Master Linji Yixuan was a Chinese Chan (Zen) master of the late Tang dynasty, remembered as the founder of the Linji school, which later came to be known as the Rinzai school in Japan. He trained under the eminent master Huangbo Xiyun, from whom he received dharma transmission, and eventually taught at Linji Monastery in Hebei province, the place that gave his lineage its name. His life and teaching stand within the powerful current of sudden-enlightenment Chan, and his influence helped shape what later generations would recognize as the classic image of the Zen master.

The Record of Linji (Linji lu) preserves his sermons, encounters, and sayings, and has become one of the most influential texts in the Chan and Rinzai traditions. In this collection, one encounters a teacher who uses shouts, blows, and sharply paradoxical language to cut through conceptual thinking. These methods are not mere theatrics; they serve to jolt students out of reliance on discursive understanding and into direct realization. The text thus functions not only as a record of his words but as a living demonstration of his way of guiding students.

Linji’s teaching consistently emphasizes the immediacy of awakening and the sufficiency of one’s own mind. He urges practitioners to discover the “true person of no rank,” a phrase pointing to the formless, original nature that is not defined by social status, roles, or fixed ideas. In this light, dependence on scriptures, doctrines, and even revered images of buddhas is treated as a subtle form of bondage. His stark admonitions against “seeking” enlightenment outside oneself challenge the deeply ingrained habit of looking elsewhere for spiritual authority.

Equally important is his radical insistence on freedom from attachment to any fixed standpoint, even to the Dharma itself. His often-quoted exhortations to let go of buddhas and teachings are not acts of nihilism but invitations to a more intimate and unmediated encounter with reality. By embodying this uncompromising freedom in his speech and actions, Linji helped define the iconoclastic, dynamic character of Chan. Through the later development of Rinzai Zen, his style of training—rooted in direct experience, sudden insight, and fearless independence—continues to shape the understanding and practice of Zen.