Turning of the wheel of Dharma

Shurangama Sutra:
They followed the Buddha in turning the wheel and were
wonderfully worthy of the bequest. Stern and pure in the
Vinaya, they were great exemplars in the three realms. Their
limitless response-bodies took living beings across and
 

Volume One – The Testimony of Faith 104
 

liberated them, pulling out and rescuing those of the future so
they could transcend all the bonds of dust.
 

Commentary:
These four sentences praise four kinds of admirable virtues that
characterize the practice of the Arhats. The first sentence praises
the Arhat’s virtue of wisdom; the second praises the maintenance of
the precepts and rules; the third praises the virtue of kindness; and
the fourth, the virtue of compassion.
They followed the Buddha in turning the wheel. The Arhats
constantly followed the Buddha, not just to serve the Buddha or
provide for him; not just to offer the Buddha a towel or to bring the
Buddha a cup of tea in order to be filial to the Buddha. It’s not
simply that they attended upon the Buddha. They helped him turn
the Wheel. This does not refer to the turning wheel of the six paths,
but rather to the great Dharma-Wheel.
“Why is it called a wheel?” you ask.
For one thing, a wheel can grind; a mill-wheel grinds rice and
other grains. The Dharma-Wheel grinds up all the “dead-end sects
and externalist paths” and pulverizes and destroys their erroneous
and improper teachings.
A wheel also transports. Just as a boat transports cargo from
Europe to America, so, too, the turning Dharma-Wheel transports
living beings from this shore of birth and death to the other shore of
Nirvana. The speaking of Dharma is like a ship that transports
living beings from this shore of birth and death to the other shore of
Nirvana. The speaking of Dharma is like a ship that transports
people from one place to another.
They were wonderfully worthy of the bequest. They had all
attained inconceivable states and so were wonderfully worthy.
“Worthy” means that, because of the inconceivable states they had
accomplished, they were capable of receiving and had the authority
to receive the Buddha’s final bequest, that is, the last instructions he
gave everyone about what to do after his Nirvana. It is like an
The Testimony of Faith 105
ordinary family; when the father is about to die, he tells his sons
and daughters what they should do in the future, how they should
cultivate and handle matters. The Buddha also commands his
disciples, telling them, “You should work in this way; you should
go to that place and turn the Dharma-Wheel to teach and transform
living beings.” That is called the bequest.
The great Bhikshus were worthy to receive the Buddha’s final
instructions because they all had an inconceivable wisdom and
could turn the Dharma-Wheel to benefit themselves and benefit
others. This sentence praises the wisdom that enabled them to teach
and transform other people and cause them also to have wisdom.
This sentence praises the Arhat’s virtue of wisdom.

N7 Ananda attaches to the mind as being non-attachment.
O1 Ananda presents the idea of non-attachment as being the mind.
Sutra:
Ananda said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, when I
have seen the Buddha turn the Dharma wheel in the past with
great Maudgalyayana, Subhuti, Purna, and Shariputra, four of
The False Consciousness is Without a Location 211
the great disciples,.."


Commentary:
Ananda said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, when I
have seen the Buddha turn the Dharma wheel in the past with
great Maudgalyayana, whose name means “descendent of a
family of bean-gatherers”; Subhuti, whose name means “born into
emptiness”; Purna, whose name means “son of completion and
compassion”; and Shariputra, four of the great disciples. They
turn the Dharma wheel together. What does it mean to “turn the
Dharma wheel”? It means to use the words spoken by the Buddha
to teach and transform living beings. They are spoken this way and
that way and all around, just as the principles of the Shurangama
Sutra are now being explained over and over. That’s why it is called
a “wheel.” Turning the Dharma wheel reveals the principles and it
crushes the heavenly demons and followers of other religions.
When those of other religions encounter this wheel they are
smashed by it. Obliterated.



“At that time,” Kaundinya continued, “We observed the Thus
Come One right after he had been certified to the Way. At first,
He sat beneath the Bodhi Tree,
Saw one night a brilliant star,
And awakened to the Way.
 

Then he came to the Deer Park to meet us five bhikshus. Upon
hearing the Buddha’s voice – the sound of the Dharma he spoke –
we awakened to the Way. I understood the Four Truths.” The
Buddha turned the Dharma Wheel of the Four Truths three times.
 

First Turning: He said, “This is suffering; its nature is oppressive. This is origination;
its nature is seductive,” The origination of afflictions is
seductive. “This is extinction; its nature is that it can be certified to.
This is the Way; its nature is that it can be cultivated.”
 

Second Turning: Next he said, “This is suffering; you should know it. This is
origination; you should cut it off. This is extinction; you should
certify to it. This is the Way; you should cultivate it.”
 

Third Turning: On the third turning he said, “This is suffering; I already know
it. This is origination; I have already severed it. This is extinction;
I have already certified to it. This is the Way; I have already
cultivated it.”
After the Buddha finished these turnings, Kaundinya became
enlightened. Earlier in the Shurangama Sutra, Kaundinya has
The Six Defiling Objects 27
explained that he awakened because of the two words, “guest dust.”
He understood that the guest was not the host. The host does not go,
while the guest does.
He heard the Buddha’s voice and awakened to the Way.
People’s voices are a very important part of them. Your voice
should be resonant. If your voice is full and carries well, people will
enjoy listening when you speak dharma. If your voice is unclear
and you hesitate and stammer when you speak, then people will not
like listening to you. The Buddha’s voice was crystal clear like a
lion’s roar. No matter how many people were assembled, they could
all hear him, and they all understood his meaning. Nor was it only
people who understood; all the animals also understood the dharma
the Buddha spoke. So it is said,
With a single sound he spoke the Dharma.
All beings understood, each according to their kind.
Sutra:
“The Buddha asks us Bhikshus to speak. I was the first to
understand, and the Thus Come One certified me and named
me Ajnata. His wonderful sound was both secret and allpervasive.
It was through sound that I became an Arhat.


 

Purnamaitreyaniputra is named after his father and mother.

"Purna," which means "completeness" (man ) was his father’s

name. "Maitreyani," which means "compassion" (ci ), was his

mother’s name. "Putra" means "son" (zi ). So he was the "Son of

Completeness and Compassion." He arose from his seat, bowed at

the Dharma. "When I discuss suffering and emptiness I

appearance. "And in the same way, I give subtle, wonderful

reveal them to living beings by means of subtle principles. "I have

Buddha taught me to lecture the Sutras and speak Dharma. I joined

they were subdued. "The World Honored One certified me as

"The Buddha asks about perfect penetration. With my

tongue I proclaimed the sound of Dharma to subdue demons and

I was able to melt away my outflows. This is the foremost

(NOTE: Numerous corrections and enhancements have been made under Shastra tradition and "Fair Use" by an Anonymous Buddhist Monk Redactor (Compiler) of this Online Buddhist Encyclopedia Compilation)