"In the story, Buddha gives a wordless sermon to his disciples (sangha) by holding up a white flower. No one in the audience understands the Flower Sermon except Mahākāśyapa, who smiles. Within Zen, the Flower Sermon communicates the ineffable nature of tathātā (suchness) and Mahākāśyapa's smile signifies the direct transmission of wisdom without words. Śākyamuni affirmed this by saying:
I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvana, the true form of the formless, the subtle [D]harma [G]ate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa.[1]"
I wonder if John Cage drew inspiration from this story?
What do you think?
This concept of transmitting knowledge without speaking is very intriguing; its influence can certainly be located in Cage's 4'33''. When I first watched the piece, I took it as a work of satire, once that was bashing the music and musicians of the time period. However, after incorporating this legend into the mix, I feel that Cage could have been transmitting a certain degree of knowledge into the minds of his audience without saying anything. He is putting himself in the shoes of Buddha, while scouring his audience to weed out the few Makasyupa's that can receive his transmission. If this is the case, than I guess I am not a Makasyupa!
ReplyDeleteThere is a very similar notion between these two pieces and it is the notion of interpreting something without language or communication through speaking. Communication can occur without speaking, and this is shown in both pieces. The flower signaled by a flower and the being translated to wisdom can definitely relate to the reaction that Cage hoped to experience with his own audience.
ReplyDeleteI think John Cage could have drew some inspiration from this story. From what my music professor discussed when we were talking about this, is that John Cage wanted the people around him, the nature around him, to be the song. Unlike this story, the people in the audience knew what was going on and what he was meaning to do.
ReplyDeleteI can agree that John Cage did drew inspiration from this story. When watching the video, although I was not sure what the message was it was clear that what was being performed was powerful in its nature. Words did not need to be spoken, to make the impact that I did.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that John Cage could have used this legend for inspiration. I was intrigued when I first watched 4'33. After I watched it for a second time, I understood the lesson that was being taught. Such as in this story, the power of non verbal communication was a true form of intellect. "the true form of the formless."
ReplyDeleteI think John Cage’s 4’33 was inspired from this. As mentioned before of course there was some point of his actions and by audience that clapped very generously there was some message that he wanted us to receive.
ReplyDeleteI think that John Cage was inspired by this story but he took a different approach in doing it in a musical setting. Similar to Buddha, he wanted to convey a message through the reactions of the audience. He got the message across to the audience that anything can be music even if music is not being played.
ReplyDeleteI think that John Cage had to be inspired by something! whether or not it is Buddha is another question altogether. I can definitely see Buddha imparting this lesson on to his disciples and it is something that does not seem far reaching to me. However, it is still difficult for me to understand what Cage could have been trying to impart other than allowing the audience to use their imagination as they watch him do nothing.
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe that John Cage was inspired by this wordless sermon presented by Buddha. I think the idea of "direct transition of wisdom without words" is exactly the type of experience Cage was trying to portray in 4'33.
ReplyDeleteGotama often presented wisdom via non conventional ways, those which took many years to understand, in order to instill a deeper wisdom for his sangha. This story specifically focuses on wisdom to point out the level which one must attain (Nirvana) in order to fully possess it. I believe John Cage could have very well gotten inspiration from this story, and his attempt at presenting a small piece of this concept (one which would take years to achieve in Buddhism) demonstrates it very well.
ReplyDeleteI too believe that John Cage was inspired by this sermon from Buddha. They both believe that non verbal communication is effective.
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