Buddha first traveled to a place outside of Benares called
Sarnath, where the five ascetics with whom he had previously practiced were
living in a deer park. The Buddha gave his first sermon to these five ascetics,
thereby setting in motion the Great Wheel of the Dharma. In this sermon he
spoke of the Four Noble Truths and the Middle Way, that path between the extremes
of sensory indulgence and self-mortification, thus laying the foundation for
the next forty-five years of his teaching.
When his first sixty disciples were fully enlightened, he
instructed them in a way that is very significant. He said, “Go forth, O bhikkus [monks]
for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for
the world, for the good, benefit, and happiness of people
and devas (celestial beings). Let not two go by one way. Teach the
Dharma, excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, excellent in the
end. Proclaim the noble life, altogether perfect and pure. Work for the good of
others, you who have accomplished your duties.” And so, from the very beginning
of our own practice, we understand that we are not doing this for ourselves
alone, that our practice can be for the benefit and welfare of all.
There are many stories in the Buddha’s life illustrating his
wisdom and skill in helping others to liberation. Every morning he would
survey the world with his unhindered eye of wisdom, encompassing all beings in
his net of compassion. With the ability to penetrate hidden tendencies, he
would recognize all those who were ripe for awakening, and he would appear to
them, offering the exact teaching they needed to open their hearts and minds.
There are innumerable stories of people from all walks of
life—beggars, merchants, artisans, courtesans, village people, nobles, kings
and queens—each coming to the Buddha with varying degrees of faith and
understanding, whom he helped come to freedom and peace through the power of
his love and wisdom.
One discourse the Buddha gave that is particularly helpful
in understanding the open spirit of investigation and discovery in dharma
practice is known as the Kalama Sutta. This sutra is named after the
Kalamas, a village people who had asked him how they could know which among the
many different religious teachings and teachers to believe. The Buddha said
that they should not blindly believe anyone—not their parents or teachers, not
the books or traditions, not even the Buddha himself. Rather, they should look
carefully into their own experience to see those actions that lead to more
greed, more hatred, more delusion, and abandon them; and they should look to
see what things lead to greater love, generosity, wisdom, and peace, and then
cultivate those. The Buddha’s teachings always encourage us to take
responsibility for our own development and to directly investigate the nature
of our experience.
When he was eighty years old, the Buddha became quite ill.
Knowing he was soon going to die, he lay down on a spot beneath two trees. The
legends tell us that these trees were flowering out of season, symbolizing the
Buddha’s final release into the unconditioned. The very last words of the Buddha
sum up all his lifetimes of practice and the forty-five years of teaching after
his enlightenment. These are the words that he left to us at the very end of
his life: “With the light of perfect wisdom, illuminate the darkness of
ignorance. Subject to decay are all conditioned things. Strive on with
diligence.”
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