linguistic:paraphrasing, information:extraction
Proto-Chán

Proto-Chán (c. 500–600) encompasses the Southern and Northern dynasties period (420 to 589) and Sui dynasty (589–618 CE). This is the time of the first "patriarchs" of Chan, like Bodhidharma, Seng-fu and Huike. There is little actual historical information about these early figures and most legendary stories about their life come from later, mostly Tang sources. What is known is that they were considered Mahayana meditation masters (chanshi).

An important text from this period is the Two Entrances and Four Practices, found in Dunhuang, and attributed to Bodhidharma. Later sources mention that these figures taught using the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra though there is no direct evidence of this from the earliest sources. According to John McRae, the earliest Chan sources on these masters show considerable influence from Madhyamaka thought, while the influence from the Laṅkāvatāra is actually much less pronounced. As such, it is questionable if it was there at all with regards to the earliest figures like Bodhidharma and Huike.