ED, If the Flower Sermon appeared in the 14th century, while the Buddha lived in the 6th Century BC, what happened in the 2,000 year gap? Did the physical Buddha returned from the grave to transmit the dharma? Or the 'dharmakaya' of the Buddha showed up to spread the untold teaching? Anthony
________________________________ From: ED <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, 24 October 2011 11:39 PM Subject: [Zen] Re: Zen and Buddhism Bill, The Flower Sermon first appeared about seven centuries ago. --ED "Tradition and legends The Flower Sermon The origins of Zen Buddhism are ascribed to the Flower Sermon, the earliest source for which comes from the 14th century. It is said that Gautama Buddha gathered his disciples one day for a Dharma talk. When they gathered together, the Buddha was completely silent and some speculated that perhaps the Buddha was tired or ill. The Buddha silently held up and twirled a flower and twinkled his eyes; several of his disciples tried to interpret what this meant, though none of them were correct. One of the Buddha's disciples, Mahâkâúyapa, silently gazed at the flower and broke into a broad smile. The Buddha then acknowledged Mahâkâúyapa's insight by saying the following: I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvâṇa, 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 Mahâkâúyapa. Thus, through Zen there developed a way which concentrated on direct experience rather than on rational creeds or revealed scriptures. Wisdom was passed, not through words or concepts, but through a lineage of one-to-one direct transmission of experience from teacher to student. It is commonly taught that such lineage continued all the way from the Buddha's time to the present." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen#The_Flower_Sermon --- In [email protected], "Bill!" <BillSmart@...> wrote: > > ED, > > I consider the 'root of Buddhism' to be the sutras, and especially those that > are presented as a first-hand account of the teachings of Siddartha Buddha. > > I consider the 'root of Zen Buddhism' to be the account of Siddartha Buddha's > 'Flower Sermon' on Vulture Peak when he is reported to have wordlessly > trasmited the Dharma to Mahakasyapa. > > I consider the 'root of zen' to be our senses: Just THIS! > > ...Bill!
