Buddhist Scriptures, by E.J. Thomas, [1913], at sacred-texts.com
VI
THE BEGINNING OF BUDDHA'S PREACHING
The first discourse of the Buddha was given to the five disciples who had deserted him when he abandoned his austerities. It is given in the Vinaya in explaining the rules as to how the elder and younger brethren are to be addressed. The phrase "I have attained the immortal," used by Buddha, has nothing to do with immortal life. It refers to the permanent state of Nirvana, which does not pass away as do compound things. As the Vijaya Discourse puts it:
In lust, desire, delighting not,
He has attained immortal peace,
The unchangeable Nirvana-state.
The latter part of the following discourse, beginning with the words, "These two extremes," forms the Discourse of setting in motion the Wheel of the Doctrine. It teaches the middle path between the two extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. The statement is sometimes made that Buddha rejected asceticism. He certainly repudiated self-torture as a means of salvation, but not the asceticism which rejects all the lower desires in the pursuit of one highest goal. Compare the Ten Commandments below.
Now the Lord by gradual journeying came to Benares, to the deer-park Isipatana, where were the five brethren. The five brethren saw the
[paragraph continues] Lord coming from afar, and on seeing him they decided among themselves, "This, friends, is the ascetic Gotama coming, who lives in abundance, has given up exertion, and turned to a life of abundance. We must not address him, nor rise to greet him, nor take his bowl and robe, but a seat shall be set for him. If he wishes he may sit down." But as the Lord approached the five brethren, so the five brethren did not abide by their agreement, but went to meet the Lord, and one took his bowl and robe, one arranged a seat, one set water for his feet, a footstool, and a cloth. The Lord sat on the appointed seat, and having sat down the Lord washed his feet. Then they addressed the Lord by name, and by the title of friend. When they spoke thus, the Lord said to the five brethren, "Brethren, do not address the Tathāgata by name, nor by the title of friend. The Tathāgata, brethren, is an arahat, and has obtained complete enlightenment. Give ear, brethren, I have attained the immortal, I instruct, I teach the doctrine. If you walk according to the teaching, for the sake of which noble youths go forth completely from a house to a houseless life, you will soon, on going forth yourselves, realize the transcendent faculties in this life, and will live in the attainment of the aim of the highest religious life." At these words the five brethren said to the Lord, "By that exercise, friend
[paragraph continues] Gotama, by that course, that practice of penance, you have not attained supernatural excellence of most noble knowledge and insight. Will you, when you live in abundance, have given up exertion, and have turned to a life of abundance, now attain supernatural excellence of most noble knowledge and insight?" When they spoke thus, the Lord said to the five brethren, "Brethren, the Tathāgata does not live in abundance, he has not given up exertion, and has not turned to a life of abundance. The Tathāgata, brethren, is an arahat, and has attained complete enlightenment. Give ear, brethren, I have attained the immortal, I instruct, I teach the doctrine. If you walk according to the teaching, for the sake of which noble youths go forth completely from a house to a houseless life, you will soon, on going forth yourselves, realize the transcendent faculties in this life, and will live in the attainment of the aim of the highest religious life." [A second and third time the brethren asked the question, and the third time the Buddha replied: ] "Do you perceive, brethren, that I have never spoken to you thus before now?" "Never thus, reverend sir." "The Tathāgata, brethren, is an arahat, and has attained complete enlightenment . . ." [etc., down to, "religious life "]. Then the Lord was able to convince the five brethren. They listened again to the Lord, gave ear, and fixed their minds on the knowledge.
Then the Lord addressed the five brethren: "These two extremes, brethren, are not to be practised by one who has given up the world. What are the two? The one, devotion to lusts and pleasures, base, sensual, vulgar, ignoble, and useless, and the other, devotion to self-mortification, painful, ignoble, and useless. By avoiding these two extremes, brethren, the Tathāgata has gained perfect knowledge of the middle path, which produces insight and knowledge, and conduces to tranquillity, to transcendent knowledge, to complete enlightenment, to Nirvana. What is this middle path, brethren? It is the Noble Eightfold Path, that is, right views, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right endeavour, right watchfulness, and right meditation. This, brethren, is the middle path, of which the Tathāgata has gained perfect knowledge, which produces insight and knowledge, and conduces to tranquillity, to supernatural faculty, to complete enlightenment, to Nirvana. This, brethren, is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, old age is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering. Union with unpleasant things is suffering, separation from pleasant things is suffering, not obtaining what we wish is suffering, in short the fivefold clinging to existence is suffering. And this, brethren, is the noble truth of the cause of suffering: craving, which causes rebirth, accompanied by pleasure
and lust, and rejoices at finding delight here and there, that is, craving for pleasure, craving for existence, and craving for prosperity. And this, brethren, is the noble truth of the destruction of suffering: which is the complete and trackless destruction of that thirst, its abandonment and relinquishment, liberation, and aversion. And this, brethren, is the noble truth of the path that leads to the destruction of suffering, that is, right views, right aspiration, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right endeavour, right watchfulness, and right meditation." (Vin. Mahāv. I. 6, 10 ff.)