圓澄認為，禪者的法脈傳承必須同時符合世系相承與宗眼相印兩個條件，反對無明師印證情況下徒具形式的世系相承。面對明末禪宗傳承亂象，圓澄嚴格遵循禪宗的法脈傳承條件，並以身作則創造種種機緣勘驗錘煉後學，以期禪宗重興。與此同時，明末禪宗中開悟者甚少的情況又使圓澄對於真正無師自悟的禪者持寬容的態度，在承認無師自悟不求印證的同時，又以無師印證不可出世為條件對無師自悟者加以限制，以杜絕外道邪慢之過。此外，圓澄亦對禪宗歷史中遙嗣等現象持默許的態度，這些看似矛盾的觀點恰恰體現了圓澄法脈觀的圓融性。

On the one hand, Yuancheng thought that the dharma lineage concept of Chan Sect should be conformed with the lineage inheritance and the purpose consistency simultaneously. If the dharma lineage became a mere formality and didn’t have good Chan masters to verify it, then it will be rejected by Yuancheng. Faced with chaotic phenomena of Chan’s dharma lineage in the late Ming, Yuancheng made various ways to teach his students. He hoped that the Chan Sect could revival in these ways. On the other hand, Yuancheng took a tolerant attitude towards those Chan Buddhists who were truly enlightenment by themselves. At the same time, they couldn’t be Chan Sect’s patriarch for the purpose of completely eradicating heretics’ deviant pride. Yuancheng also acknowledged the remote inheritance, which all reflected harmony of his dharma lineage concept.