Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dhamma The Prologue Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One was staying near Varanasi, in the Deer Park at Isipatana. There he addressed the group of five monks: The Middle Way “Monks, these two extremes should not be cultivated by one who has gone forth from the household life. What are the two? There is indulgence in sensual pleasures, which is low, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, and leads to no benefit. And there is indulgence in self-mortification, which is painful, ignoble, and leads to no benefit. “Avoiding both these extremes, the Realized One has awakened to the middle way of practice—which gives vision, gives knowledge, and leads to peace, direct realization, awakening, and Nibbāna. And what is that middle way? It is simply this Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. The Four Noble Truths 1. The Noble Truth of Suffering “...