The Buddha was in the Deer Park near Sarnath, outside of Varanasi, preparing to give his first sermon to his first disciples, the Five Ascetics who had shunned Siddhartha when he took the rice porridge from Sujata. When they saw him subsequently they couldn't help being impressed with his radiant countenance and thought he might be on to something, so they agreed to hear his teachings. This is the moment that set what is known as the Dharma Wheel turning and was eventually to lead the five bhikkus (Buddhist monks) toward their own enlightenment.

But the Buddha had no texts to read from, no theories or theologies to offer his listeners. What he had was his own practical experience. On the one hand, he had the indulgence of palace life, and on the other hand, he had the deprivation of asceticism, neither of which led to enduring happiness. Under the Bodhi Tree he discovered the Middle Way and presented this discovery as the Four Noble Truths. He had discovered a method for ending suffering, not a theory. He did not teach dogma. The experience of awakening was available to anyone who was willing to sit down and give it a try. Students did not have to accept anything on faith; in fact, the Buddha insisted they not do so.

The Doctor Is In

The Buddha's first teaching was the Four Noble Truths. These Four Noble Truths can be thought of as a medical metaphor. The Buddha often considered himself to be a physician, more so than the founder of a religion, and as a doctor he offered medicine to heal the illness of the human condition.

As a physician, he provided a diagnosis for the human condition (First Noble Truth), an etiology (cause for the condition; Second Noble Truth), prognosis (Third Noble Truth), and prescription for the treatment (Fourth Noble Truth). Dharma — the truth reflected in these teachings — is the medicine. The Four Noble Truths can take you all the way to enlightenment. His teaching was radical and he was concerned people may not be open to or understand his message.

Although the Buddha was teaching from his practical experience and not some abstract doctrine, he feared the dharma might be difficult to understand, so he used metaphors and images to help his disciples connect with the truth of his teachings, a truth they could test for themselves. He preached then and throughout his long illustrious career “the cause of suffering and the end of suffering” (and not as often misportrayed, “life is suffering”). His teaching was revolutionary and asked people to experience things that ran counter to custom and even to common sense (for example, that the typical sense of self was an illusion).

Teachings as Vehicle, Not Destination

The Buddha offered a metaphor: His teachings were a raft to carry the seeker across the river of samsara. Once to the other side, he cautioned them to discard the raft. Truth had to be personal, and they should not keep carrying the raft on their back in case it might be useful again some day. The teachings carried on your back in this way are at risk for becoming dogma, and the Buddha wished to avoid that. Any truth must be experienced firsthand and not taken on the authority of a teacher, including himself.

The Four Noble Truths

The Buddha's teachings were a pathway to letting go of suffering, freeing oneself from pain. The Buddha knew the only way was the Middle Way. He knew that excessive pleasure (a life built on sensual delight) or excessive pain (such as the life of an ascetic) led to continual suffering and not to release from that suffering. And so in the first sermon there at the Deer Park, the Buddha spoke of the Four Noble Truths and the path to nirvana. He presented his truths as a program of action and not just ideas to consider.

THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

• The Truth of Suffering (Dukkha)

• The Truth of the Cause of Suffering

• The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering

• The Truth of the Path That Leads to the Cessation of Suffering

Back to the Buddha's medical prescription: The sickness is dukkha that infects every moment of existence. The cause of the dukkha is craving or desire. The prognosis is good. While much of suffering is self-inflicted, there is a way out of this mess and that place is nirvana. The way to realize nirvana is the Noble Eightfold Path. Following the Path is the way to healing and recovery of sanity.