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At Sarnath (Sagarnath: Lord of Deer; Pali: Isipattana) in the Deer Park which is outside the holy city of Benares (now called Varanasi), the Buddha preached his first discourse and set in motion The Wheel of Dhamma. The wheel symbolises samsara (world), the eternal round of existence which goes on and on, life after life because of ceaseless cravings and desire.
In that sermon, Gautama Buddha started teaching about The Middle Way: moderation in all things, including philosophy, and avoiding extremes. His explanation was never meant for debating but rather for the advantage of and out of compassion for human beings.
He expressed The Four Noble Truths :
1. There is suffering
2. Suffering has a cause
3. The cause is removable
4. There are ways to remove the causes) which culminate in The Eightfold Path (Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, Right concentration, Right attitude and Right view) to the end of suffering.
The name Deer Park is derived from an occasion in one of Gautama's former lives as a bodhisattva. He was leading a herd of deer. After much indiscriminate plundering of the herd by a local king, an agreement was made with him that one of them would be offered to him and only when it is necessary. The turn came of a doe. She was supposed to give birth shortly and wished to delay her turn until then. Bodhisattva offered himself instead of her.
This act impressed the king so much that he not only resolved to refrain from killing deer in future, but also gave the park to them.
Today, the actual site of the Buddha's teaching at Sarnath as well as the several ruins in the area stand enclosed in a park. Nearby, a well-planned museum houses a number of unearthed statues, many of them barely damaged, along with several other findings from the site. The museum's entrance is dominated by the famous lion capital from Ashoka's pillar.
Adjacent to the park, is the Mahabodhi Society's Mulaghandaluti Temple, an imposing building containing certain relics of the Buddha. Close by is the Society's sangharama and a library, which houses a rare collection of Buddhist literature.
Also in the vicinity, are Burmese, Chinese and Tibetan temples. There is also a Tibetan monastery and the Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies nearby, where two hundred young monks practice and study the many aspects of the Buddha's teaching, to qualify for the degree of an Acharya. There is also a Tibetan printing press, The Pleasure of Elegant Sayings, which, over the last decade, has published more than thirty Tibetan texts of Buddhist treatises, otherwise hard to find.
The Wheel of Dhamma that Gautama’s first turned at Sarnath continues to revolve even today.
A Monastic tradition flourished for over 1,500 years on the site of the deer park at Sarnath. In the third century BC Ashoka erected a column 15.24 m in height which had four lions as its capital which is now treasured in the archaeology museum. The lion symbolises both Ashoka's imperial rule and the kingship of the Buddha. The four-lion capital was adopted as the emblem of the modern Indian republic.
The last and largest monastery constructed before the Muslim invasion was Dharma-Chakar-Jina Vihara, erected by Kumardevi, wife of King Govinda Chandra, who ruled over Benares during 1114 to 1154. In 1194 AD, Kutubuddin Aibak, the Muslim conqueror, leveled the city to the ground. Sarnath became a forest of debris below which the historical ruins remained buried. Of the two great stupas which adorned the city only the Dhamekha remained which is of the 6th century. This is the most conspicuous structure at Sarnath.
Colonel Cunningham bore a shaft from the top centre of the stupa and discovered a stone tablet on which an inscription is written with the word Dhamekha, and mentions that this is the spot where the Buddha delivered his first sermon. Dhamekha seems to be a distorted form of Dharma Chakra which means turning the wheel of the Dharma. It is also said that at this spot the five ascetics who left Gautama Buddha in Bodh Gaya used to live in huts.
The original stupa was constructed by Ashoka. The present size of the stupa is 31.3 m high and 28.3 m in diameter. The lower portion of the stupa is covered completely with beautifully carved stones. The design consists of a broad band of Swastika (fylfot) carved in different geometrical patterns with a finely chiselled lotus wreath, running over and below the swastikas.
The Dhamekha stupa is considered to be the sacred place where the voice of Buddhism was first heard. Many dignitaries of Buddhist countries visit this place for circumambulation of this sacred stupa and to worship the Buddha. Tibetans Buddhist circumambulate it chanting the mantra 'Om mani padme hum'.
