The First Zen Patriarch
The revered old monk Kandalamapa
inquired of the Tathagata
as to the nature of enlightenment,
but the Blessed One remained silent,
and looking down at the thousands
gathered before him,
took hold of a hyacinth blossom
between his right thumb and index finger,
lifting it high in the clear morning air.
Many expected a penetrating sutra;
others a further turning of the Wheel,
but the Blessed One remained silent,
and the hyacinth blossom in his hand
shone blue and naked in the sun,
exactly like every other hyacinth blossom
since the foundation of the world.
The Blessed One remained silent,
and the crowd wondered in whispers,
but the young Mahakasyapa
sat silently on his mat
and smiled.
[Poet's note: According to Damien Keown in A Dictionary
of Buddhism (2004), "Mahakasyapa was a disciple of the
Buddha famed for his saintly and austere life. The Buddha regarded
him as an equal in exhorting the monks. Mahakasyapa is regarded
by the Ch'an (Japanese "Zen") School as its first
patriarch because he was the only one to grasp the meaning of
a wordless sermon in which the Buddha simply held up a flower
and smiled." It is said that at that moment Mahakasyapa
instantly attained enlightenment. The story is meant to illustrate
that truth cannot be conveyed in words, but only from master
to disciple by direct transmission of energy. Although the story
of Mahakasyapa, ancient as it is, is enshrouded in legend, it
is probable that there was a historical monk by that name. In
any event, the poem is an imaginative recreation of that moment,
so important for Zen Buddhism. In my version it is not the Buddha
but Mahakasyapa who smiles, in a kind of shock of recognition.]
