Linji Yixuan

File:RinzaiGigen.jpg

Japanese painting of Linji

Linji Yixuan (Template:Lang-zh; Template:Langx Rinzai Gigen; died 866 CE) was a Tang dynasty (618-907) Chinese monk and teacher of the Hongzhou school of Chinese Chan (Zen). Linji was the leading figure of Chan Buddhism in the Tang, and the Recorded Sayings of Linji (Línjì yǔlù), which contains his teachings, is seen as a major Zen text which exemplifies the iconoclastic and antinomian spirit of Zen.Template:Sfn He is also known by the posthumous title Huizhao Chanshi ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, “Meditation Master of Illuminating Wisdom”).Template:Sfn

Linji was a student of Huangbo Xiyun and is also considered to be the founder of the influential Linji school of Chan. This school actually developed in the Song dynasty (960-1279) among descendants of Linji, who created various mythic stories about Linji in the process of founding their new school of Zen.Template:Sfn Today he is seen as the founder of the various Linji regional traditions, including the Japanese Rinzai school, the contemporary Korean Seon schools (all which consider themselves to be of the "Imjae" line, i.e. Linji) and the Lâm Tế school of Vietnamese Zen.Template:Sfn

Biography

Sources

Information on Linji is based on the Línjì yǔlù and other sources like the Zutang ji, Jingde chuan-denglu, Song gaoseng zhuan (Song-dynasty Biographies of eminent monks), and the Tiansheng guang-denglu (Tiansheng-era Extensive record of the transmission).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn However, the composition of these sources, like the Línjì yǔlù, occurred over various stages of historical development, culminating in the Song dynasty version of the Línjì yǔlù published by the Linji school.Template:Sfn This text thus includes stories and passages attributed to Linji by later authors. As such, according to Albert Welter, "the life of the historical person Linji is shrouded in legend."Template:Sfn Yanagida Seizan also writes "If we construct a chronology of the master’s life it must be a tentative one only, based for the most part upon traditional material rather than upon facts that can be substantiated with historical accuracy.Template:Sfn

Life

According to the sources, Linji was born during the Yuanhe era (806–820) into a family named Xing ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) living in Nanhua ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), Cao ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) Prefecture (modern Yanzhou {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in Shandong Province).Template:Sfn Little is known of his early life. According to the Guzunsu yulu (Recorded sayings of the ancient worthies), "After shaving his head and receiving the full precepts, he frequented the lecture halls; he mastered the vinaya and made a thorough study of the sutras and śāstras."Template:Sfn Yanagida Seizan writes that his teachings indicate that Linji was knowledgeable in the Mahayana sutras and also "show the influence of works of the Huayan {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Avataṃsaka) and Weishi {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}(“Consciousness-only”; Yogācāra) schools."Template:Sfn Seizan also mentions that he seems to have been expert in the teachings of Yogācāra, since the Zutang ji depicts Linji's first meeting with Dayu as being a discussion on the Treatise on the stages of Yogācāra practice (Yuqie lun {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).Template:Sfn

After this period of study however, Linji turned to meditative practice, as sermon 18 of the Record of Linji states "But later, when I realized that they were only remedies to help the world and displays of opinion, I threw them all away, and, searching for the Way, I practiced meditation."Template:Sfn Linji then traveled to Jiangnan where he met Chan master Huangbo Xiyun ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), at some point between 836 and 841.Template:Sfn He likely stayed with Huangbo at Mount Huangbo for about three years until he had a great enlightenment.Template:Sfn According to sources like the Record of Linji, Linji questioned Huangbo three times about the central meaning of Buddhism and Huangbo struck him three times. Then Huangbo sent Linji to meet the reclusive monk Dàyú ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}). After exchanging some words with this monk, Linji attained an awakening or (見性, jianxing). He then returned to Huangbo and told him what had occurred. Huangbo slapped Linji, saying “You lunatic, coming back here and pulling the tiger’s whiskers!” Then Linji responded with a loud shout.Template:Sfn After this event, Linji stayed with Huangbo for some time, or he may have traveled to practice with Dayu for a time as well. The various sources differ on this issue.Template:Sfn

