Shakyamuni Buddha

Turning the Wheel of Dharma

Having discovered the path of liberation from cyclic existence, or “saṃsāra,” the Buddha now understood the path of liberation for all, and soon embarked on a lifetime of continuous activity dedicated to leading others from suffering. Seven weeks after the Buddha had attained enlightenment, Brahma approached him and requested him to teach. The Buddha thereupon set out on foot for Sarnath, near Vārāṇasī, where his five companions in asceticism remained practicing. In Sarnath the Buddha taught them the Four Noble Truths, setting in motion the wheel of Dharma that has continued turning without interruption to this day. Upon hearing the Buddha’s Dharma, the five friends became the first bhikṣus. The ranks of the Buddha’s monastic community swiftly swelled as he wandered from place to place teaching the Dharma. Over the course of the next four decades the Buddha’s counsel was frequently sought by nearly all the major kings of his day, who offered full and generous support to the early sangha. The Buddha gained vast numbers of followers in the major cities of Rājagṛha, Vaiśālī, Vārāṇasī and Śrāvastī. In addition, he returned to his hometown of Kapilavastu to offer the nectar of Dharma as repayment for the kindness of those who had nourished him with ordinary food as a child. On one of these visits, his stepmother, Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī, requested the Buddha to establish an order of bhikṣuṇīs, or fully ordained nuns, which would later flourish across India and beyond.