Sutra of the Wheel of Dharma

The Sutra of the Wheel of Dharma (Skt. Dharmacakrasūtra; Tib. ཆོས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོའི་མདོ་, Wyl. chos kyi ‘khor lo’i mdo) — a brief sutra containing the Buddha’s first teaching, which he gave to his five former spiritual companions, on the Four Noble Truths that he had discovered as part of his awakening.

Since 'turning the wheel of Dharma' is a figurative expression used for teaching the Dharma, this discourse is also known as The Sutra of the Turning of the Wheel of Dharma.

Tibetan Text

• The Tibetan translation of this text can be found in the Dergé Kangyur, General Sutra section, Toh. 337. This text is with minor exceptions identical to the corresponding sections in Toh 1, Toh 6, and Toh 331. Toh 337 contains no mention of the translators, but the translator of Toh 1 is listed as the Tibetan Kawa Paltsek. Unfortunately, the Sanskrit version that formed the basis for Kawa Paltsek’s translation of Toh 1 is no longer extant.
  • English translation: The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma
• The Kangyur also contains a translation of the Dhamma­chakkapavattana­sutta from the Pali Canon: The Sūtra of the Turning of the Wheel of Dharma (Toh 31). This is one of only fourteen texts in the Kangyur that were translated into Tibetan from the Pali. This text is found in the Degé Kangyur, vol. 34 (shes phyin, ka), folios 180b.1-183a.6.