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Linji temple

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The Chengling pagoda at Linji Temple is believed to contain the remains of Linji.Template:Sfn

In around 849 or 850 Linji, an older forty year old, left on a pilgrimage.Template:Sfn Little is known of this pilgrimage, though the Chuandeng lu mentions that he visited Bodhidharma’s memorial tower in Henan.Template:Sfn In about 851, Linji settled in Zhenzhou, Hebei where he led a small temple located southeast of the city of Zhenzhou. It was known as the Linji yuan ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, “Temple Overlooking the Ford”) since it was on the banks of the Hutuo River. It is the name of this temple which gave Linji his name.Template:Sfn Linji's temple may have been supported by the Wang family patriarch Wang Yuankui {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (d. 855) or one of his sons.Template:Sfn

Linji lived and taught in this temple for about ten years. Linji's students included Zhaozhou Congshen, Puhua, Sansheng Huiran, Baoshou Yanzhao, Xinghua Cunjiang, Mayu, Longya Judun, Dajue, and Xingshan Jianhong.Template:Sfn In about 863 or 864, Linji left Linji temple to accept an invitation by Lord Jiang Shen, regional commissioner of Hezhong, who had his seat at Puzhou ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).Template:Sfn From Puzhou, Linji traveled to Weifu on the invitation from Grand Marshal and President of the Grand Imperial Secretariat, Lord He. At Weifu, he stayed at Jiangxi chanyuan temple ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), of Guanyin si ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).Template:Sfn He stayed at this temple for a year, receiving visitors, until his death.Template:Sfn The Linji Lu describes his death as follows:

Suddenly one day the master, although not ill, adjusted his robes, sat erect, and when his exchange with Sansheng [Sansheng Huiran] was finished, quietly passed away. It was on the tenth day of the first month in the eighth year of Xiantong [18 February 867] of the Tang dynasty.Template:Sfn

Posthumous influence

File:Pavilion of shared history, Jingshan, 2023.jpg

Pavilion in memory of the shared origin of Chinese Linji and Japanese Rinzai in Jingshan Temple

After Linji's death, his disciples then cremated him and built a memorial pagoda for the master's remains in the capital of Daming Prefecture. The Chinese emperor decreed that Linji was to receive the posthumous title "Huizhao Chanshi" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, “Meditation Master of Illuminating Wisdom”).Template:Sfn

According to Yanagida Seizan, "Linji died probably in his early or mid-fifties, and thus did not reach the advanced age of many of the illustrious masters of his time. Nor did he leave a large body of notable disciples to disseminate his style of Chan."Template:Sfn

Of Linji's small body of disciples, only Xinghua Cunjiang's line of transmission survived.Template:Sfn Very little is known of Cunjiang's heir Nanyuan Huiyong.Template:Sfn The three succeeding figures from Nanyuan: Fengxue Yanzhao, Shoushan Shengnian, and Fenyang Shanzhao, all remained in the Yellow river area.Template:Sfn According to Albert Welter, "While the inspiration for the Linji Chan faction was, of course Linji Yixuan, the real founder of the movement was, as noted previously, Shoushan Shengnian (926—993), a fourth-generation descendant."Template:Sfn

Fenyang Shanzhao's heir, Shishuang Chuyuan, transmitted the Linji lineage to Southern China. Shishuang was instrumental in promoting and expanding the influence of the Linji school.Template:Sfn Over time, this tradition became one of the largest and most influential schools of Chan in East Asia, with branches in Japan (Rinzai), Korea and Vietnam.

Linji's students compiled and passed on his teachings in various sources, the most famous of which is the Recorded Sayings of Linji (Línjì yǔlù).Template:Sfn

The Record of Linji and other sources

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A statue of Linji Yixuan under the southern gate of Zhengding Hebei, China

