Dhamma : The greatest gift to the universe

by Rupa Banduwardena

Gauthama Buddha out of compassion for suffering humanity realized the truth of suffering and the path to happiness. He set out on His quest to find the Noble Truth of birth and suffering in the sea of Samsara. After the renunciation followed by self-mortification, the essence of truth was realised by the great master at Bodh Gaya. This was the first place where His quest was fulfilled. He attained supreme vision and perfect insight by comprehending the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eight-Fold Path (Arya Attangika Magga). The summit of perfection which he attained with His own endeavours was for the entire humanity without any distinction of caste or creed. He was able to discover the cause of repeated births and deaths in the never-ending cycle of Samsara.

The gist of Buddhism or the Dhamma is the thoughts of the Buddha himself. Dhamma in other words, His message or the doctrine, is what has sprung from His intellect and wisdom while experiencing supreme enlightenment. The cardinal teachings were given in the Four Noble Truths. Dhamma was delivered to bless the people for their intellectual awakening and human welfare. With boundless love, self-sacrifice and culture of the mind, what He discovered was gifted to the world. The doctrine, the practise and realisation constituted the Dhamma and the Holy Sasana of the Buddha.

The process which He underwent and realized made the target of his teachings. He taught His doctrine in the form of a way of life. After realising the absolute truth, His first sermon to the five ascetics at Isipathana (Dhamma Chakka Pawaththana Sutta) meant the establishment of Dhamma, the Four Noble Truths achieved through His clear vision.

Propagation of the doctrine

The Sakyamuni addressed His disciples to spread the doctrine “Go forth Bhikkhus into the world, take the message of Dhamma, explain to them what I have taught you for the well-being of the majority, preach the Dhamma glorious in the beginning (Sila), in the middle (Samadhi) and in the end (Pagnna)”. Then the Buddha himself, calm and serene, addressed himself to the magnanimous task to spread his Akalika Dhamma.

His next step was its propagation, not by force but by mere conviction. He encouraged endlessly, trying to offer his wisdom to the people. His Dhamma was a practical way, laying emphasis on morality and right living. He walked through the streets with a begging bowl and showed the way to liberation through His Dhamma. He trod the rough dusty roads of North India, the present Nepal, Bihar, Bengal and Uttara Pradesh. He showed life in reality from every angle to millions of his ardent devotees including the royalty, who had revered him for life, to name a few – King Bimbisara of Magadha, Pasenadi of Kosala and Merchant Prince Anathapindika. Wherever the Buddha’s feet touched the soil of India, His Dhamma gained a foothold and it became the guiding light to humanity.

Gist of Dhamma

The term Dhamma of the great master stands throughout for the moral and philosophical teachings of the Buddha. It is meant to come and see and not come and believe – a religion purely practical. He insisted on Ehipassiko – an open invitation to see and realise Dhamma for themselves, the truth, the essence and the validity and investigate for oneself before accepting the teaching – the principles of Buddhism. The Noble sublime Dhamma, the doctrine consists of the discourses (Suttas) disciplinary code (Vinaya) upheld by the Buddha during the 45 years of his incessant activity. It is believed that there are nearly 18,000 discourses compiled in five sections namely, Digha Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya, Samyutta Nikaya, Anguttara Nikaya and Kuddhaka Nikaya. The treasury of Dhamma or Dhammapada consists of 26 chapters and there are 423 verses.

Then there is Abhidhamma, the origin of which is said to be in heaven, Thauthisa. Historically, it has been delivered by the Buddha to God Mathru Divya Raja. After the birth of Prince Siddhartha, Queen Mahamaya passed away on the 7th day and was born in the heavenly abode of Thauthisa. She was known as Mathru Deva. Sakyamuni Gauthama who spent the seventh Vas retreat continuously for three months is said to have delivered Abhidhamma before he arrived at Sankassapura where many miracles had been performed. In short, all these boil down to the truth underlying existence. This is a mere drop in the ocean of Dhamma that put you across the dangerous Samsaric life, mostly centered on the reality of human suffering and liberation.