The Chan tradition is often traced through a line of formative patriarchs whose lives and teachings shaped its distinctive emphasis on direct realization. At the head of this lineage stands Bodhidharma, regarded as the First Patriarch who brought this contemplative current from India to China and is associated with radical, inwardly focused meditation. His successor Huike, remembered for his uncompromising dedication, is followed by Sengcan, linked with the “Xinxin Ming” or “Faith in Mind,” a text that distills the spirit of trusting the mind’s inherent clarity. Daoxin then appears as a key figure in stabilizing Chan life through monastic communities, and Hongren, teaching at East Mountain, further consolidates the tradition and trains the generation that will define its next great turning.

That turning is symbolized by Huineng, honored as the Sixth Patriarch, whose life and teaching crystallize the doctrine of sudden enlightenment and the possibility of direct insight into one’s own Buddha-nature. His contemporary Shenxiu, associated with the Northern School and a more gradual approach, represents another important current in early Chan, showing that the tradition was never monolithic but alive with creative tension. From this fertile ground emerge later masters who embody Chan’s unconventional methods: Mazu Daoyi, famed for his “ordinary mind” teaching and shock techniques, and Baizhang Huaihai, who not only taught but also shaped the rhythms of Chan monastic life with clear rules and the spirit of “no work, no eating.”

Subsequent generations refine and diversify these insights into distinct schools and styles of practice. Huangbo Xiyun articulates a powerful vision of “no-mind,” warning against clinging even to the idea of enlightenment, while Linji Yixuan, founder of the Linji school, becomes renowned for dynamic methods—shouts, blows, and paradoxical exchanges—that aim to cut through conceptual thinking at its root. Alongside them, Yunmen Wenyan establishes the Yunmen school, known for terse, penetrating utterances that point directly beyond words. In a more contemplative register, Dongshan Liangjie and Caoshan Benji co-found the Caodong school, whose subtle teachings offer another way of embodying the same Chan insight: that the awakened mind is not elsewhere, but already present in the very fabric of ordinary experience.