Q0682
“There is no place in Buddhism for special effort. Just be ordinary:…” — Linji Yixuan (Record of Linji (abridged))
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Record of Linji (abridged). Theme: practice.
English
There is no place in Buddhism for special effort. Just be ordinary: put on your clothes, eat your food, and lie down when you are tired.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Record of Linji (abridged) and files it under Zen Buddhism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Linji Yixuan
Linji Yixuan appears in this archive through verified English quotations associated with the Zen Buddhism tradition. Biographical certainty varies by figure and text; where the “author” is a scripture or school anthology, read the name as a traditional attribution rather than a modern individual biography.
How to read this passage
Many traditions insist that understanding without practice is incomplete—Stoic exercises, Confucian self-cultivation, Buddhist path, and pragmatist inquiry all treat doing as epistemic. This passage enters that discussion through practice, nature.
Concepts in this quote
- Practice
- Practice is where thought becomes habit: philosophy as a way of living, training, and repeated action.
- Nature
- Philosophy quotes about nature ask what the cosmos is, how humans belong in it, and whether “natural” can guide ethics or politics.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Linji Yixuan. (n.d.). There is no place in Buddhism for special effort. Just be ordinary: put on your clothes, eat your food, and lie down when you are tired. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0682
MLA: Linji Yixuan. “There is no place in Buddhism for special….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0682.
Chicago: Linji Yixuan. “There is no place in Buddhism for special….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0682.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “There is no place in Buddhism for special…”?
The passage is attributed to Linji Yixuan, Record of Linji (abridged). The archive attributes this English wording to Record of Linji (abridged) and files it under Zen Buddhism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Linji Yixuan mean by practice?
Many traditions insist that understanding without practice is incomplete—Stoic exercises, Confucian self-cultivation, Buddhist path, and pragmatist inquiry all treat doing as epistemic. This passage enters that discussion through practice, nature.