Non-attachment in the Record of Linji appears as a radical refusal to cling to anything whatsoever, whether outward forms or inward states. Linji repeatedly undermines reliance on Buddhas, patriarchs, scriptures, and even the idea of enlightenment itself, famously urging practitioners to “kill the Buddha” if they meet him. This shocking language points to a freedom from dependence on external supports and sacred authorities, which otherwise become subtle objects of grasping. Even refined spiritual experiences, meditative calm, or visions are treated as transient conditions that must not be taken as final. Any state that appears and disappears is regarded as inadequate as a basis for true liberation.

At the heart of this teaching stands the image of the “true person of no rank,” the one who is not bound by worldly positions, religious status, or fixed self-concepts. This person is unburdened by adherence to roles or identities and thus moves freely through circumstances without being defined by them. Linji’s portrayal of such a person suggests a life in which worldly and sacred attachments are seen as equally limiting, two sides of the same coin of bondage. Non-attachment, in this sense, is not a withdrawal from life but the capacity to function in the midst of conditions without being owned by them.

Linji also exposes the subtle attachment hidden in the very act of spiritual seeking. Searching outside for Buddha, mind, or some special attainment only reinforces the sense of lack that practice is meant to dissolve. By calling traditional doctrinal constructions “painted cakes” that cannot satisfy real hunger, he warns against mistaking conceptual understanding for living realization. Non-attachment, then, includes freedom from clinging even to Buddhist concepts and to the idea of non-attachment itself. When this seeking mind relaxes, what remains is an immediate, uncontrived responsiveness that does not rely on any fixed standpoint.

In this way, Linji presents non-attachment less as a technique to be cultivated and more as the natural expression of one’s inherent completeness when artificial supports are relinquished. The practitioner is urged to “use this one who is right now listening,” turning attention to the living capacity that sees, hears, and responds before it is overlaid with names and categories. Such a life is characterized by dynamic, spontaneous action that is not driven by gain and loss, success and failure, or purity and defilement. Non-attachment becomes synonymous with this unfixed, responsive functioning that holds onto nothing at all.