Kumu Daocheng

Kumu Daocheng, whose name means "Dead Tree," was a Chan master known for the extreme austerity of his practice. He was associated with a style of practice that emphasized the complete cessation of all mental activity—sitting like a dead tree, utterly still and unresponsive to any stimulus. This approach represented one pole of the Chan tradition's understanding of meditation.

Kumu's "dead tree" style provoked strong reactions within the tradition. Some praised it as the ultimate expression of non-attachment; others criticized it as a lifeless passivity that confused the extinction of awareness with genuine awakening. This debate—between stillness and responsiveness, between cessation and liveliness—has been one of the most productive tensions in the history of Chan.