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Some scholars consider this a legend rather than history. Story first appears in a Chan encyclopedia entry in 1036. Earliest documents, such as Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (1004) make no mention of the flower sermon. Viriditas (talk) 05:45, 5 August 2008 (UTC)
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- Possible Interpretations
Another interpretation is that Buddha was trying to make the point that all things come and go, that all things are transient, like a flower. One version mentions the udumbara flower, which was said to bloom very infrequently.
Another interpretation is that Buddha was trying to illustrate the concept of "suchness" - that things are just as they are.
Another version of the Flower Sermon says that Buddha uprooted a lotus, muddy roots and all, from the pond and showed it to his disciples. The point he was making may have been that an enlightened (ego-less) mind springs from our egoistic minds in the same way a lotus flower springs from pond muck.