Juzhi Yizhi

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Juzhi Yizhi, known as Gutei Isshi (One-finger Gutei), was a 9th-century Chinese Zen master. He is counted as the eleventh successor in the early Chan line after Bodhidharma, Nan-yue Huairang (677–744), and Mazu Daoyi (709–788), with some sources suggesting a link to Linji Yixuan as well.

Gutei studied under Hangzhou Tianlong (Kōshū Tenryū) and spent many years alone in the mountains, meditating and reciting the Kannongyō, the 25th chapter of the Lotus Sutra. One day a young nearby nun visited and challenged him to utter a word of Zen. He could not, and she left. Realizing his limitation, Gutei sought teaching from Tenryū.

Tenryū raised a single finger, and at that moment Gutei achieved enlightenment. This moment became famous in Zen stories as the koan of “Gutei’s Finger,” which appears in various collections. In one well-known version from the Mumonkan, Gutei would raise his finger whenever asked about Zen. A boy assistant began mimicking him. When asked what his master had preached about, the boy raised his finger. Gutei then cut off the boy’s finger to teach him a lesson. The boy cried out, but Gutei called him back, and when the boy turned to him, Gutei lifted his own finger. In that instant the boy was enlightened.

Before he died, Gutei told his monks, “I attained my finger-Zen from my teacher Tenryū, and in my whole life I could not exhaust it.” Mūmon’s commentary adds that enlightenment has nothing to do with a finger; clinging to a finger leads to disappointment. Because of this story, Gutei came to be known as Gutei Isshi, the One-finger Gutei.