The Buddha's First Discourse: a Comparison of Versions is written by Ven. Dhammadarsa. This is a study of the Dhammacakka-Pavattana-Sutta which is officially regarded as the Buddha's first lecture. According to legend, he spoke about his teachings before delivering this discourse.
This research was carried out as part of one of my majors in my Batchelor of Arts at the University of Queensland, which I completed in 2004. The research examines 17 different versions of this dialogue from four different languages: Pali, Chinese, Tibetan, and Sanskrit. There are several fascinating distinctions found, and an attempt is made to explain them.
The Four Noble Truths stand out as an expected core of all the talks, demonstrating why the Four Noble Truths are accepted as the Buddha's primary teaching by all major Buddhist schools.
