Mahākāśyapa or Kāśyapa was a brahman of Magadha

Magadha

Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahājanapadas or kingdoms in ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganga; its first capital was Rajagriha then Pataliputra...

, who became one of the principal disciples of Śākyamuni Buddha and who convened and directed the first council

Buddhist councils

Lists and numbering of Buddhist councils vary between and even within schools. The numbering here is normal in Western writings.-First Buddhist council Lists and numbering of Buddhist councils vary between and even within schools. The numbering here is normal in Western writings.-First Buddhist...

. Mahākāśyapa is one of the most revered of the Buddha's early disciples, foremost in ascetic practices. He is often depicted in statuary together with Ananda

Ananda

Ānanda was one of the principal disciples and a devout attendant of the Buddha. Amongst the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda had the most retentive memory and most of the suttas in the Sutta Pitaka are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council...

, each standing to one side of the Buddha.

Zen

Zen

Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...

 purports to lead its adherents to insights akin to that mentioned by Śākyamuni Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

 in his Flower Sermon

Flower Sermon

Within Zen, and thus from an emic perspective, the origins of Zen Buddhism are ascribed to what is rendered in English as the Flower Sermon, in which Śākyamuni Buddha transmitted direct prajñā to the disciple Mahākāśyapa. In the original Sino-Japanese, this story is called nengemishō...

in which he held up a white flower and just admired it in his hand. Mahākāśyapa smiled faintly, and Śākyamuni Buddha picked that disciple as one who truly understood him and who was worthy to be his successor.

The words of the Śākyamuni Buddha addressed to Mahākāśyapa are described below:

I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvana, the true form of the formless, the subtle dharma gate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa.

Thus, a way within Buddhism developed which concentrated on direct experience rather than on rational creeds or revealed scriptures. Zen is a method of meditative religion which seeks to enlighten people in the manner that the Mahākāśyapa experienced.

In the Song of Enlightenment (證道歌 Zhèngdào gē) of Yǒngjiā Xuánjué (665-713)—one of the chief disciples of Huìnéng

Huineng

Dajian Huineng was a Chinese Chán monastic who is one of the most important figures in the entire tradition, according to standard Zen hagiographies...

, the 6th patriarch of Chan Buddhism—it is written that Bodhidharma was the 28th patriarch in a line of descent from Mahākāśyapa, a disciple of Śākyamuni Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

, and the first patriarch of Chan Buddhism:

Mahākāśyapa was the first, leading the line of transmission;

Twenty-eight Fathers followed him in the West;

The Lamp was then brought over the sea to this country;

And Bodhidharma became the First Father here:

His mantle, as we all know, passed over six Fathers,

And by them many minds came to see the Light.

According to Chinese legend, the monk Ji Gong is a reincarnation of Mahākāśyapa (known as the Taming Dragon arhat).

In Lotus Sutra

Lotus Sutra

The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...

 Chapter 6 (Bestowal of Prophecy), the Buddha bestows prophecies of enlightenment on the disciples Mahakashyapa, Subhuti

Subhuti

Subhūti was one of the Ten Great Śrāvakas of Śākyamuni Buddha, and foremost in the understanding of emptiness. In Sanskrit, his name literally means "Good Existence" . He is also sometimes referred to as or "Elder Subhūti"...

,
Maha Katyayana

Katyayana (Buddhist)

Katyayana was a disciple of Gautama Buddha.Katyayana, also known as Kaccana , Mahakatyayana, Mahakaccana and in Japanese as Kasennen, is one of the "Ten Disciples of the Buddha". [ Mahakashyapa, 2) Ananda, 3) Shariputra, 4) Subhuti, 5) Purna, 6) Mahamaudgalyayana, 7) Maha Katyayana, 8) Aniruddha,...

, and Mahamaudgalyayana.

External links

• Mahā Kassapa (subtitle) Father of the Sangha, Hellmuth Hecker, biography based on the Pali Canon
  Pāli Canon
  The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
  
  , revised and enlarged translation from Wissen und Wandel volume XXI number 6, 1975, (German) by Nyanaponika Thera, The Wheel Publication No. 345, ISBN 955-24-0026-0
• "Mahakasyapa's smile" Master Young San Seong Do Snim