༺ Pali Canon Anthology ༻

First Sutta

Dhammacakkapavattana Sutra: Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dharma (SN 56.11)

This is the BIG one! The main one! Sometimes called the Elephant’s Footprint because like all the other animals footprints fit inside the elephant’s, this sutra is the container for all the others. The Buddha lays out the scheme of the four enobling truths of suffering, its arising, cessation and the path to its cessation. He says that it arises due to craving for sensual pleasures, for becoming and for non-becoming. Now, who wouldn’t want to know about the ending of suffering?

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