The Lankawatara Sutra has a special position in Chan Buddhism. According to popular tradition, it was Bodhidharma himself who handed over a copy of Gunabhadra's translation of the Lankawatara Sutra to his successor, Dazu Huike, and informed him that this sutra contains the essential teachings on the Tathagata's inner foundation, by which one can guide all living beings to Buddhadharma. Since then, this sutra has been passed down from one generation to the next in the lineage of Chan Buddhism in China, to Zen in Japan and Seon in Korea. In short, the Lankawatara Sutra contains the essence of the most basic Chan teachings and practices.

Although it covers almost all aspects of the main teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, the Lankawatara Sutra contains essentially two teachings: that everything we perceive to be real is nothing but our own inner perception and that knowledge of this is something to be realized and experienced for ourselves. and cannot be expressed in words.