Mahākāshyapa (Mahākāśyapa), Skt. (Pali, Mahākassapa); also in short form, Kāshyapa (Kassapa); outstanding student of the historical Buddha Shākyamuni. He was renowned for his ascetic self-discipline and moral strictness and, thanks to these qualities, took over leadership of the sangha after the death of the Buddha. Mahākāshyapa is considered the first patriarch of Zen.
At the first Buddhist council, which Mahākāshyapa convoked in order to counteract tendencies toward a less strict lifestyle within the sangha, differences of opinion arose between him and Ānanda, another principal disciple of the Buddha. Ānanda was supposed not to be permitted to attend the council, because he had not yet attained arhathood. Mahākāshyapa also accused him of having favored the founding of the order of nuns (bhikshunī), and of not having asked the Buddha for precise instructions concerning the elimination of certain disciplinary rules. Mahākāshyapa also accused Ānanda of not having supplicated the Buddha to prolong his earthly existence.
In Chinese monasteries in the main hall, one often finds images of Mahākāshyapa to the right of the image of the Buddha, and of Ānanda, the second patriarch of Zen, to the left. For the view that Mahākāshyapa is the first patriarch of Zen, nenge-misho.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Books on Mahākāshyapa
External links: Buddha Shākyamuni / sangha / Buddha / Ānanda / bhikshunī