First Sermon Of Lord Buddha – July 10, 2024

History of First Sermon Of Lord Buddha

Born in Lumbini, India, Siddhartha Gautama was a member of the aristocratic Shakya clan during the reign of Bimbisara, the ruler of the Magadha empire. The sheltered young man, as the story goes, embarked on a journey outside the walls of his palace and, upon seeing the reality of the suffering beyond aristocratic luxury, renounced his place in society and adopted an ascetic lifestyle. He began traveling across the Gangetic plain in order to spread his message of a ‘Middle Path.’ after many years of meditation and mendicancy, he is believed to have attained enlightenment — the knowledge and understanding of the cycle of life and death and how to lead a ‘good life’ of moderation.

His first sermon, entitled “Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion,” was delivered over 2,500 years ago in the Deer Park in Isipatana, India. In this sermon, Gautama stated the ‘Four Noble Truths’ — the existence of suffering, the cause of suffering, the cause of suffering can end, and the path to the end of suffering — and the ‘Noble Eightfold Path’ — the right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Following this path would allow a person to break away from suffering and attain ‘nirvana.’

Post his death, Gautama came to be known as Buddha, which means ‘The Enlightened One.”