A Mind Confirmed by Another Mind

Dharma transmission is the formal act by which a recognized Zen, Chan or Son Buddhist teacher certifies that a student has attained a level of realization and understanding sufficient to teach independently and to carry the lineage forward as an authorized successor. The concept traces its self understanding to a founding legend of Chan Buddhism, in which the Buddha silently held up a flower before an assembly and only his disciple Mahakasyapa smiled in understanding, a wordless transmission from mind to mind that the tradition treats as the origin of a lineage passed down, in principle without interruption, through twenty eight Indian patriarchs to Bodhidharma, who is credited with carrying Chan to China, and onward through Chinese, and later Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese, teachers to the present.

Formal transmission ceremonies vary between schools and lineages in their specific ritual content, but they typically involve public or semi public acknowledgment by the teacher, sometimes accompanied by the presentation of symbolic items such as a robe or bowl historically associated with the office, marking a clear institutional as well as spiritual milestone in a student's training.