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The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta 142 -> Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion is the Buddha's first discourse, delivered shortly after his Awakening to the group of five monks with whom he had practiced the austerities in the forest for many years. The sutta contains the essential teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. 141 Trans. by Bhikkhu Bodhi, A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society, 1993, p. 246. 142 S. V, 56.

82 The First Noble Truth is suffering, dukkha. Why did the Buddha call pain a Noble Truth? What is so noble about suffering? About this, Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh explained: "The fact is that, thanks to suffering, you have a chance to cultivate your understanding and your compassion. Without suffering there is no way you could learn to be compassionate. This is why suffering is noble. You should not allow suffering to overwhelm you, but if you must know how to look deeply into suffering and learn from it, then you have the wisdom of understanding and compassion. He also describes 'suffering' in terms of violence, discrimination, hate, jealousy, anger, craving, especially ignorance. Out of ignorance we do many things that make us and other suffering." 143 The Second Noble Truth is the root cause of suffering. Ignorance or craving is the root cause that leads to the suffering. The Third Noble Truth is the cessation of suffering, which means the birth of well-being. When a practitioner looks deeply into suffering and discovers its roots and understands its nature, then suddenly the Fourth Noble Truth reveals itself: the path leading to the cessation of suffering. The presence of happiness and the cessation of suffering are possible with practice of the noble path. One cannot see the noble path leading to the cessation of illbeing unless they understand ill-being and its nature. 144 Lord Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths to point out the truth of suffering that is encircling human life of both the rich and the poor. This truth can be found through ahara that nourishes and maintains man's life all the time. It is said that the repetitive monotony of the process of nutrition kept going by the urge to preserve life. This is enough to reveal the dukkhanature of life, the tiresomeness of the tedious round of eating and being 143 Hilda Gutierrez Baldoquin, Dharma, Color, and Culture, California: Parallax Press, 2004, p. 61. 144 Ibid.

83 hungry again. Hence, a medieval Jewish sage was moved to say, "I am fed up with being hungry again and again, and I hunger after final satiety." This is the suffering inherent in the very function of eating, though mostly hidden by the habituation to this most elementary feature of routine life. The concrete suffering and pain involved in the search for food and its acquisition is obvious enough to all. This misery was, is and will be life's constant companion. There is the mute suffering in the animal world where "devouring each other is the law" (and man joining in it by even rearing animals for food.) We also know of primitive man's fight for pasture land (basically the same as modern man's wars for "world markets".) One also knows of the pangs of hunger among the poor, and of starving children the world over. Though the resources for feeding humanity have grown considerably in our days, man still has not controlled famine, even where it would be in his power to do so; and all progress in the field of food-production threatens to be dwarfed by the rapid growth of world population. This problem looms large on the horizon of present-day humanity and may well become desperate if the disparity between available food and increasing population reaches a critical point. Should that critical point be reached, one does not know what dire consequences may follow from that situation, unless a united humankind can solve the problem by concerted action and peaceful means. Hence, also for mankind's future, what the Dhamma teachers of old times said remains true: that the search for food (ahara-pariyetthi) is an ever-present source of suffering (vattamana dukkha.) As such it can stir man's sense of urgency (saivega) when he considers, in the light of "nutriment," man's own nature, his incessant needs and his situation in the world. This contemplation of the dukkha-aspect of ahara leads us to a formulation of the Four Noble Truths in terms of food, as taught by Buddha:

145 84 "There might be, your reverences. When, your reverences, a disciple of the ariyans comprehends sustenance 145 and comprehends the uprising of sustenance and comprehends the stopping of sustenance and comprehends the course leading to the stopping of sustenance, to this extent also, your reverences, does a disciple of the ariyans come to be of perfect view ... who has come into this true dhamma.. And what, your reverences, is sustenance, what the uprising of sustenance, what the stopping of sustenance, what the course leading to the stopping of sustenance? Your reverences, there are these four (kinds of) sustenance for the stability of creatures who have come to be or for the assistance of those who are seeking to be. What are the four? Material food, coarse or fine; (sense-) impingement is the second; volition is the third; consciousness is the fourth. From the uprising of craving is the uprising of sustenance, from the stopping of craving is the stopping of sustenance. The course leading to the stopping of sustenance is the ariyan eightfold way itself, that is to say: perfect view, perfect thought, perfect speech, perfect action, perfect way of living, perfect endeavour, perfect mindfulness, perfect concentration. When a disciple of the ariyans comprehends sustenance thus, comprehends the uprising of sustenance thus, comprehends the stopping of sustenance thus, comprehends the course leading to the stopping of sustenance thus, he, having got rid of all addiction to attachment, having dispelled addiction to shunning, having abolished addiction to the latent view 'I am,' having got rid of ignorance, having made knowledge arise, is here-now end-maker of anguish. To this extent, also, your reverences, does a disciple of the ariyan come to be of perfect Ahara, sustenance or nutriment, is a condition, paccaya, that brings, aharati, its own fruit.

