Chökhor Düchen: Celebrating the Buddha’s First Turning of the Wheel

Jul 24

On Monday, July 28, we celebrate Chökhor Düchen, one of the four great holy days in the Buddhist calendar. Chökhor means “Dharma Wheel,” and Düchen means “great occasion.” This day commemorates the moment when Shakyamuni Buddha first taught the Dharma after his enlightenment. This pivotal event is known as the First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma, so named because it set the teachings of awakening in motion for the first time.

Whether this is your first time hearing of Chökhor Düchen or you’ve been reflecting on it for decades, this is a day that invites all of us, at every stage of the path, to return to the Buddha’s first teaching and the compassionate impulse that gave rise to it.

The Significance of the Day

Following his awakening under the Bodhi tree, the Buddha remained in silent meditation for 49 days. During that time, he realized the profound nature of mind and reality: the simultaneity of appearance and emptiness, the truth that phenomena arise dependently and lack inherent existence. At first, he felt that this realization might be too subtle for others to comprehend. But according to tradition, the gods Brahma and Indra appeared and implored him to teach, saying that if he remained silent, the suffering of beings would continue without end.

Moved by compassion, the Buddha surveyed the world and saw that among the countless beings clouded by delusion, there were some with “just a little dust in their eyes.” These beings were ready to receive the teachings. With that, he rose from meditation and journeyed to Deer Park in Sarnath, where he gave his first teaching to five former companions. In that moment, the wheel of Dharma began to turn.

The First Turning: The Four Noble Truths

This first teaching, the Four Noble Truths, became the foundation of the entire Buddhist path:

The truth of suffering (dukkha): Life in conditioned existence is marked by dissatisfaction, impermanence, and disconnection.
The truth of the origin of suffering: Suffering arises from craving, clinging, and ignorance.
The truth of the cessation of suffering: Liberation is possible when these causes are uprooted.
The truth of the path: The Noble Eightfold Path provides a practical and reliable way to bring about this cessation.

Later, the Buddha would offer deeper and more subtle teachings on emptiness, compassion, and buddhanature. These teachings are known as the Second and Third Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma. But it all began here, with this direct and courageous articulation of the truth of human experience.

Even for those who have practiced the Four Noble Truths for many years, this day invites a fresh return to the teaching at the heart of the path: a chance to let it deepen, mature, and take new root in experience.

These truths are not merely conceptual. They are living insights that continue to reveal themselves, illuminating the nature of suffering, the roots of freedom, and the unfolding path of transformation.

Why Chökhor Düchen Matters Now

In times of upheaval—political division, ecological instability, war, displacement, rising hatred, and collective anxiety—it can be tempting to shut down, disconnect, or lose hope. The sheer weight of global suffering can feel paralyzing, and our personal lives may be marked by uncertainty, grief, or exhaustion. In the midst of this, Chökhor Düchen offers a radical reminder: the path to freedom begins not in escape but in a clear-eyed turning toward suffering with compassion and discernment.

The Buddha did not offer a teaching that bypasses the reality of pain. He named it. He looked at its causes without flinching, and he pointed to a way through. That path is not about transcending the human condition but transforming how we meet it. The Four Noble Truths are not abstract ideals. They speak to our deepest longing: to be free from confusion and to live a life rooted in meaning, clarity, and love.

On this day, we can reflect on the courage it took for the Buddha to speak. He trusted that beings could hear even the faintest echo of truth in a suffering world. And we can draw on that same courage to stay present ourselves. We do not need to collapse into despair. Instead, we can cultivate the clarity to see through illusion, the compassion to care, and the stability to act.

This is not about fixing everything. It is about remembering what is true: that all beings seek happiness, that confusion is not our essence, and that even in a fractured world, the possibility of awakening is alive in each of us.

Turning the wheel of Dharma begins right here, in this very moment, with how we relate to our own suffering and the suffering around us. With each breath, each gesture of care, each refusal to harden or look away, we keep that wheel turning.

A Day of Deepened Intention

According to Tibetan tradition, the effects of all actions, positive or negative, are multiplied 100 million times on this day. It is a powerful time to reflect, to act with care, and to recommit to the path of awakening.

To enter the stream of blessings this day offers, you might engage in one or more of the following ways:

Spend time in meditation or retreat.
Recite sutras, mantras, or aspiration prayers.
Open your heart of generosity by making offerings at your shrine or to your Dharma teachers and spiritual home.
Bring mindfulness and awareness to aligning your actions of body, speech, and mind with wisdom, compassion, and ethical integrity.
Reflect on the Four Noble Truths: how they apply to your life, how your relationship to them has deepened, and how their guidance might continue to illuminate your path.

A Simple Reflection for the Day

Take a few quiet minutes to contemplate:

What forms of suffering are present in my own life right now?
Is there a way I habitually react through grasping, aversion, or distraction?
And beneath these patterns, can I sense the subtle grasping at “I” or “mine” that gives them shape?
Can I notice the one who su7ers and turn my attention not to the story, but to the one who clings?
What might it look like to take one small step along the path of freedom?

Turning the Wheel in Our Own Lives

On this day of Chökhor Düchen, we remember that we too can turn the wheel of Dharma. This may not happen through words but through how we live. Every act of mindfulness, every moment of patience, every gesture of compassion sets the wheel in motion. The Buddha’s first teaching is not just something to remember, it is something to embody.

Lama Döndrup

Lama Döndrup has been practicing and studying in the Buddhist tradition since the mid-1990’s. After five years of Theravadin Buddhist training, she immersed herself in the teachings and practices of the Shangpa and Kagyu Vajrayana lineages. In 2005, she completed a traditional three-year retreat under the guidance of Lama Palden and Lama Drupgyu with the blessing of her root guru, Bokar Rinpoche and was authorized as a lama. Upon her return to Marin County, she began teaching at Sukhasiddhi Foundation. In January 2020, as Lama Palden’s successor, she stepped into the role of Resident Lama, guiding the Center’s ministerial work. Lama Döndrup’s teaching style is thorough and clear yet with light touch as she supports the natural unfolding of each student’s innate wisdom and compassion. She aims to preserve the authenticity of the tradition while making the teachings and practices relevant and accessible to the lives of 21^st century Westerners. In addition to her Buddhist practice, Lama Döndrup trained the Ridhwan School’s Diamond Approach for seven years and has a Masters of Fine Arts degree in piano performance. She is an active classical pianist and teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area.