Every case of the practice of “koan” in the history of the Buddhist Chan Order may be well likened to one blossom. All suchlike blossoms owed their glory to the unfailing efforts, at carrying on the Chan-oriented self-cultivation, made by all the practitioners in the history of the Buddhist Chan Order. And they can be likened to the stems, branches and foliage which combine to bring splendor to the blossoms. A blossom withers when it is deprived of its stem, branch and foliage. Without the coordinated exertion on the part of the practitioner population to uphold the cause of Chan-oriented self-cultivation, the practice of “koan” would not have become a tradition with the Buddhist Chan Order. In other words, success of the practice of “koan” has been achieved on the basis of the massive participation of Chan practitioners in the cause of self-cultivation drive. Therefore it goes without saying that to perpetuate the cause of self-cultivation drive, every practitioner needs to be sincere and consistent in pursuing his self-cultivation. Otherwise not only his own self-cultivation effort would lead nowhere but the entity of the practice of “koan” would crumble. A very famous and brilliant case of “koan” is an episode related to Sakyamuni. And the case is also known as “The Case of Flower Sermon”. The origins of Chan (or, Zen) Buddhism are ascribed to the Flower Sermon. It is said that Gautama Buddha summoned his disciples one day for a dharma talk. When they gathered to him, he stood there, completely silent. And some speculated that perhaps the Buddha was tired or ill. The Buddha silently held up and twirled a flower and twinkled his eyes. Several of his disciples tried to figure out what this might mean, though none of them, except Mahakasyapa, was correct in his conjecture. Mahakasyapa, one of the Buddha's disciples, silently gazed at the flower and broke into a broad smile. The Buddha then acknowledged Mahakasyapa's insight by saying: “I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvana, the true form of the formless, the subtle dharma-gate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahakasyapa.” Thus, through Chan there developed a way which concentrated on direct experience, rather than on rational creeds or revealed scriptures. Wisdom was passed, not through words, but through a lineage of one-to-one direct transmission of thought from teacher to student. It is commonly taught that such lineage continued all the way from the Buddha's time to the present. All cases of “koan”, like the case of Flower Sermon, are beautiful blossoms. Are there more beautiful cases of “koan” waiting for us ahead? It surely depends on the concerted and assiduous exertion on the part of all the contemporary Chan-oriented practitioners in their endeavors to attain enlightenment.（From My Heart My Buddha）