85 view, one whose view is upright, one who is possessed of unwavering confidence in dhamma, one who has come into this true dhamma. ,,146 From the above teaching, four kinds of sustenance (food) of life stand for the first truth of Ill; the craving for the four nutriments is the origin of Ill, the second Truth; the stopping of that craving is the cessation of the continued process of grasping for material and mental food, which is the end of Ill, the third Truth; and the Noble Eightfold Path is the way to that cessation. The Sammaditthi Sutta (Discourse on Right View) taught by venerable Sariputta. He explained the teaching of the Buddha accessible to those beings, whose minds do not want to accept the idea of suffering as the basis of life. Hence, according to the sutta, the teaching on food, the cause of food, the stopping of food, and the course leading to the stopping of food is a different mode of the Four Noble Truths: suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering. In this way, it can be said that this sutta has revealed a different regard about life. This is to say, the word 'nutriment or food (ahara) is in the meaning of 'suffering' (dukkha,) and instead of saying 'birth is suffering,' it can also be said that 'birth is nutriment or food.' Hence, all the word 'suffering' in the Four Noble Truths can be replaced by 'food or sustenance' such as: The Four Noble Truths: (Cattariyasaccani) The suffering (dukkha): birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering, association with the unpleasant is suffering, dissociation from the pleasant is suffering, not to get what one desires is suffering. In brief, the five aggregates of attachment are suffering. The origin of suffering (dukkhasamudaya): craving is the root of suffering leading to rebirth. The 146 M. I, 48 (The Collection of the Middle Sayings, vol. I, PTS, p. 59-60.)

86 cessation of suffering (dukkhanirodha): the complete cessation of craving. The way leading to the cessation of suffering (dukkhanirodhagamini): the Noble Eightfold Path leading to the cessation of suffering. A new formula of the Four Noble Truths can be: The sustenance (ahara): birth is sustenance, aging is sustenance, sickness is sustenance, death is sustenance, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are sustenances, association with the unpleasant is sustenance, dissociation from the pleasant is sustenance, not to get what one desires is sustenance. In brief, the five aggregates of attachment are sustenance. The origin of sustenance (aharasamudaya): craving is the root of food leading to rebirth. The cessation of sustenance (aharanirodha): the complete cessation of craving is the cessation of the continued process of grasping for material and mental food. The way leading to the cessation of sustenance (aharanirodhagamini): the Noble Eightfold Path leading to the cessation of sustenance. According to the Discourse on Right View, Sariputta Theragatha asserts that all thoughts that associate to "I," "mine," and "myself" are addiction to attachment (raganusayam), addiction to aversion (patighanusayam), and addiction to the latent view "I am" (ditthimanusayam.) The operation of attachment, aversion, and of the latent view "I am" is that of ignorance and craving elements. Ignorance means a person's wrong view and thought supposing that existing thing has its own self; it also means self thought of a man. Therefore, studying self- thought is the main task of studying suffering and happiness of men, and of the search for truth of man and the world. It is self- thought which makes up the essence and value of things and causes grasping leading to troubles. The method of the cessation of the self-thought for an end of suffering, which is taught in

87 the Discourse on Right View, is the full understanding of sustenance as explained by Sariputta Theragatha in this sutta. 147 According to Puttamamsupama Sutta, one must contemplate on his food as just as they contemplate on their own son's flesh (see more 'the meaning of kabalinkarahara' in fourth chapter.) By this way, he is able to eradicate the thirst for the taste (rasatanha) of nutriment. Let us consider the nutriment from the point of view of the Four Noble Truths. According to Buddhism, nutriment is a material thing and it pertains to the Aggregate of Matter (Rupakkhandha.) The Aggregate of Matter is a sort of suffering. Therefore, the nutriment is subject to suffering (Dukkha.) It is one that should be discerned correctly (parinneyya.) It is not a phenomenon that is to be eradicated. The thirst for the taste of nutriment (rasatanha) is the cause of suffering (dukkhasamudaya.) It should be eradicated (pahatabba.) The cessation of the thirst for the taste of nutriment is the cessation of suffering (Dukkhanirodha.) It should be attained (Sacchikatabba.) The contemplating nutriment correctly for the perception of repulsiveness in nutriment is the way leading to the cessation of suffering (Dukkha nirodha gamini patipada.) It is one that should be developed (Bhavetabba.) According to Buddhism, the cessation of suffering is the most important. It can be attained only through the eradication of the Thirst (tanha.) Therefore, one must attempt to uproot the Thirst for taste of nutriment to attain the cessation of suffering. It is Nibbana, which is the goal of the Noble Practice. One may be a vegetarian or non-vegetarian, according to his wish. The only attempt one must make is to remove the Thirst for the taste of nutriment, what he consumes every day. 147 S. II, 98.

88 In short, life is suffering because one has been immoderate in food, he who lives looking for pleasures only, his senses and wishes or intentions that are uncontrolled feed his consciousness with the toxins such as greed, hatred, suspicion, and pride. Ignorance or craving is the cause of the suffering that makes him grasp that there is an eternal self and all things are unchanging; therefore he sinks always into the ocean of suffering. He can free from his own suffering whenever he realizes all things are no-self, impermanence, and suffering.