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'''Mahakashyapa''' (Skt. ''Mahākāśyapa''; Tib. འོད་སྲུང་ཆེན་པོ་, ''Ösung Chenpo'', [[Wyl.]] '' 'od srung chen po'') — one of the principles disciples of [[Buddha Shakyamuni]] and the first of the [[seven patriarchs]] who upheld the [[Dharma]] and succeeded to the Buddha as heads of the Buddhist community. He was responsible for holding the [[Three Buddhist Councils|first Buddhist council]] in [[Rajagriha]]. It is said he attained the state of an [[arhat]] only eight days after his first encounter with the Buddha. Mahakashyapa was known as the foremost of the Buddha's disciples in terms of ascetic discipline.

==Further Reading==
*Nyanaponika Thera, ''The Great Disciples of the Buddha: Their Lives, Their Works, Their Legacy'' (Wisdom Publications, 2003).
*''Ways of Enlightenment; Buddhist Studies at Nyingma Institute'', pages 38-40. Dharma Publishing ISBN: 0-89800-255-9
*Dudjom Rinpoche, ''The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, The Patriarchs of the Teachings'', pp.432-439. Published by Wisdom Publications ISBN: 0-86171-199-9

[[Category:Historical Masters]]
[[Category:Buddha Shakyamuni's Disciples]]