The Three Turnings Of The Wheel of Dharma Explained

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The three turnings of the wheel of dharma serve as a classification system that helps clarify the Buddha’s teachings. The three turnings exemplify the skillful means with which the Buddha taught and shed light on the divisions of Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.

The Buddhist Wheel of Dharma

The Buddha’s teachings include what he said personally during his lifetime and what others said in his presence or with his blessing. They also extend to any teaching that is consistent with the Buddha’s intent. How are we to discern, however, what the Buddha intended?

During his lifetime, the Buddha addressed the suffering of this life, the pain and disappointment experienced by the individual self. He also taught that the self is empty. There is no findable self who suffers. Then again, he warned about clinging to this emptiness, as the self does exist.

So is there a self or isn’t there, and are things empty or are they not? Mahayana Buddhism makes sense of what might seem like contradictory teachings using the framework of the three turnings of the dharma wheel.

The dharma wheel meaning comes from the symbol of a chariot wheel. The circle is a symbol of completion, wholeness or perfection. The dharma wheel has been turned three times, taking our chariot from a state of suffering to the far shore of contentment.

Over the years, scholars have classified the three turnings in various ways. Some group them as teachings for those of a lower, medium or higher capacity for understanding. They have been grouped as metaphorical versus literal teachings, as reflective of the Theravada, Mahayana or Vajrayana schools of Buddhism, as three separate subject matters, or as three ways of looking at the same thing.

At their core, these teachings are not contradictory but demonstrative of the skillful means with which the Buddha addressed his audience depending on the time and place and to whom he was speaking.

The First Turning: The Teaching of Existence

The Buddha first turned the wheel of dharma in a place called Deer Park in Varanasi, India. Here, he shared the insights of his awakening with his first five disciples. He described the nature of samsara and how things exist. He taught that because samsara is caused, it is possible to address these causes and experience our world as nirvana.

We find these teachings in suttas such as the Dhammacakkappavattana and Satipatthana Sutta. When it comes to Theravada vs Mahayana, these important texts are studied and accepted by both schools. They include explanations of the four noble truths, the four foundations of mindfulness, the five aggregates and dependent origination.

Sometimes referred to as a teaching for beginners, (or derogatorily as a lower teaching) each of us begins here, with a primary focus on mindfulness and ethics. To address our suffering, we must first bring awareness to its existence. Here we are, experiencing the world through this human body, and it can hurt.

The Second Turning: The Teaching of Emptiness

The teachings of the second turning emphasize emptiness and the bodhisattva path. They are said to have taken place on Vulture Peak, a mountain in Bihar, India. While the first turning of the Buddhist dharma wheel explains how things exist, the second turning teaches that things don’t exist the way we think they do.

These teachings include Mahayana sutras, the Prajnaparamita Sutras and commentaries by the great Madhyamika masters such as Nagarjuna. These teachings are not at odds with the first turning. Instead, they offer us another lens, or point of view, from which to view the Four Noble Truths.

The second turning is sometimes positioned as teachings for those of a higher intellectual capacity or for those with the potential to follow the Mahayana path. The focus shifts from developing a mindful self to understanding there is no individual, separately-existing self. This does not mean we can abandon mindfulness and ethics. As we soften around our identity, the profound reach of our acts of compassion comes into view.

The Third Turning: What The Buddha Really Meant

The third turning teachings span several places and include the teachings of the Yogācāra or ‘mind-only’ school. While the second turning was concerned with illuminating the emptiness of objects (the thing seen), the third turning clarifies the emptiness of the subject (the perceiver). For the Buddha and Mahayana practitioners too, this does not conflict with the first or second turning, it’s an elaboration.

The third turning reiterates that things do exist, as explained in the first turning. However, they don’t exist the way we think they do, as explained in the second turning. Thus our work lies in training the mind that continues to make this mistake in perception.

Transform the mind and everything the mind perceives changes too. This understanding makes possible the transformative practices of Vajrayana Buddhism, whereby we become enlightened in this very lifetime in part by purifying our view. Still, the teachings advise we let go of clinging to this goal, as enlightenment and emptiness are also empty.