Group of five
The group of five (S. pañcavargika; P. pañcavaggiyā; T. lnga sde ལྔ་སྡེ་; C. wuqun [biqiu] 五群[比丘]), refers to the five ascetics who practiced austerities with Siddhartha Gautama and later became his first five disciples.[1]
This group is also referred to as the five astetics or the first five disciples.
In Sanskrit texts, this group is commonly known as bhadravargīya (Tib. ཁོར་ལྔ་སྡེ་བཟང་པོ་, 'khor lnga sde bzang po), the auspicious group.[1]
The five disciples are:
- Kaundinya (P. Kondañña)
- Bhadrika (P. Bhaddiya)
- Vashpa (P. Vappa)
- Mahanaman (P. Mahanama)
- Ashvajit (P. Assaji)
After the Siddhartha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, he was initially uncertain if he should teach the dharma to others. After a period of reflection, the Siddhartha (now the Buddha, the "awakened one") decided to teach, and he sought out his five former companions (with whom he had practiced austerities). He found them in a deer park in Sarnath, northern India.
There he gave his first teaching to his former companions, in which he explained his middle way approach and the four noble truths.
Traditionally, it is said the Buddha "set in motion the Wheel of Dharma" when he gave this first teaching; this teaching is recorded in The Discourse That Sets Turning the Wheel of Truth (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta).
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. pañcavargika