Buddha’s flower sermon and silent smile
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Buddha’s flower sermon and silent smile is a foundational Zen Buddhist legend in which the Buddha wordlessly holds up a flower, and only Mahākāśyapa’s knowing smile signifies the direct, non-verbal transmission of enlightened insight.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Buddhist teaching story
ⓘ
Zen Buddhist legend ⓘ |
| associatedDoctrine |
direct pointing to the human mind
ⓘ
mind-to-mind transmission ⓘ no dependence on words and letters ⓘ seeing one’s true nature and becoming Buddha ⓘ special transmission outside the scriptures ⓘ |
| coreTheme |
direct mind-to-mind transmission
ⓘ
esoteric understanding beyond scriptures ⓘ non-conceptual realization ⓘ wordless transmission of insight ⓘ |
| emphasizes |
beyond conceptual thinking
ⓘ
immediacy of awakening ⓘ importance of direct experience ⓘ |
| featuresAction |
Buddha silently holds up a flower
ⓘ
Mahākāśyapa smiles in response ⓘ |
| featuresCharacter |
Gautama Buddha
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Mahākāśyapa NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genre |
didactic narrative
ⓘ
religious legend ⓘ |
| geographicalContext | early Chan/Zen circles in China ⓘ |
| hasAlternativeName |
Flower Sermon
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Flower Sutra NERFINISHED ⓘ Nenkashō (Japanese) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicity | considered apocryphal by many scholars ⓘ |
| iconographicElement |
Buddha holding a flower
ⓘ
Mahākāśyapa’s smile ⓘ |
| impliesRoleOfMahakasyapa | first Zen patriarch ⓘ |
| influenced |
Zen emphasis on non-verbal teaching
ⓘ
self-understanding of Zen lineage ⓘ |
| medium |
later written Zen records
ⓘ
oral tradition ⓘ |
| notFoundIn |
Agama sutras
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
early Pali Canon ⓘ |
| regardedAs |
foundational story for Zen lineage
ⓘ
mythic origin of Chan/Zen patriarchal succession ⓘ |
| religiousTradition |
Chan Buddhism
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Zen Buddhism NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| symbolizes |
intuitive grasp of Buddha’s teaching
ⓘ
non-verbal communication of enlightenment ⓘ origin of Zen’s special transmission outside scriptures ⓘ unity of teacher’s mind and disciple’s mind ⓘ |
| timeOfComposition | likely centuries after the historical Buddha ⓘ |
| transmissionTo | Mahākāśyapa NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| usedIn |
Dharma talks on direct realization
ⓘ
Zen teaching ⓘ koan-like instruction ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.