The second "outer path" anecdote also involves disciples of Hui-neng. When Shih-t'ou Hsi-ch'ien 石頭希 遷(700-790) was a young monk, he approached the dying Hui-neng and asked, "Master, after you pass away, what should I do?" Hui-neng said, "You should go to Hsing-szu". Shih-t'ou understood him to say hsun-szu 尋 思, which means "seek thoughts". This was actually a term for the method of meditating by watching one's thoughts. Shih-t'ou was unaware that there was another disciple of the Sixth Patriarch by the name of Ch'ing-yuan Hsing-szu 青原行思(?-740), so he just assumed that the master told him to practice watching his thoughts. After Hui-neng died, Shih-t'ou constantly sought out very isolated, quiet places and spent his time in tso-ch'an, neglecting all else. An elder in the assembly saw this and asked, "The master is dead; what are you doing here in empty sitting?" Shih-t'ou replied, "I am only following the master's instructions. He told me to watch my thoughts." The elder said, "You should realize you have an elder Dharma brother whose name is Hsing-szu. Why don't you hurry and go to study with him?"