Thinker

Linji Yixuan quotes

4 passages in English · Dating varies by source tradition · Zen Buddhism.

Overview

Linji Yixuan is represented in Philosophy Blind Box through curated English quotations. In some cases the name denotes a historical thinker; in others it denotes a scripture, school text, or traditional attribution. School label in this archive: Zen Buddhism.

Main ideas

Recurring concerns in this selection include Philosophy, Being, Autonomy, Awakening, Critique. Read each passage with its source note, then follow theme links to see how related thinkers frame the same questions.

Major works

  • Attributed sources listed on quotation pages

Legacy

Readers use Linji Yixuan as an entry point into Zen Buddhism and into cross-cultural comparison within this archive.

Themes in this archive

Autonomy (1) · Self (1) · Practice (1)

  1. Wherever you are, make yourself master; wherever you stand is real.
  2. If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha; if you meet a patriarch, kill the patriarch; if you meet an arhat, kill the arhat.
  3. There is a true person of no rank who is always coming and going through the gates of your face.
  4. 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.