Buddha After Enlightenment

Posted on July 28, 2007 in Buddhism Wheel of Life

After enlightenment, and after leaving the Bodhi tree, the Buddha went to a deer park in Sarnath (near Benares). There he met the five ascetics who had deserted him after thinking that he had given up the life of penance on seeing him bathe and take food. After making them sit with him, he delivered his first sermon known as Setting in Motion the Wheel of Law.

This first sermon was based on the Four Noble Truths concerning the origin of suffering, the cause of suffering, the ending of suffering and the Eightfold path (middle-path) that would lead to the ending of suffering. After listening to his discourse, the five ascetics became his disciples; the first among them being Kondanno. A few days later he delivered his second sermon on anatta (anatma) or the non-existence of soul to his disciples.

The charm, the extra ordinary attributes, and the relevance of the Buddha’s teachings can be illustrated through the story of Yasa. Though Yasa belonged to a very rich merchant family, he left home after he was convinced by the Enlightened One’s teachings of the illusory nature of material success and became the Buddha’s disciple. Later his father and the rest of his family and friends also followed the path of the Lord and became Buddha’s first lay disciples. In an earlier incident, when he was still sitting under the Bodhi tree, he performed an extra ordinary miracle by merging four bowls into one to receive food when two merchants, Tapussa and Bhalluka, stopped to offer food while passing by. So convinced were they with the Buddha’s countenance that they immediately became the very first lay Buddhists.

Starting with the effort of about sixty disciples initially, the Buddha’s doctrine spread out in different directions spreading rapidly across the urban areas of the vast Gangetic plains.

That a monk was expected to renounce all worldly attachments was reflected in the Buddha’s conviction of not showing any attachment towards his family. This happened when King Suddhodana upon hearing that Buddha was teaching in Rajagaha tried his best to coax him into recognizing his family members and relatives.

Buddhism’s practical adherence to renunciation also was reflected during the Buddha’s stay in Kapilavatthu. Buddha took his begging bowl and went from door to door begging for food despite the king’s efforts to make him dine in the palace.

The forty five years of the Buddha’s life after his enlightenment witnessed the intensive travels in the Gangetic plains of Northeastern India, teaching the pragmatic approach of basic principles he prescribed to – the eight fold path (middle path) connected to the four noble truths.

The Buddha’s effort in the establishment of the Buddhist sangha (Buddhist order of monks and nuns), and the recognition of equality to all regardless of class, caste and gender which was formulated and upheld, provided the basis of the foundation of Buddhist thought in the centuries that followed.

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