Jiufeng Daoqian

Jiufeng Daoqian was a student of Shishuang Qingzhu who maintained the lineage after the succession crisis that followed his teacher's death. When the monastery's senior monk proposed that a new abbot be chosen by asking who could answer a question about Shishuang's teaching, Jiufeng alone gave a response that showed genuine understanding rather than mere intellectual acuity.

Jiufeng is known for his teaching on the meaning of Shishuang's "cease and desist" instruction. When a monk asked him what Shishuang meant by that phrase, Jiufeng replied by extending his hands, palms up. This wordless gesture—open, still, receiving nothing and offering nothing—demonstrated the quality of awareness that Shishuang's teaching pointed toward. Jiufeng's lineage continued the Shishuang tradition of radical stillness within the broader Qingyuan stream.