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Buddhist Heritages
At Sarnath (Sagarnath: Lord of Deer; Pali: Isipattana) in the Deer Park which is outside the holy city of Benares (now called Varanasi), the Buddha preached his first discourse and set in motion The Wheel of Dhamma. The wheel symbolises samsara (world), the eternal round of existence which goes on and on, life after life because of ceaseless cravings and desire. In that sermon, Gautama Buddha started teaching about The Middle Way: moderation in all things, including philosophy, and avoiding extremes. His explanation was never meant for debating but rather for the advantage of and out of compassion for human beings.
He expressed The Four Noble Truths :
1. There is suffering
2. Suffering has a cause
3. The cause is removable
4. There are ways to remove the causes) which culminate in The Eightfold Path (Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, Right concentration, Right attitude and Right view) to the end of suffering.
The name Deer Park is derived from an occasion in one of Gautama's former lives as a bodhisattva. He was leading a herd of deer. After much indiscriminate plundering of the herd by a local king, an agreement was made with him that one of them would be offered to him and only when it is necessary. The turn came of a doe. She was supposed to give birth shortly and wished to delay her turn until then. Bodhisattva offered himself instead of her.
This act impressed the king so much that he not only resolved to refrain from killing deer in future, but also gave the park to them.
Today, the actual site of the Buddha's teaching at Sarnath as well as the several ruins in the area stand enclosed in a park. Nearby, a well-planned museum houses a number of unearthed statues, many of them barely damaged, along with several other findings from the site. The museum's entrance is dominated by the famous lion capital from Ashoka's pillar.
Adjacent to the park, is the Mahabodhi Society's Mulaghandaluti Temple, an imposing building containing certain relics of the Buddha. Close by is the Society's sangharama and a library, which houses a rare collection of Buddhist literature.
Also in the vicinity, are Burmese, Chinese and Tibetan temples. There is also a Tibetan monastery and the Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies nearby, where two hundred young monks practice and study the many aspects of the Buddha's teaching, to qualify for the degree of an Acharya. There is also a Tibetan printing press, The Pleasure of Elegant Sayings, which, over the last decade, has published more than thirty Tibetan texts of Buddhist treatises, otherwise hard to find.
The Wheel of Dhamma that Gautama’s first turned at Sarnath continues to revolve even today.
A Monastic tradition flourished for over 1,500 years on the site of the deer park at Sarnath. In the third century BC Ashoka erected a column 15.24 m in height which had four lions as its capital which is now treasured in the archaeology museum. The lion symbolises both Ashoka's imperial rule and the kingship of the Buddha. The four-lion capital was adopted as the emblem of the modern Indian republic.
The last and largest monastery constructed before the Muslim invasion was Dharma-Chakar-Jina Vihara, erected by Kumardevi, wife of King Govinda Chandra, who ruled over Benares during 1114 to 1154. In 1194 AD, Kutubuddin Aibak, the Muslim conqueror, leveled the city to the ground. Sarnath became a forest of debris below which the historical ruins remained buried. Of the two great stupas which adorned the city only the Dhamekha remained which is of the 6th century. This is the most conspicuous structure at Sarnath.
Colonel Cunningham bore a shaft from the top centre of the stupa and discovered a stone tablet on which an inscription is written with the word Dhamekha, and mentions that this is the spot where the Buddha delivered his first sermon. Dhamekha seems to be a distorted form of Dharma Chakra which means turning the wheel of the Dharma. It is also said that at this spot the five ascetics who left Gautama Buddha in Bodh Gaya used to live in huts.
The original stupa was constructed by Ashoka. The present size of the stupa is 31.3 m high and 28.3 m in diameter. The lower portion of the stupa is covered completely with beautifully carved stones. The design consists of a broad band of Swastika (fylfot) carved in different geometrical patterns with a finely chiselled lotus wreath, running over and below the swastikas.
The Dhamekha stupa is considered to be the sacred place where the voice of Buddhism was first heard. Many dignitaries of Buddhist countries visit this place for circumambulation of this sacred stupa and to worship the Buddha. Tibetans Buddhist circumambulate it chanting the mantra 'Om mani padme hum'.
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