Venerable Dr. Rewata Dhamma (1930–2004) was a widely recognized scholar and teacher. One of his books, a translation of the Abhidhammattha Sangaha with his own commentary was awarded the Kalidasa prize from the Hindi Academy as one of the outstanding books of the year in 1967 and is still a standard textbook. He also edited a three-volume edition of The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga) with commentary, published by the Sanskrit University. In 1969 he was appointed Chief Editor of the Encyclopaedia of Buddhist Technical Terms and later edited the Paramita magazine in Hindi and English. He he established a Buddhist Vihara in Birmingham, England; he helped to build the Dhamma Talaka Peace Pagoda, which has been a harbour for many Buddhist followers and is visited by thousands of visitors each year; and he taught Buddhism and Vipassana meditation at various centers in Europe and the United States until his death in 2004.
“Venerable Rewata Dhamma is able to speak from scholarly and meditative experience. Therefore, this work is most significant and very much needed. Most of the Pāli Canon has been translated by scholars who, though accurate in translation, do not have insight into Buddha-dhamma through the practice of vipassanā meditation. The Venerable Rewata Dhamma has made his knowledge available in this important translation and commentary.”—from the foreword by Ajahn Sumedho, author of The Mind and the Way
THE FIRST DISCOURSE OF THE BUDDHA
Turning the Wheel of Dhamma
The print edition of this book is out of stock; please check back later. You can also become a Wisdom Experience member to read many of our books online—click here to join now.
Two months after the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, he traveled to Sarnath, India. There he delivered his first discourse to a group of five ascetics in Deer Park. This teaching, known as the “First Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma” or the Dhammacakka Sutta, contains the foundational teachings of all Buddhism. In it the Buddha explains the way to freedom from suffering through the teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.
With this translation and its verse-by-verse commentary, Dr. Dhamma brings fresh insight to the Dhammacakka Sutta. Drawing on the rich Burmese monastic scholarly tradition and his own experiences as a vipassanā practitioner, Dr. Dhamma makes clear the precise steps necessary for the realization of the teachings contained in the Buddha’s first discourse.
Discover More
The Signless and the Deathless
An insightful examination of the end of suffering drawing much-needed attention to two overlooked factors of Nirvana: signlessness and deathlessness. Includes a foreword by Bhante Gunaratana.
Nirvana is at once a critical part of the Buddhist path and a concept difficult to fully understand for Buddhist practitioners. Canonical texts broach this mysterious and essential idea in a variety of ways, whether in the form of metaphor or literary description. In The Signless and the Deathless: On the Realization of Nirvana, scholar-monk Bhikkhu Anālayo sheds light on two key aspects of Nirvana that have gone underappreciated: signlessness and deathlessness.
Commanding an extraordinary mastery of canonical Buddhist languages, Venerable Anālayo breaks new ground, or rediscovers old ground, by presenting a new way of approaching Nirvana, based on the Buddha’s teachings on how our minds construct experience. This novel treatment, backed up by meticulous academic expertise, is valuable for scholars and practitioners alike.
Through practicing bare awareness…realizing Nirvana entails “a complete stepping out of the way the mind usually constructs experience.”
Noble Truths, Noble Path
Bhikkhu Bodhi’s newest anthology!
Brilliantly translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi, this anthology of suttas from the Saṃyutta Nikāya takes us straight to the heart of the Buddha’s teaching on liberation through the four noble truths and the noble eightfold path—the two mainstays of Buddhist doctrine that illuminate the nature of things by generating direct insight into the teachings. These suttas all pertain to the ultimate good, the attainment of nibbāna or liberation. They illuminate the Buddha’s radical diagnosis of the human condition—and more broadly, the condition of all sentient existence—in light of the four noble truths. They underscore the pervasive flaws inherent in the round of rebirths, trace our existential predicament to its deepest roots, and lay out the path to unraveling our bondage and winning irreversible release. Ven. Bodhi arranged the chapters, each with its own introduction, to provide an overview of the Dhamma that mirrors the four noble truths, thus enabling students of Early Buddhism to see into the heart of the Buddha’s teachings as directly and clearly as possible.
For those interested in the Pāli language, Bhikkhu Bodhi provides linguistic and grammatical explanations of the suttas included in this book in his Reading the Buddha’s Discourses in Pāli.
Learn more about the Teachings of the Buddha series.
Buddhist Suttas for Recitation
Bring the Buddha’s teachings more deeply into your life.
Buddhist Suttas for Recitation provides everything you need to begin and maintain a practice of contemplative recitation and reflection. These practices will deepen your connection to the Buddha, strengthen your faith in the Path, and nurture your intellectual understanding of the Dhamma.
This unique volume includes carefully chosen discourses of the Buddha from the Pali Canon—presented in inspiring and accessible English with accompanying Pali—that convey the essence of the Dhamma. The introductory material explains the relationship between meditation and devotional practice, offers instructions on setting up a home altar, and gives advice on how to use these texts to enhance your spiritual development.
The Suttanipāta
The Suttanipāta, or “Group of Discourses” is a collection of discourses ascribed to the Buddha that includes some of the most popular suttas of the Pāli Canon, among them the Loving-Kindness Sutta. The suttas are primarily in verse, though several are in mixed prose and verse. The Suttanipāta contains discourses that extol the figure of the muni, the illumined sage, who wanders homeless completely detached from the world. Other suttas, such as the Discourse on Downfall and the Discourse on Blessings, establish the foundations of Buddhist lay ethics. The last two chapters—the Aṭṭhakavagga (Chapter of Octads) and the Pārāyanavagga (The Chapter on the Way to the Beyond)—are considered to be among the most ancient parts of the Pāli Canon. The Aṭṭhakavagga advocates a critical attitude toward views and doctrines. The Pārāyanavagga is a beautiful poem in which sixteen spiritual seekers travel across India to meet the Buddha and ask him profound questions pertaining to the highest goal.
The main commentary, the Paramatthajotikā, relates the background story to each sutta and explains each verse in detail. The volume includes numerous excerpts from the Niddesa, an ancient commentary already included in the Pāli Canon, which offers detailed expositions of each verse in the Aṭṭhakavagga, the Pārāyanavagga, and the Rhinoceros Horn Sutta.
Translator Bhikkhu Bodhi provides an insightful, in-depth introduction, a guide to the individual suttas, extensive notes, a list of parallels to the discourses of the Suttanipāta, and a list of the numerical sets mentioned in the commentaries.
- Learn more about the Teachings of the Buddha series.