【About This Dhamma Sermon】

The objectives of this Dhamma Sermon are
i) Understanding the doctrinal content of the Turning the Wheel of Dhamma (The first teaching of Buddha after His enlightenment)
ii) Distinctive features of the Buddha's first discourse
iii) What is missing in it?

Venerable had introduced Buddha's life and the path. Buddha is a historical person [563-483 BCE]. In What the Buddha Thought (2009), Richard Gombrich wrote : "The Buddha [563-483 BCE] was one of the most brilliant and original thinkers of all time" (2009: vii)

Buddha's Key Contributions is represented in two words. "Dharma/Dhamma" = Truth. Universal explanation Root dhr. "to hold, support" , R. Carter (1978) Dhamma.

In the first meeting (Sermon), Buddha asked us to practise this noble truth in 3 ways - Wisdom (panna), Morality (Sila), Concentration (Samadhi)...

This sermon delivered by Ven. Prof Mahinda concludes by showing the importance of the Buddha's first sermon, the background of the Buddha, his path. Critical study on what is not included in the first sermon.

Reference : Walpola Rahula's What the Buddha Taught would be a good introduction.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-6HZ...


【 About the Speaker 】

Venerable Professor Deegalle Mahinda Thero is a scholar and writer who teaches at Bath Spa University and currently he also teaches at School of Oriental Studies, University of London . In 2000, he held the Numata Professorship in Buddhist Studies at McGill University. He writes both in Sinhala and English. Ven. Prof. Mahinda is the author of Popularizing Buddhism: Preaching as Performance in Sri Lanka (State University of New York Press, 2006), the editor of Dharma to the UK: A Centennial Celebration of Buddhist Legacy (World Buddhist Foundation, 2008), Buddhism, Conflict and Violence in Modern Sri Lanka (Routledge, 2006), and the co-editor of Pali Buddhism (Curzon, 1996).

He attended the University of Peradeniya and obtained a B.A. Honours degree in Buddhist Studies. He studied Comparative Religion at Harvard University where he obtained a Master of Arts in Theological Studies degree. He obtained a Ph.D. in History of Religions from the University of Chicago.Ven. Prof. Mahinda serves in the Steering Committee of the Buddhism Section of the American Academy of Religion and of the managing committee of the Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions. He is the editor-in-chief of Buddhist-Christian Studies.