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 * For the Japanese derivative of Ch'an, see Zen

Ch'an (Sanskrit, dhyana) is a Chinese school of Buddhism which traces its lineage to Bodhidharma, the Indian monk who brought the tradition to China in the latter part of the 5th century. Bodhidharma is said to have been fiercely nonconformist and contemptuous of authority. According to legend, he'd spent nine years in meditation facing a monastery wall. Although Ch'an is the predecessor to Zen in Japan, it is important to view it as a distinct strand of Buddhist practice. One of the key components to Ch'an Buddhism is meditation, placing significantly more emphasis on meditation than on the study of sutras. This is an not to suggest sutras were irrelevant in early Ch'an, however, as Bodhidharma himself placed great importance in the Lankāvatāra Sutra. Author Simon P. James says of Ch'an, "...enlightenment consists in realizing the innate purity of one's mind, where this is achieved without the intermediary of language, indeed by cutting off discursive thought." Ch'an relies heavily on the interactions between a Master and his disciple, and knowledge of the Dharma is passed down from one to the other by means of a mind-to-mind transmission. This tradition stems from the time when the Buddha held up a flower before a congregation of confused monks at Vulture's Peak in place of a sermon, with only his disciple Mahakasyapa smiling in acknowledgment of his understanding. This is said to be the instance of mind-to-mind transmission, and as such Mahakasyapa is considered to be the First Indian Ch'an Patriarch. Bodhidharma is considered the First Chinese Ch'an Patriarch, twenty-eighth Patriarch in line from the Buddha).

Chinese Ch'an Patriarchs

 * 1) Bodhidharma
 * 2) Hui-k'o
 * 3) Seng-t'san
 * 4) Tao-hsin
 * 5) Hung-jen
 * 6) Hui-neng