Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion (SN 56.11)
The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta is taken by Buddhists as the record of the first sermon, delivered in the deer park at Sarnath. Later versions of the text centre on the Four Noble Truths, the formula that states the basic orientation of Buddhism, while earlier versions centre on insight into impermanence and the stilling of unwholesome drives. The passage this vault cites belongs to the second of those truths, which names the origin of dukkha, usually translated as suffering or unsatisfactoriness, as craving, and distinguishes three varieties of it: craving for sensory pleasure, craving for existence and craving for non-existence. The text also introduces the middle way between indulgence and severity, and the concepts of impermanence and dependent origination. It is a scriptural source rather than a study, and it is cited here as the earliest statement of a claim about wanting that this publication traces through to modern psychology.
The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta is taken by Buddhists as the record of the first sermon, delivered in the deer park at Sarnath. Later versions of the text centre on the Four Noble Truths, the formula that states the basic orientation of Buddhism, while earlier versions centre on insight into impermanence and the stilling of unwholesome drives. The passage this vault cites belongs to the second of those truths, which names the origin of dukkha, usually translated as suffering or unsatisfactoriness, as craving, and distinguishes three varieties of it: craving for sensory pleasure, craving for existence and craving for non-existence. The text also introduces the middle way between indulgence and severity, and the concepts of impermanence and dependent origination. It is a scriptural source rather than a study, and it is cited here as the earliest statement of a claim about wanting that this publication traces through to modern psychology.
Written from the public record for the text.
What our sources record
Reproduced as it was written when this source was checked, figures and all.
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56.11). The first sermon; the Second Noble Truth names the origin of dukkha as taṇhā in three varieties.
Where we use it
- 2,500 Years, One Good Study, Why We Exist / Endure
Reliability of this reference
The link below was matched against the publisher's record on title, first author and year, and all three agree.