The Flower Sermon

There are nearly as many ways of telling the story of the Flower Sermon as there are interpretations of its meaning, however the basic story is this: As the Buddha was nearing the end of his life, he met his students outdoors and, instead of speaking to them, held up a flower.  The students tried to discover his meaning, what secret he was trying to divulge, but one, Mahākāśyapa, remained silent and smiled.  The Buddha chose Mahākāśyapa to be his successor. 

Interpretations of this story include ideas about direct, wordless transmission of knowledge.  In Zen, the focus is not on written or spoken teachings but on personal and internal comprehension of deeper wisdom.  Words are a symbol of a thing instead of the thing itself, a finger pointing at an object and not the object itself. 

Related to this is the practice in Zen of teaching with kōans.  A teacher will give his student a seemingly illogical question or phrase to think about with the goal of interrupting the conscious mind's habit of thought so that true awareness can arise. 

Another Interpretation

Thich Nhat Hanh, a renowned monk from Vietnam, interprets the flower sermon more simply instead of implying of direct transmission or unconscious revelation of thoughts, he says that if the Buddha offers you a flower, he would like you to enjoy the flower.