Zen Battles: Modern Commentary on the Teachings of Master Linji

You should be sovereign according to where you find yourself; be the true person wherever you are, not allowing the conditions around you to pull you away.

True monks must have right view in their daily life, which is the ability to distinguish Buddha from Mara, true from false, sacred from profane.

“If there remains in your mind a single notion of doubt, that is Mara. If you arrive at understanding the unborn nature of all that is and know that the mind is a magic show, that there is no object, no phenomenon that has a real existence, then wherever you are there is purity, and that is Buddha.

The true person is an active participant, engaged in her environment while remaining unoppressed by it.

“Don’t come to me seeking something. The enlightenment, happiness, stability, and freedom you seek are already inside you.”

The practitioner who does not have enough self-confidence will always direct his attention to what is external and wander around and around looking for something.

Master Linji wasn’t trying to defeat his students in these battles; he was trying to defeat their tendency to engage in excessive thinking and rationalizing.

Venerable monks, time is very precious. You should stop the mind, which is always wandering around, running to the neighbor’s house to study Zen, to learn the Way, looking for a sentence, looking for words, seeking the masters, seeking the Buddha, seeking a good spiritual friend. Do not take this mistaken direction.

The purpose of Master Linji’s work is to help us cease all our seeking and come back to ourselves in the present moment. That’s where we can find everything we’re looking for, whether it’s Buddha, perfect understanding, peace, or liberation.