Mahākāśyapa

The tradition makes him the one who convenes the first council after the Buddha's death, and the first holder of the transmission in the Chan and Zen lineages; the retrieved treatment names him among the ten and does not narrate either, so neither is on the record.

Relations

• disciple of: Siddhārtha Gautama

Sources

• Reference treatment of the Buddha and his disciples: Sariputta and Moggallana are the two Chief Disciples, Sariputta foremost among disciples of great wisdom and Maha Moggallana foremost among those of great supernatural powers; the ten great disciples are Sariputra, Moggallana, Mahakasyapa, Subhuti, Purna, Katyayana, Anuradha, Upali, Rahula and Ananda; Ananda was called the Treasurer of the Dhamma for his retentiveness of memory; Upali worked as a barber before he joined the Buddha, was foremost in observing the precepts, and became a disciple while cutting the Buddha's hair; Anuruddha was a cousin of Shakyamuni who became a disciple at the same time as Ananda.