Site of Buddha’s First Teachings
After his enlightenment, Buddha moved around the Bodhi tree (Bodhgaya) and devoted himself to his own personal perfection. Buddhist literature tells us that Buddha was reluctant to preach the Dhamma, most likely because the finding was so very profound and difficult to grasp. Brahma Sahampati knowing what was passing in the mind of the Buddha appeared before Buddha while he was practicing at Ajapalanigrodha (goatherd banyan tree). Brahma Sahampati convinced Buddha that it was necessary for the Buddha to stay in the world and preach the Dhamma. Buddha realised that it was not appropriate for him to enter nirvana but to stay on earth to help his fellow men attain nirvana and free themselves from their sufferings.
Having decided to preach his doctrine, Buddha asked himself ‘to whom shall I first teach the doctrine?’ He thought his previous teachers’ Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputra would be ideal but with his divine eyes, he discovered that both of them had recently died. He then thought of his five former companions (later known as pancavaggiya monks) who practiced austerity with him and had left him a few days before he attained enlightenment. He thought they would certainly understand the Dhamma and with his divine eyes he saw them at Migadaya, Isipatana (Deer Park, Sarnath).
When the five of them saw Buddha approaching, thinking him still to be the Siddhartha who had forsaken his path of austere practice, they decided not to welcome him. Yet, as the Buddha came closer, they found themselves involuntarily rising and paying respect. Chaukhandi (square edifice) stupa south of Deer Park according to Xuanzang was erected at the place where the pancavaggiya monks abandoned the decision to treat the Buddha with disrespect and received him with due respect.
Thereafter, on the full-moon day of asalha (June-July), Buddha preached the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (the First Turning of the Wheel) to his five former companions and hence set forth in motion the ‘Wheel of Dhamma.’ He taught the middle way that avoids the extremes of pleasure and austerity, the four noble truths, and the eightfold path.
Later, Kondanna followed by four other Pancavaggiya ascetics asked the Buddha for ordination and were admitted as bhikkhu (monk). This marked the completion of the Triple Gem of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. In the next few days many people in the vicinity of Sarnath benefited by learning about the Dhamma and many joined Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
Emperor Ashoka visited Sarnath and erected several monuments to mark his pilgrimage including a pillar at the spot where Buddha delivered the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. The pillar has an inscription that reads, ‘Let no one cause a division in the Sangha’. It is believed that he issued this Sanghabhedaka (cause a schism in the order) Edict to promote harmony among the various Buddhist schools prevailing in the Indian Subcontinent.
From the time of the Buddha, monastic tradition flourished for over 1,500 years on the site of Deer Park. Dharmachakra-jina vihara constructed in 12th CE was the last and largest monastery built by Kumara Devi, queen of King Govindachandra (1114-1154 CE), who ruled from Kannauj.
The 7th CE Buddhist monk-scholar Xuanzang mentions a number of stupas in and near the Deer Park complex commemorating the past lives of the Buddha: one where he was practicing as a bodhisattva offered himself as the deer; another where, as a six-tusked elephant, he offered his tusks to a deceitful hunter.
Sarnath Museum houses some of the best artefacts and images of Buddha and Buddhist deities found as a result of exploration and excavation at the Sarnath archaeological site. Its collection includes the Ashokan Pillar with the Lion Capital, which is the national emblem of India, and many other artefacts whose dates range from 3rd BCE to 12th CE. One can see a large wheel with concentric circular bands of beautiful auspicious symbols and images. This red sandstone wheel was actually an umbrella meant to provide shade and protect the image of Bodhisattva Siddhartha. The umbrella has a diameter of 10 feet and was originally installed on an octagonal shaft. This statue, which stood under this umbrella, dates from the 1st CE (during the reign of Kanishka) and is one of the earliest images of the Buddha.
