through acceptance of certain fundamental truths of man’s existence. The Buddha could boil these down to 4 truths although the last truth itself had various spokes of guidance that he would need to further breakdown for ease of transferring such knowledge. But, he would explain the 4 core truths of his teaching  to his 5 companions through use of imagery they could grasp. He set out to find them and the journey took the Buddha across the bends of the holy Ganges a few different times until he came to ancient city of Benares.  Benares was dusty, chaotic, and filled with ghats or platformed steps that led down to the banks of the river below. Each ghat had its own distinct purpose and personality based on what ceremony or practice it was connected to.  There were no parks or spaces of solitude in Benares, but he was told of a small park known for its pockets of deer that lay just a few miles to the north of the city – away from the river.  The Buddha headed to this deer park and as he entered, there he saw his 5 companions — all grossly emaciated with looks of anguish on their faces as they still practiced extreme self-denial in their desire to find their own answers.  His companions slowly started to recognize the Buddha when they noticed his shape walking towards them. They began to snicker amongst themselves.  There could be no way they would welcome him back within their ranks. Yet, as the Buddha got closer and closer, they began to sense something different about the prince they had previously known. There was an undeniable glow and aura of wisdom surrounding him. He walked without effort and within a few seconds he had glided before them. They instinctively sat around him and offered him the few grains of rice they had stashed away for themselves. The Buddha did not want to eat, he only asked if they were ready to learn what he had discovered.  Any doubt the companions had about the Buddha evaporated in that moment. They could see the profound change that had come over him and they wanted to accept his teaching.  With his companions gathered around him, the Buddha began. The wheel of truth had started its first rotation.

Tags: 4 truths, 5 companions of Buddha, Benares, Brahman, Buddha, caste, enlightenment, first disciples, first teaching, Ganges, ghat, Middle Path, tree, turning of wheel, Varanasi