Who were the two founders of the five classical lineages of classical Chinese Zen Buddhism?

worksafe

Zen or Chan as it was named in China, is largely based on the premise that the Buddha's wisdom cannot be truly grasped from the sutras. That the reading, studying, reciting and/or mediating on the sutras is much akin to reading, studying, reciting and/or mediating a recipe of a delicious dish. That is, you will not be able to truly experience the taste and flavor of the dish unless you experience it first had by tasting/eating it. That enlightenment requires a transmission beyond the scriptures. Many Zen adherents point to the event of the Thus-Come One giving a flower to Mahakashyapa and upon receiving the flower, Mahakashyapa smiled. The Buddha then pronounced to the assembly “what can be said has been said, and what cannot be said, I have imparted to Mahakashyapa. Bodhidharma is considered to the be founder of Zen in China. However, many historians have expressed that Zen existed in China before the arrival of Bodhidharma. Bodhidhrama is said to have came to China to impart the Buddha's wisdom with a transmission that is outside the scriptures and cannot be imparted with words. Bodhidharma took as disciples Huike and Daoyu, and, shortly before [Bodhidharma's] death, he passed the heritage to Huike. Hiaku was the second(and the first Chinese patriarch) patriarch of Zen The traditional five houses were the Caodong, Linji, Guiyang, Fayan, and Yunmen. (ref. the multitude of Buddhist writing I have read over the past forty years) Apr 08 07, 11:59 AM