The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Dhamma) is usually considered to be the Buddha's first teaching after his awakening at the foot of the Bodhi tree. But it was not the first attempt he made at conveying to another human being what he'd discovered. On the road from the foot of that tree to set that wheel rolling he was met by a wayfarer who, impressed by his radiant countenance, asked who his teacher was. The Buddha's reply is recorded in the Ariyapariyesana Sutta (The Noble Search), and it has always fascinated me, being the first utterance of an enlightened being.

Below is my own rendering of that discourse (pilfered from a number of scholarly translations):

All-vanquishing, all-knowing am I.
Untainted by all things.
Abandoning all,
with desire extinguished,
I am released.

This being perceived by myself, who can I point to?
For me no teacher exists, and one like me cannot be found.
In this world or the world of the gods
There is no equal.

For I am liberated in this world.
I am the supreme master.
I alone thoroughly and perfectly understand.
I am calm and at peace.

To set rolling the wheel of Dhamma
I go to the town of Kasi
For this blind world,
To beat the drum of the deathless.

Categories: Buddhism