Yanyang Shanxin

Yanyang Shanxin was a student of Zhaozhou Congshen known for his persistent questioning and his memorable exchanges with his teacher. In one famous dialogue, Yanyang asked Zhaozhou, "When you bring nothing at all, what then?" Zhaozhou replied, "Put it down." Yanyang said, "If I bring nothing at all, what is there to put down?" Zhaozhou said, "Then carry it out." This exchange became an important koan illustrating the subtlety of attachment—even the idea of having nothing can become something to cling to.

Yanyang's exchanges with Zhaozhou show the extraordinary pedagogical skill of the master, who could find the precise point of attachment even in a student's most refined understanding and cut it free with a single phrase. Through these encounters, Yanyang's questioning became as important as Zhaozhou's answers in the tradition.