Dhammacakkappavatthana Sutta Four Noble Truths Talk 1 April 17 2018

This is a live stream and recording of our Tuesday evening Dhamma class from Cross River Meditation Center in Frenchtown, New Jersey on April 17, 2018. The stream begins every Tuesday at 7:15 PM Eastern US time.

My Dhamma talk and our sangha discussion will be on The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta is the very first teaching ever presented by the Buddha. It occurred a few weeks after Siddhartha Gotama awakened and gained full human maturity Everything the Buddha taught during his forty-five year teaching career was taught in the context of Dependent Origination and Four Noble Truths.

"There are these two extremes that are not to be indulged in by one who has gone forth. Which two? That which is devoted to sensual pleasure with reference to sensual objects. This behavior is base, vulgar, common, ignoble, unprofitable. It is devoted to self-affliction. That which is devoted to self-affliction is (always) painful and ignoble. Avoiding both of these extremes the middle way is realized by the Tathagata. This middle way produces vision and knowledge. This middle way leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.

A related article is here: https://becoming-buddha.com/dhammacakkappavattana-sutta-four-noble-truths/

Each Tuesday class will have a twenty-minute Shamatha-Vipassana meditation followed by my Dhamma talk and Sangha discussion and conclude with Metta intentional meditation.

An audio only version of this video is available at my podcast archive: https://becoming-buddha.com/becoming-buddha-podcast/

A video of our classes including a beginning Shamatha-Vipassana meditation is available here: https://becoming-buddha.com/dhamma-stream-videos/

Here is the archive for all of my Dhamma articles and talks: https://becoming-buddha.com/dhamma-articles-and-talks-archive/

If you find benefit from this talk please consider a donation: https://becoming-buddha.com/support-john-and-becoming-buddha-com/

Thank You. Peace.