Wufeng Changguan

Wufeng Changguan was a student of Mazu Daoyi who taught at Mount Wufeng (Five Peaks). He was known for his uncompromising directness and his willingness to use physical means—striking and shouting—to break through students' conceptual barriers. His teaching style prefigured the methods that would become the hallmark of the Linji school.

In one recorded exchange, a monk asked Wufeng about the ultimate meaning of the Buddhist teaching. Wufeng raised his staff. The monk said, "If that is the teaching, what is its meaning?" Wufeng struck him. This use of the staff as both question and answer—leaving no gap for conceptual elaboration—exemplifies the Hongzhou school's confidence that awakening is immediate and cannot be approached through progressive stages of understanding.