Exploration of the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta : หน้า 185/263

Appendix A. Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta for Pursuers of Perfection 1. Introduction In this Appendix we delve a little deeper into the meaning of the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta. The Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta itself is a very brief teaching because it serves merely as a reminder to listeners who were already well versed in the materials covered. However, for us reading the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta in the ignorance of the present day, at face value, it is a little too difficult for us immediately to understand. 2. What is the Dhamma? At face value, the Dhammacakka is a wheel of the Dhamma and traditionally speaking, it was just considered as a metaphor for the means by which the Dhamma could make progress or go forth. However, the present author is of the opinion that to make the Dhamma into a Dhammacakka is a way of comparing it to the ‘jewelled wheel’ of a Universal Monarch. You may already have seen from the Cakkavatti Sutta that in any world era when there is no Buddha arising in the world, there will be a Universal Monarch who rules in justice over the world. The Universal Monarch keeps Five Precepts on ordinary days and Eight Precepts on the 183