The Significance of the Dhammacakka Pavattana Sutta : หน้า 191/263

Siddhattha's footsteps. When Siddhattha was training him-self under the auspices of Ālara and Udaka it was Koṇḍañña who was also to train himself in Siddhattha's footsteps. Thus, Koṇḍañña, along with his other four companions were all adept in meditation by the time they came to hear the Dhammacakka pavattana Sutta. And again we owe it to the thoroughness of Ānanda from the introduction given not just to the Dhammacakka pavattana Sutta, but to most of the Buddha's teachings, that we know exactly where, to whom, when and with what re-sult that teaching was given. From Ānanda's example, we can learn principles of recording notes on any activity that we must always be able to write down “what” it is about, “when” it was done, “where” it happened, “to whom” it happened and “the effect” it had. Thus, the Dhammacakka pavattana Sutta was given for the benefit of the 'group of five' who would have been some of the foremost meditation adepts of the day. They were of a quality that was recognized by kings, courtiers and philoso-phers alike. 3. The Importance of the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta The Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta is one of the most im-portant teachings for Buddhists to know. It is so important because it acts like a master-plan for all the subsequent teach-ings on Buddhism given during the Buddha's lifetime. Even if the Lord Buddha were to teach the Dhammacakka-pavattana Sutta and never to teach another word of Dhamma for the rest of his life, His duty in proclaiming the Dhamma to the world would have been fulfilled. Just as each country of the world has a Constitution as the master-plan for the rest of the laws of the country to expand upon — similarly,