Chan is often described as “not relying on words and letters,” yet it has a rich textual heritage that both shapes and reflects its distinctive spirit. At the heart of this heritage stands the *Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch* (Liuzu Tanjing), attributed to Huineng, which is regarded as the primary Chan scripture. It presents themes such as sudden enlightenment, direct insight into one’s own mind, and the affirmation of inherent Buddha‑nature. Alongside it, collections like the *Transmission of the Lamp* preserve genealogies and awakening stories of Chan masters, offering a narrative thread that ties together the tradition’s emphasis on direct realization.

Chan also draws deeply from broader Mahāyāna sutras, which it reads through its own contemplative lens. The *Diamond Sutra* and the *Heart Sutra*, both belonging to the Prajñāpāramitā corpus, are especially central, articulating emptiness and non‑attachment in a way that resonates with Chan’s insistence on letting go of conceptual grasping. The *Laṅkāvatāra Sutra* was particularly influential in early Chan, with its focus on “mind‑only” and the nature of consciousness, and the *Vimalakīrti Sutra* is valued for its expression of non‑dual wisdom and lay bodhisattva practice. These texts do not function as mere objects of scholastic study; rather, they serve as touchstones that point practitioners back to direct experience.

Distinctively Chan genres further embody the school’s style of teaching. Recorded sayings (yulu) and encounter dialogues of great masters, such as the *Record of Linji*, present vivid, often paradoxical exchanges that challenge habitual thinking and invite an immediate seeing into mind‑nature. Koan collections like the *Blue Cliff Record* gather such cases with commentary and verse, and are used as catalysts for insight rather than as doctrinal manuals. These works, together with other records of Chan masters, function as living documents of practice, preserving the flavor of spontaneous teaching while continually directing attention beyond the written word.

Thus, while Chan repeatedly warns against clinging to scriptures, it does not dispense with them. Its revered texts—both classical Mahāyāna sutras and uniquely Chan compositions—are treated as skillful means. They are read less as final authorities and more as mirrors, inviting practitioners to verify in their own experience the truths they articulate.