Flower Sermon

The Flower Sermon is a story of the origin of Chan and Zen Buddhism in which Gautama Buddha transmits direct prajñā to the disciple Mahākāśyapa. In the original Chinese, the story is Niān huā wéi xiào. It appears as Case 6 in the Zen koan collection, The Gateless Barrier.

Content

In the story, the Buddha gives a wordless sermon to his disciples by holding up a white flower. No one in the audience understands the Flower Sermon except Mahākāśyapa, who smiles. Within Zen, the Flower Sermon communicates the ineffable nature of tathātā and Mahākāśyapa's smile signifies the direct transmission of wisdom without words. The Buddha affirmed this by saying:

History

The story of the Flower Sermon appears to have been recorded by Chinese Chan Buddhists. The earliest known version of the tale appeared in 1036.