The Línjì yǔlù ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}; Japanese: Rinzai-goroku, Recorded Sayings of Linji) or Línjìlù for short, is a collection of sayings and anecdotes attributed to Linji which is traditionally considered to be the main source of Linji's teachings. The full title is Zhenzhou linji huizhao chanshi yulu ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Huizhao of Linji in Zhenzhou).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The standard edition of the Línjì yǔlù (c. 1120) was not completed until two hundred fifty years after Linji's death (866)."Template:Sfn Thus parts of the text likely reflects the concerns of the Song dynasty Linji school rather than that of Linji in particular.Template:Sfn The standard edition was first included within the massive Tiansheng guangdeng lu by the lay believer Li Zunxu (a student of Guyin Yuncong) in 1036 and it was independently printed in 1120 by Yuanjue Zongyan at Mount Gu in Fuzhou (present-day Fujian).Template:Sfn

Yanagida Seizan writes that "we have no way of determining exactly what the earliest version of the Linji lu was like or when it was compiled."Template:Sfn In spite of this, Yanagida Seizan still held that the main twenty two sermons in the Línjì yǔlù "provide us with an account of the man and his teaching".Template:Sfn

Furthermore, earlier passages from Linji's sermons can be found in texts compiled before the 11th century, such as the Zutang ji, the Zongjing lu, the Jingde Chuan-deng lu and the Tiansheng guang-denglu (Tiansheng-era Extensive record of the transmission).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn These passages contain minor differences with the parallel passages from Linji's sermons found in the Línjì yǔlù according to Yanagida.Template:Sfn

Albert Welter also notes that the earliest fragments of Linji's teachings are found in the Zutang ji, which was compiled in 952.Template:Sfn However, regarding the contents of the Linji-lu, he writes:

Ultimately, the story of the Linji lu is the story of a movement that found its voice and identity through the image and alleged teachings of Linji. What these teachings represent are not the words of one man, which are in any case irretrievable, but the combined aspirations of the movement as a whole, projected onto the persona of Linji as founder. Linji wrote nothing himself. Our knowledge of his teachings allegedly depends on notes taken by students of his sermons, lectures, dialogues, and other interactions. The names of those who originally kept such notebooks are unknown to us. Eventually, fragments of Linji's teachings were included in Chan transmission records.Template:Sfn

The Línjì yǔlù contains stories of Linji's interactions with teachers, contemporaries, and students. The recorded lectures are a mixture of the conventional and the iconoclastic; those who resented the iconoclastic nature of Linji discourse saw him as “one of the most infamous Chinese Chan masters who censored traditional Buddhist practices and doctrines.” <ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Despite the iconoclasm, however, the Línjì yǔlù reflects a thorough knowledge of the sūtras. Linji's style of teaching, as recorded in that text, exemplifies Chán development in the Hongzhou school ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) of Mazu and his successors, such as Huangbo, Linji's master.

Teachings

Iconoclasm

The Linju lu presents Linji as an iconoclastic teacher who used shocking language in vernacular Chinese to disrupt the tendency of his listeners to grasp at concepts such as buddhas, patriarchs, bodhisattvas, stages of practice and levels of attainment.Template:Sfnp He famously said, "If you meet a buddha, kill the buddha."Template:Sfnp While Linji's language may sound extreme, it reflects an attitude which considers grasping at buddhas, bodhi, nirvana, Dharma, and other such related Buddhist concepts, as a kind of delusion. As Burton Watson observes:

The message of Lin-chi's sermons, reiterated with almost wearisome persistence, is that his followers are allowing all this talk of goals and striving, of buddhas and patriarchs, to cloud their outlook and to block the path of understanding. All such words and concepts are external and extraneous postulations, attachment to which is just as much a delusion and impediment as attachment to any crasser objective, such as sensual gratification or material gain. Again and again he exhorts them to put aside all such external concerns and to turn their gaze within, where the Buddha-nature inherent in all beings is to be found.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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Such sentiments can already be seen in earlier Chan sources. For example, Shenhui points out that while lust for wealth and sex is "gross falsity," activating one's intention to grasp bodhi, nirvana, emptiness, purity, and concentration is "subtle falsity."<ref>McRae, John R., Robson, James, Sharf, Robert H., Vries, Fedde de and Buswell, Robert E.. Zen Evangelist: Shenhui, Sudden Enlightenment, and the Southern School of Chan Buddhism, page 54, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2023</ref> Likewise, Huangbo said that to conceive of a buddha is to be obstructed by that buddha, while the Bloodstream Sermon criticized the worshipping of buddhas as holding onto appearances.<ref>The Zen Teaching of Huang-po on the Transmission of Mind, translated by John Blofeld, page 71, Grove Press, Inc. New York, 1958</ref><ref>Pine, Red. The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma, p. 25. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Nov 1, 2009.</ref>

