Guizong Cezhen

Guizong Cezhen was a student of Nanquan Puyuan who established a teaching center on Mount Guizong. He was known for vigorous and sometimes physical teaching methods. In one famous exchange, a monk asked him about the fundamental teaching. Guizong drew a circle in the air and wrote the character for "Buddha" in the middle, then looked at the monk. His teaching drew on the spare and enigmatic style of the Qingyuan tradition while maintaining the directness characteristic of Nanquan's heirs.

Like many Tang dynasty masters who lived in the shadow of more famous contemporaries, Guizong's contributions are preserved primarily in the lamp records and koan collections. His exchanges reveal a confident and forceful teacher who used his whole body—gestures, shouts, movements—as instruments of the Dharma.