The Nature of Suffering | Setting in Motion the Dharma Wheel

Last week we discussed the turning of the Dharma Wheel in Deer Park in which the Buddha gave his first teaching of the Four Noble Truths to the five ascetic monks. We spoke of the basic meanings of the four truths, and of the path away from suffering to liberation. We will continue examining the first noble truth and the nature of suffering, layer upon layer, hoping to find clarification as well as deeper meanings.

There are various approaches I could take to sharing with you the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths. Indeed their profundity can be revealed through many traditions of Buddhism, but for my sources I rely on the early scriptures, such as the nikayas, the early Pali sutras, also known as the agamas, and from the Sanskrit shastra called Abhidharmakosha ( The Treatise on Benefit Knowlede1. Other approaches include that of the Madhyamika (Middle Way)2 and the Yogacara (Mind-Only)3, two very dominant Indian schools of thought that were very authoritative in their
explanations of the Four Noble Truths. In Chinese Buddhism, besides the lines of Chan -Linji and Caodong (Zen: Rinzai and Soto)-there were the Tientai and the Huayan traditions4, each with its own way of explaining the Four Noble Truths. So, with this in mind, I will be commenting primarily from the point of view of the earlier, more fundamental Buddhist tradition.

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