Mahākāśyapa

E281403

Buddhist monk Zen patriarch arahant disciple of the Buddha early Buddhist figure

Mahākāśyapa was one of the Buddha’s foremost disciples, revered in early Buddhism and Zen as the primary heir to the Buddha’s teaching and the first patriarch of the Zen lineage.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Mahākāśyapa canonical	2
Kāśyapa Mātaṅga	1
Mahakasyapa	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2563175 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Mahākāśyapa
Context triple: [Shakyamuni Buddha, disciples, Mahākāśyapa]

A. Maudgalyāyana
Maudgalyāyana is one of the Buddha’s foremost disciples in early Buddhism, renowned for his extraordinary supernatural powers and deep spiritual insight.
B. Babruvahana
Babruvahana is a character in the Indian epic Mahabharata, known as the son of the Pandava prince Arjuna and the princess Chitrangada, and as a skilled warrior and later ruler of Manipura.
C. Vishvamitra
Vishvamitra is a revered sage and former king in Hindu mythology, renowned for his intense austerities, transformation into a Brahmarshi, and significant role as a mentor and protector of Rama in the Ramayana.
D. Narada
Narada is a revered sage and divine messenger in Hindu mythology, known for his wisdom, musical devotion, and role as a cosmic wanderer who connects gods and humans.
E. Sugriva
Sugriva is the exiled monkey king in the Hindu epic Ramayana who allies with Rama to defeat the demon king Ravana and reclaim his own throne.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Mahākāśyapa
Target entity description: Mahākāśyapa was one of the Buddha’s foremost disciples, revered in early Buddhism and Zen as the primary heir to the Buddha’s teaching and the first patriarch of the Zen lineage.

A. Maudgalyāyana
Maudgalyāyana is one of the Buddha’s foremost disciples in early Buddhism, renowned for his extraordinary supernatural powers and deep spiritual insight.
B. Babruvahana
Babruvahana is a character in the Indian epic Mahabharata, known as the son of the Pandava prince Arjuna and the princess Chitrangada, and as a skilled warrior and later ruler of Manipura.
C. Vishvamitra
Vishvamitra is a revered sage and former king in Hindu mythology, renowned for his intense austerities, transformation into a Brahmarshi, and significant role as a mentor and protector of Rama in the Ramayana.
D. Narada
Narada is a revered sage and divine messenger in Hindu mythology, known for his wisdom, musical devotion, and role as a cosmic wanderer who connects gods and humans.
E. Sugriva
Sugriva is the exiled monkey king in the Hindu epic Ramayana who allies with Rama to defeat the demon king Ravana and reclaim his own throne.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Buddhist monk ⓘ Zen patriarch ⓘ arahant ⓘ disciple of the Buddha ⓘ early Buddhist figure ⓘ
alternativeName	Kassapa ⓘ Kāśyapa ⓘ linked to: Kashyapa Mahakasyapa ⓘ linked to: Mahākāśyapa Mahākāśyapa Thera ⓘ
associatedDoctrine	ascetic discipline (dhuta practices) ⓘ
associatedLegend	Buddha’s flower sermon and silent smile ⓘ
associatedPlace	Magadha region ⓘ linked to: Magadha
associatedWith	Mahāyāna Buddhism ⓘ linked to: Mahayana Theravāda Buddhism ⓘ linked to: Theravada Zen Buddhism ⓘ linked to: Zen
category	Buddhist arhats ⓘ Disciples of Gautama Buddha ⓘ Zen patriarchs ⓘ
event	presided over the First Buddhist Council at Rājagṛha ⓘ
honorificTitle	Mahākāśyapa ⓘ
knownFor	being the primary heir to the Buddha’s teaching in Zen lineage accounts ⓘ leading the First Buddhist Council ⓘ receiving the Buddha’s mind-to-mind transmission in Zen tradition ⓘ
position	first Chan patriarch ⓘ first patriarch of the Zen lineage ⓘ
praisedBy	Gautama Buddha ⓘ linked to: Shakyamuni Buddha
praisedFor	ascetic practices ⓘ austerity ⓘ leadership among the monks ⓘ meditative attainment ⓘ
religion	Buddhism ⓘ
renouncedWorldlyLife	to become a monk under the Buddha ⓘ
role	foremost disciple of Gautama Buddha ⓘ
scripturalSource	Aṅguttara Nikāya ⓘ linked to: Sutta Pitaka Mahāyāna sūtras ⓘ linked to: Mahayana sutras Pāli Canon ⓘ linked to: the Pali Canon Saṃyutta Nikāya ⓘ linked to: Sutta Pitaka Vinaya texts ⓘ
spouse	Bhaddā Kāpilānī ⓘ
successor	Ānanda (in some lineage accounts) ⓘ linked to: Ānanda Ānanda in Chan/Zen patriarch lists ⓘ
successorOf	Gautama Buddha (in Zen patriarchal lineage) ⓘ linked to: Shakyamuni Buddha
symbolInZen	embodiment of direct, wordless transmission ⓘ
teacher	Gautama Buddha ⓘ linked to: Shakyamuni Buddha
veneratedIn	Mahāyāna tradition ⓘ linked to: Mahayana Theravāda tradition ⓘ linked to: Theravada Vajrayāna tradition ⓘ Zen tradition ⓘ
vowedCelibacyWith	Bhaddā Kāpilānī ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Shakyamuni Buddha → disciples → Mahākāśyapa ⓘ

White Horse Temple → associatedMonk → Kāśyapa Mātaṅga ⓘ

linked to: Mahākāśyapa

Mahākāśyapa → honorificTitle → Mahākāśyapa ⓘ

Mahākāśyapa → alternativeName → Mahakasyapa ⓘ