Vol. 11 · pages 136–140

PART II The Conversion of the Parivrajakas 1. Arrival at Sarnath. 2. The Buddha’s First Sermon. 3. The Buddha’s First Sermon (continued). 4. The Buddha’s First Sermon (continued). 5. The Buddha’s First Sermon (continued). 6. The Buddha’s First Sermon (concluded). 7. The Response of the Parivrajakas.

119 THE CONVERSION OF THE PARIVRAJAKAS II § 1. Arrival at Sarnath 1. Having decided to preach his doctrine the Buddha asked himself “to whom shall I first teach the doctrine ?” The thought of Alara Kalam whom the Buddha adored as the learned, wise, intelligent and of little impurity ; “What if I first teach him the doctrine ?” But he was told that Alara Kalam was dead. 2. Then thought he of preaching it to Uddaka Ramputta. But he too was dead. 3. Then he thought of the five old companions of his who were with him at Niranjana when he was practising austerities and who had left him in anger on his abandonment of austerities. 4. “They did much for me, attended me and looked after me, what if I first teach the doctrine to them ?” said he to himself. 5. He asked for their whereabouts. Having learnt that they were dwelling at Sarnath in the deer park of Isipatana, he left in search of them. 6. The five, seeing him coming, decided among themselves not to welcome him. Said one of them, “This, friends, is the ascetic Gautama coming, who has abandoned austerities and has turned to life of abundance and luxury. He has committed a sin. We must not therefore greet him, nor rise in respect, nor take his bowl and robe. We will only set apart a seat for him. If he wishes, he may sit down.” And they all agreed. 7. But when the Buddha approached, the five Parivrajakas were not able to abide by their decision, so greatly impressed were they by his personality that they all rose in their seats. One took his bowl, one took his robe, and one prepared a seat, and one brought water to wash his feet. 8. It was really a great welcome to an unwelcome guest. 9. Thus those who intended to scoff remained to pray.

120 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES II § 2. The Buddha’s First Sermon 1. After exchange of greetings the five Parivrajakas asked the Buddha whether he still believed in asceticism. The Buddha replied in the negative. 2. He said there were two extremes, a life of pleasure and a life of self-mortification. 3. One says let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. The other says, kill all vasanas (desires) because they bring rebirth. He rejected both as unbecoming to man. 4. He was a believer in the Madhyama Marga (Majjhima Patipada), the middle path, which is neither the path of pleasure nor the path of self-mortification. 5. “Answer me this,” he said to the Parivrajakas, “So long as your self remains active and continues to lust after either worldly or heavenly pleasures, is not all mortification vain ?” And they answered, “It is as thou sayest.” 6. “How can ye be free from self by leading a wretched life of self-mortification if ye do not thereby succeed in quenching the fires of lust ?” And they replied, “It is as thou sayest.” 7. “Only when the self in ye has been conquered that ye are free from lust ; ye will then not desire worldly pleasures, and the satisfaction of your natural wants will not defile ye. Let ye eat and drink according to the needs of your body. 8. “Sensuality of all kinds is enervating. The sensual man is a slave of his passion. All pleasure-seeking is degrading and vulgar. But I say unto you that to satisfy the needs of life is not an evil ; to keep the body in good health is a duty, or otherwise you shall not be able to keep your mind strong and clear and have the lamp of wisdom burning. 9. “Know ye, O Parivrajakas, that there are these two extremes which man ought not to follow—the habitual indulgence on the one hand, of those things whose attraction depends upon the passions, and especially of sensuality—a low and pagan way of seeking

121 THE CONVERSION OF THE PARIVRAJAKAS II satisfaction, unworthy, unprofitable and the habitual practice thereof, and on the other hand, of asceticism or self-mortification, which is painful, unworthy and unprofitable. 10. “There is a middle path which avoids both these extremes. Know ye, that, this is the path which I preach.” 11. The five Parivrajakas listened to him with attention. Not knowing what to say in reply to the Buddha’s middle path, they asked him what he was doing after they had left him. Then the Buddha told them how he left for Gaya, how he sat in contemplation under the Banyan Tree and how after four weeks of contemplation he obtained enlightenment as a result of which he was able to discover a new path of life. 12. On hearing this, the Parivrajakas became extremely impatient to know what the path was and requested the Buddha to expound it to them. 13. The Buddha agreed. 14. He began by saying that his path which is his Dhamma (religion) had nothing to do with God and Soul. His Dhamma had nothing to do with life after death. Nor has his Dhamma any concern with rituals and ceremonies. 15. The centre of his Dhamma is man and the relation of man to man in his life on earth. 16. This he said was his first postulate. 17. His second postulate was that men are living in sorrow, in misery and poverty. The world is full of suffering and that how to remove this suffering from the world is the only purpose of Dhamma. Nothing else is Dhamma. 18. The recognition of the existence of suffering and to show the way to remove suffering is the foundation and basis of his Dhamma. 19. This can be the only foundation and justification for Dhamma. A religion which fails to recognise this is no religion at all. 20. “Verily, Parivrajakas! whatsoever recluses or Brahmins (i.e., preachers of religion) understand not, as it really is, that the misery in the world and the