Michaka
Michaka
3rd c. BCE – Unknown
Mīcaka (also Miccaka), sixth patriarch in the Chan list, is named in the *Jǐngdé Chuándēng Lù* as the disciple of Dhṛtaka and teacher of Vasumitra. He is one of the figures whose attestation lies wholly within the Chan transmission-of-the-lamp literature; no independent canonical or scholastic record corresponds to him[1]. The traditional account describes a teacher associated with central India who converted a community of brahmin ascetics through a single demonstrative encounter and recognized Vasumitra as his successor.
The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism notes that the names in this section of the lineage often correspond to figures known in northwestern Sarvāstivādin sources but reordered or relabeled to fit the Chan twenty-eight-patriarch frame; the identification of any particular name with a historically attested teacher is not always possible[2].
Names
Disciples of Michaka
Teachers and lineage of Michaka
Teacher / root master:
Teachings
- dialogueThe Auspicious Cloud
As Dhṛtaka approached a city, an auspicious cloud appeared in the sky above it. A man named Mīcaka came forward and said: 'I saw this cloud in a dream three days ago. In the dream an elder came from afar carrying the sun in his hands.' Dhṛtaka said: 'Who told you it was in his hands?' Mīcaka said: 'Where else would it be?' Dhṛtaka said: 'Good. You have already answered your own question.' Keizan's verse: Three days before the meeting / the dream had already passed. / Do not look for the sun— / you are standing in its light.
Mīcaka was known for his continuous wandering across central India, never residing long in one place. He said to his students: 'The Dharma is not found in one place. It is not found in many places. When you understand this, every step is already home, and every place is the place of practice.'
Other masters in Indian Patriarchs
Master Record Sources
- datesZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
trad. 3rd c. BCE
- nameZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Michaka
- schoolZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Indian Patriarchs
- teachersZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Dhritaka
Micchaka (also Michaka) is counted the seventh Indian patriarch; the Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia records his lineage position and transmission to Vasumitra in the Chan patriarchal sequence.