Non-dependency

According to Linji, Zen students fail to make spiritual progress because they lack faith in themselves and are thereby "twisted and turned" by whatever environment they encounter.Template:Sfnp They cling to phrases and are obstructed by words like "common mortal" and "sage," and for Linji, this is to still be dependent on something.Template:Sfnp Rather than rely on buddhas, bodhisattvas, and the Chan patriarchs, Linji taught his listeners that they should be non-dependent persons of the Way:

You listening to the Dharma, if you are men of the Way who depend on nothing, then you are the mother of the buddhas. Therefore the buddhas are born from the realm that leans on nothing. If you can waken to this leaning on nothing, then there will be no Buddha to get hold of. If you can see things in this way, this is a true and proper understanding.Template:Sfnp{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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True person

Although we may be "twisted and turned" by dependencies and externals, Linji taught that the true person, the one who "has the ability to speak dharma and listen to it," is a "solitary brightness"Template:Sfnp (or the one Template:Zh)Template:Sfnwho is not swayed by various situations or environments:

Followers of the Way, this lone brightness before my eyes now, this person plainly listening to me—this person is unimpeded at any point but penetrates the ten directions, free to do as he pleases in the threefold world. No matter what environment he may encounter, with its peculiarities and differences, he cannot be swayed or pulled awry.Template:SfnpTemplate:Refn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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Similarly, Linji described the mind as a "single bright essence" (or "one pure radiance," {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) which is formless and penetrates all directions.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>Template:Sfn According to Linji, because this mind is formless, it is everywhere emancipated, and thus there was no need to go "rushing around everywhere looking for something."<ref>Template:Harvp</ref> Instead, Linji advised his listeners to stop and take a good look at themselves.<ref>Template:Harvp</ref>

Another way in which Linji referred to the true person was "the true man with no rank" (Template:Zh). According to Welter, all early sources agree that the notion of "the true man with no-rank" (which can also mean "a sage without any location") was a major teaching of Linji.Template:Sfn In what is perhaps the earliest source of this teaching, the Zutang ji, it is presented as follows:Template:Sfn

On one occasion, the Master (Linji) addressed the assembly: "I, a mountain monk, tell you clearly—within the body-field of the five skandhas there is a true man with no-rank, always present, not even a hair's breadth away. Why don't you recognize him?"

Then, a monk asked: "What is this true man with no rank?"

The Master struck him, and said: "The true man with no-rank—what an impure thing."{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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Other sources contain similar statements. In the Chuandenglu, for example, Linji says, "within your lump of red flesh there is a true man with no rank, constantly entering and exiting the openings of your face." When a monk asks who the true man is, Linji responds by saying, "The true man with no rank—what a dried lump of shit!"Template:SfnTemplate:Refn

Faith

Linji criticized relying on methods and practices in order to realize this true person. He said that to engage in religious practice was to generate karma keeping one bound to the realm of birth and death, while "the real person," "this person who is right now listening to the Dharma," was without any adornments or practices.Template:Sfnp Instead of reliance on practices to see our innate nature, Linji taught that we should simply have faith (Template:Zh) in it: "Just have faith in this thing that is operating in you right now. Outside of it, nothing else exists."Template:SfnpTemplate:Refn

According to Buswell, faith for Linji was not blind acceptance, but an inherent faculty emanating constantly from the enlightened nature, and was thus equivalent to the "innate functioning" of the mind-essence.<ref>Robert E. Buswell, Jr., page 342, in Sudden and Gradual Approaches to Enlightenment in Chinese Thought, edited by Peter Gregory, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1987, 1991</ref> Buswell also notes the striking difference between Linji's teachings, in which faith plays a prominent role, and the teachings of the later Linji School master, Dahui, who valued doubt over faith.<ref>Robert E. Buswell, Jr., page 354, in Sudden and Gradual Approaches to Enlightenment in Chinese Thought, edited by Peter Gregory, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1987, 1991</ref>Template:Refn

