Turning the Wheel of Dharma

The Four Seals of Dharma:

All phenomena are impermanent
All phenomena are suffering
All phenomena are selfless
Nirvana alone is peace

These four teachings, became the number one reason for the first turning of the wheel of Dharma taught by Buddha Shakyamuni, which took place in Varanasi.

The second turning of the wheel of Dharma came from the teachings of Mahayana or great vehicle( one of the branches of Buddhism) . This turning took place in the Indian City of Rajgir, at an area which is known as the Vulture Peak.

The third turning was presented to an audience of bodhisattvas in Shravasti and area located in India. Buddha made out the difference between the meaning of the Dharma and the commonly held meaning, in third and final turning.

*For what I have read the Dharma means law. The Dharmachackra is translated to the wheel of Dhrama, which is a symbol which represents Buddhist teaching. It is presented as a cartwheel in which the circular rim suggests perfection and the eight spokes the eightfold way to enlightenment. The story of have Buddha Shakyamuni recieved the cartwheel is a rather interesting one that begins with a man named Brahma, the greatest sovereign of the unvirse, and another man named Indra,the lord of the gods and angels. Brahma offered Buddha Shakyamuni a thousand spoken golden wheels, and Indra offered him the most rare clockwise spiraling conch shell. Thankful for what they offered him, they both insist though that Buddha turn the Wheel of Dharma. In response all three of them consented into turning the Wheel of Dharma. Over the course of the rest of his life, Buddha Shakyamuni set in motion what are known as the three great turnings of the wheel of Dharma, the wheel of the teachings. ( Buddha Shakyamuni is the Buddhism name for Siddhartha Gautama.) *

Source: http://www.kbi.coa.au/cgi-bin/engine.pl?Page=page.html&Rec=61