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The Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta is a teaching which has a message for those of all walks of life, however, the specific observations by the author have been grouped in Appendix A of this book. In translating this book, it has been necessary from place to place, to add additional explanation and footnotes in cases where aspects of Buddhist culture might not be immediately obvious to western readers. Similarly, aspects which are unnecessarily caught up with Thai culture have been minimized or omitted. The content of this book is more advanced than the forgoing titles in the series 'Buddhism in Plain English'. This book had thus been placed as number '3' in the series because the content of the book is reasonably difficult, dealing almost entirely with higher spiritual training. It goes much further than, for example, Blueprint for a Global Being or Buddhist Economics which are grounded on a basis of everyday life and virtues. In fact, the whole subject of renunciation of the mundane, which is the point of departure for this book, may seem alien to householders who might feel perfectly contented with their lot in life. There may be a tendency to see the Buddha's renunciation of the world as at best irrelevant to themselves or extreme, or at worst irresponsible. For this reason, it is necessary to lay a foundation of understanding for the reader concerning three major issues before embarking upon the main body of this book. Firstly, it is important to understand that the vast majority of people
live in a world of delusion. Even without touching a drop of alcohol,
they tend to be drunk with the apparent perpetuity of life, labouring
under the misapprehensions that: When Prince Siddhattha journeyed outside the palace in his youth, witnessing the three so-called 'angelic emissaries' [devaduuta], an old man, a sick man and a corpse, he did not see these things as others before him had. Most people see the signs of receding youth and health and respond with disgust, especially at the sight of a corpse. Siddhattha Gotama's witness of these events was different, however. Confronted by the inevitability of death, Siddhattha Gotama was not perturbed but thought like a soldier on the battlefield - one had the choice of whether to fight or to surrender - but if one were to surrender, one would die for sure - however, if one were to put up a fight, at least there would be some chance of survival! Seeing the fourth of the angelic emissaries, an ascetic, Siddhattha Gotama recognized this path as a way of fighting back against the inevitability of old-age, sickness and death. Secondly, most people, in considering appropriate paths of action in
life, have very little more than their own worldly interests at heart.
In a family life, an altruistic parent might extend their decision-making
to the interests of their family too. Some parents might even forgo their
own personal interests, if it is in the interests of their family. These
are some leaders, moreover, who might forgo their personal interests and
their family's interests in order to serve the interests of the people
of their nation (themselves and their family included). In considering
the appropriate course of action for himself, Siddhattha Gotama surveyed
the world seeing that the lot of living beings, himself, his princess,
his new-born son and all the people of his kingdom unexcepted, was to
undergo the suffering of old-age, sickness and death. He considered his
own potential in comparison to the rest of the people of the world and
realized that others failed even to see the danger of their predicament,
let alone to find a way out of it. He realized that if he, himself, didn't
engage in the battle against delusion, there would be no-one else to do
it in his place. Thus with anxiety, not only for his own lot in life,
not only for the lot of his family, but for all the people of the world
imprisoned in the Triple World of samsaara, subject to the fate of old
age, sickness and death, he decided to renounce the world in search of
a way to the end of suffering - knowledge once found, which would lead
not only to his own salvation, but that of the whole of mankind for his
generation and generations to come. Spiritual tradition contemporary to the Buddha was largely the realm of theory. All theories of liberation available before the Buddha's enlightenment dealt entirely with meditation focussed outside the body. Then, as now, almost all success was attributed to ideas and strategies - but as a result of countless past lifetimes dedicated to true meditation, Siddhattha Gotama quickly recognized that all the forms of practice available, although advanced, were mere conceptualizating that could not lead to enlightenment or release from old-age, sickness or death. He realized that theory alone, in the hands of virtueless person would be as dangerous as a sword without a scabbard. Theory needed to go hand in hand with inner attainment of virtue to be a viable path to freedom from old age, sickness and death. It was for this reason that Siddhattha Gotama sacrificed his worldly life in order to discover not mere 'concentration', but full-factored meditation and insight as borne witness by the Mahaacattaariisaka Sutta (M.iii.71ff.) which tells us that the sort of meditation the Buddha discovered at His enlightenment was supported by all the other factors of the Noble Eightfold Path - and could therefore be referred to as 'Right Meditation' [sammaa samaadhi], His enlightenment could not be attributed, as assumed by some, to mere reflection or theorizing. Those who assume that the Buddha gained enlightenment in the same way as Baahiya Daaruciiriya (i.e. by spontaneous enlightenment at the wayside) would be mistaken, because even Baahiya Daaruciiriya's enlightenment can be traced back to the efforts made, sacrificing his life for meditation in previous existences. Thus readers, who have not previously studied the earlier titles in this series, should take a few moments to consolidate their understanding of the three issues mentioned above - delusion, renunciation and the Buddha's previous meditation experience - before embarking on the remainder of this book. Finally, it should be mentioned that the aim of books in the 'Buddhism in Plain English' series is to bring alive the Buddhist scriptures in the light of practice, making them accessible to beginners without oversimplifying them. In keeping with this spirit, technical and non-English terminology has been avoided as far as is possible without neglecting accuracy. In general, translated terminology appears together with the Pali equivalent in square brackets. In closing, I would like to convey my thanks to Phrabhavanaviriyakhun for allowing the publication of this translation and to all staff of the Dhammakaya Foundation in Thailand concerned, for their continued encouragement, technical and creative support for these translations. May the merit that accrues from this work be shared by all sentient beings.
Phra Nicholas Thanissaro |
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This book has been
compiled and translated not exclusively from the written Thai version
of Phrabhavanaviriyakhun's 'Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta', but also from
many subsequent renditions of the same work given by the author in training
sessions for people of all walks of life, age ranges: monks and laypeople
alike. The content of those teaching sessions, had considerable overlap,
however, for different groups, the author often made remarks specific
to the audience. In the case where specific comments would be inaccessible
to the general reader they are not included, but in all other cases the
book attempts to give the fullest possible coverage of the author's commentary
on this Sutta, to do justice to the exceptional dedication of the author
in teaching on this subject throughout the last ten years.