Editing Bodhidharma (section)

=== Continuous lineage from Gautama Buddha ===
Eventually, these descriptions of the lineage evolved into a continuous lineage from Śākyamuni Buddha to Bodhidharma. The idea of a line of descent from Śākyamuni Buddha is the basis for the distinctive lineage tradition of Chan Buddhism.

According to the ''[[Song of Enlightenment]]'' (證道歌 ''Zhèngdào gē'') by [[Yongjia Xuanjue]],{{sfn|Chang|1967}} Bodhidharma was the 28th Patriarch of Chan, in a line of descent from Gautama Buddha via his disciple [[Mahākāśyapa]]:
<poem>Mahakashyapa was the first, leading the line of transmission;
Twenty-eight Fathers followed him in the West;
The Lamp was then brought over the sea to this country;
And Bodhidharma became the First Father here
His mantle, as we all know, passed over six Fathers,
And by them many minds came to see the Light.{{sfn|Suzuki|1948|p=50}}</poem>
The ''Transmission of the Light'' gives 28 patriarchs in this transmission:{{sfn|Cook|2003}}{{sfn|Diener|friends|1991|p=266}}

{{Zen Lineage 28 Patriarchs}}