Sarnath: The first sermon of Buddha ..contd
Soon after enlightenment, Buddha sat in solitude when a thought occurred to him: "The Dhamma (Dharma) I have realized is deep, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful and sublime, beyond mere reasoning, subtle, and intelligible to the wise but this generation delights, revels, and rejoices in sensual pleasures. It is hard for such a generation to understand the knowledge have I attained."
(Imagine, what Buddha said 2500 yrs back still sounds so true)
Thinking thus, Buddha became determined not to teach the Dhamma, but on surveying the world with his mental eye, he saw beings in acute pain and suffering. The Master then declared his readiness to proclaim the Dhamma in this solemn utterance:
"Open are the doors of the Deathless.
Let those that have ears repose trust."
Buddha then began his journey to Banaras (Sarnath) to give the first sermon to his one time ascetic friends.He ravelled 150 miles for 60 days to reach the dear park, where they used to live.
The five ascetics, seeing the Buddha from afar, discussed among themselves: "Friends, here comes the ascetic Gotama who gave up the struggle and turned to a life of abundance and luxury. Let us ignore him."
But when the Buddha approached them, they were struck by his dignified presence and they failed in their resolve. One went to meet him and took his alms bowl and robe, another prepared a seat, and still another brought him water. The Buddha sat on the seat prepared for him, and then delivered his first sermon.
First sermon...to continue
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