Michaka

Michaka, the sixth patriarch in the Indian Chan lineage, inherited the transmission from Dhritaka. Traditional sources describe him as a teacher of exceptional clarity who could point directly to the nature of mind without relying on elaborate doctrinal frameworks. He is associated with the northwestern regions of India where Buddhism flourished in the early centuries of the Common Era.

Michaka's role in the lineage is primarily as a faithful guardian of the transmission. He recognized Vasumitra's capacity for awakening and passed on the wordless essence of the teaching. His life reminds practitioners that the heart of Chan—direct pointing to mind—does not depend on literary greatness or historical prominence, but on the unobstructed clarity of transmitted realization.