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Originally Posted by sky123
Toward the end of his life, the Buddha took his disciples to a quiet pond for instruction. As they had done so many times before, the Buddha’s followers sat in a small circle around him, and waited for the teaching.
But this time the Buddha had no words. He reached into the muck and pulled up a lotus flower. And he held it silently before them, its roots dripping mud and water.
The disciples were greatly confused. Buddha quietly displayed the lotus to each of them. In turn, the disciples did their best to expound upon the meaning of the flower: what it symbolised, and how it fit into the body of Buddha’s teaching.
When at last the Buddha came to his follower Mahakasyapa, the disciple suddenly understood. He smiled and began to laugh. Buddha handed the lotus to Mahakasyapa and began to speak.
“What can be said I have said to you,” smiled the Buddha, “and what cannot be said, I have given to Mahakashyapa.”
Mahakashyapa became Buddha’s successor from that day forward.
Background to the Flower Sutra
The Flower Sutra is a sutra in the Zen (or Chan) tradition of Mahayana Buddhism. It's earliest versions date from the 11th century. Zen Buddhism stresses wordless insight more than most other types of Buddhism. This sutra exemplifies that very well.
In many versions of this sutra the Buddha doesn't walk around, he merely holds up the Lotus, roots and all, to a group of disciples. Most disciples are confused.
Mahakashyapa smiles.
To Zen Buddhists this sutra shows the origins of the wordless teachings of Zen - its history started with the Buddha himself.
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Yes the Flower Sutra as it is often referred to, is widely considered in some way to be the first 'Zen Teaching', the beginning of that lineage if you like. Others consider the Enlightenment of the Buddha under the Bodhi Tree to be the first Zen teaching.
The word Zen means meditation and is derived from the Sanskrit word Dhyana via the Chinese word Chan. To describe the path of Zen as a 'wordless' path is not that accurate. The path of Zen is Direct but not wordless I would say, it's emphasis resting on it's oral tradition and the relationship between Student and Teacher.
The pointing and breaking through to 'Reality' known is Zen as Kensho ( Seeing one's true nature) is often marked by sudden and abrupt communication between Teacher and Student, between Student and nature etc. It is not wordless in that sense. It might be described as poetic, enigmatic, far reaching, paradoxical or any number of words or phrases but it is not wordless as such. Zen Koans are short phrases or single words that a Zen student drops into their own mind through silent repetition to somehow help them realise Kensho, or have a Kensho if you like.
One such Koan would be :
Show me your original face, the face you had before your parents were born. Again it's enigmatic and not logical but i'm going to say it's not wordless. Gassho.
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