Nothing to do

In addition to faith, Linji also emphasized non-seeking and wú shì ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), a term often translated as "nothing-to-do," but which also has the meaning of no affairs, no concerns, no matters, and no business.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> He says:

Followers of the Way, as I look at it, we're no different from Shakyamuni. In all our various activities each day, is there anything we lack? The wonderful light of the six faculties has never for a moment ceased to shine. If you could just look at it this way, then you'd be the kind of person who has nothing to do for the rest of his life.Template:Sfnp{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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Accordingly, Linji taught that there was no need to make any special effort. Instead, we have simply to be ordinary: "Followers of the Way, as to buddhadharma, no effort is necessary. You have only to be ordinary, with nothing to do—defecating, urinating, wearing clothes, eating food, and lying down when tired."Template:SfnAs Jinhua Jia points out, this recognition of the fundamental value of the human being echoes the teachings of Mazu Daoyi, for whom everyday ordinary activities were the function of buddha-nature.<ref>Jinhua Jia, The Hongzhou School of Chan Buddhism in Eighth- through Tenth-Century China, page 76, State University of New York Press, 2006</ref>

Linji further connects non-doing with "turning one's light around" (Template:Zh), a term that occurs throughout various Chan texts, such as Zongmi's Sub-commentary to the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment (where it refers to recognizing one's original enlightenment).Template:Sfn According to Linji, when we stop our seeking and turn our own light in upon ourselves, we will on that very instant have nothing to do.Template:SfnTemplate:Refn

However, "turning one's light around" does not necessarily imply anything like staring at the mind or concentrating within. Linji quotes Shenhui's well-known criticism of such things as arresting the mind, staring at silence, summoning the mind to focus it on externals, controlling the mind to make it clear within, and concentrating the mind to enter into meditation.Template:Sfnp Moreover, Linji says that looking for something within is just as wrong as seeking externally, since there's nothing within that can be grasped: "Outside the mind there is no Dharma, and even inside the mind it can't be grasped. So what is there to seek for?"Template:SfnpTemplate:Refn

Lineage

	Chinese characters and Wade-Giles Romanization	Life dates	Việt name<ref>See Thiền Sư Trung Quốc for a list of Chinese Zen Masters in Vietnamese.</ref>	Japanese name and Romaji	Korean Hangeul and South Korean Revised Romanization
28 / 1	lang}} / Damo	?	lang}}	lang}} / Daruma	lang}} / Dalma
29 / 2	lang}} / Shenguang Huìke	487–593	lang}}	Eka	lang}} / Hyega
30 / 3	lang}} / Jianzhi Sengcan	?–606	lang}}	Sōsan	lang}} / Seungchan
31 / 4	lang}} / Dongshan Daoxin	580–651	lang}}	Dōshin	lang}} / Doshim
32 / 5	lang}} / Huangmei Hongren	601/2–674/5	lang}}	Kōnin	lang}} / Hongihn
33 / 6	lang}} / Caoxi Huineng	638–713	lang}}	Enō	lang}} / Hyeneung
34 / 7	lang}} / Nanyue Huairang	677–744	lang}}	Nangaku Ejō	lang}} / Namak Hweyang
35 / 8	lang}} / Mazu Daoyi	709–788	lang}}	Baso Dōitsu	lang}} / Majo Toil
36 / 9	lang}} / Baizhang Huaihai	720?/749?–814	lang}}	Hyakujō Ekai	lang}} / Paekchang Hwehae
37 / 10	lang}} / Huangbo Xiyun	?–850	lang}}	Ōbaku Kiun	lang}} / Hwangbyeok Heuiun
38 / 11	lang}} / Linji Yixuan	?–866/7	lang}}	Rinzai Gigen	lang}} / Imje Euihyeon

See also

• Buddhism in China
• Dharma Drum Retreat Center – Chán Buddhism retreat center
• List of Rinzai Buddhists

Sources

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Further reading

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External links

• Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 47, No. 1985 The Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association online Chinese character text of The Record of Linji (臨濟録 Linji Lu)
• Japanese translation of Linji