There are different versions regarding the age at which Sākyamuni attained enlightenment, some quote it as thirty and some as thirty-five. For fifty (or forty-five) years after that, until the end of his life at the age of 80, he never stopped preaching his doctrine. He traveled widely, preaching to the public the truth he had perceived. At the outset, he went to Benares (P. Bārā?asī) to look for his five departed followers and preached the truth to them. The first sermon of the Buddha is called "the initial turning of the wheel of Dhamma" (S. Dharmacakra pravartana, P. Dhammacakkappavattana) in Buddhism.
釋迦牟尼成佛的年齡,也有不同的記載,有的說(shuō)三十歲,有的說(shuō)三十五歲。此后五十年(或四十五年)中,直到他八十歲逝世前,他沒(méi)有間斷過(guò)他的說(shuō)法工作。他到處游行,向大眾宣示他自己證悟的真理。他最初到波羅奈城去找離開(kāi)了他的五個(gè)侍者,為他們說(shuō)法。佛教把佛陀第一次說(shuō)法,叫做“初轉(zhuǎn)法輪”。