quality:corruption
Early Chán

Early Chán refers to early Tang dynasty (618–750) Chán. The fifth patriarch Daman Hongren (601–674), and his dharma-heir Yuquan Shenxiu (606?–706) were influential in founding the first Chan institution in Chinese history, known as the "East Mountain school". Hongren emphasized the meditation practice of "maintaining (guarding) the mind," which focuses on "an awareness of True Mind or Buddha-nature within". Shenxiu was the most influential and charismatic student of Hongren and was considered to be the sixth patriarch by his followers. He was even invited to the Imperial Court by Empress Wu.

Shenxiu also became the target of much criticism by Shenhui (670–762), for his supposedly "gradualist" teachings. Shenhui instead promoted the "sudden" teachings attributed to his teacher Huineng (638–713). Shenhui's propaganda campaign eventually succeeded when he became a key figure in the royal court, elevating Huineng to the status of sixth patriarch of Chinese Chán.

This sudden vs. gradual debate came to define later forms of Chan discourse. This early period also saw the composition of the Platform Sutra, which would become one of the most influential Chan texts of all time. The sutra purports to contain the teachings of the sixth Patriarch Huineng, but modern scholars like Yanagida Seizan now believe that it was redacted over a period of time within the Oxhead school. According to McRae, the text attempts to reconcile the so called "sudden" teachings with the "gradual" teachings of the Northern school.