Yunju Daoying

Yunju Daoying was a direct student of Dongshan Liangjie who established a major community on Mount Yunju. He was known for the depth and simplicity of his practice, embodying the Caodong ideal of silent, unadorned sitting as the expression of awakened mind. His community became one of the most respected training centers in the Chan world of the late Tang period.

Yunju's teaching emphasized the practice of "just sitting"—being present without seeking anything or trying to achieve any particular state. This approach, which would later be refined by Hongzhi Zhengjue into the method of "silent illumination" and by Dogen into "shikantaza," finds one of its earliest expressions in Yunju's quiet, undemonstrative style. His lineage through subsequent generations carried this contemplative spirit forward.