Editing Linji Yixuan (section)

== The ''Record of Linji'' and other sources ==
[[Image:A statue of Linji Yixuan.JPG|thumb|A statue of Linji Yixuan under the southern gate of [[Zhengding]] [[Hebei]], [[China]]]]
The ''Línjì yǔlù'' ({{lang|zh|臨濟語錄}}; Japanese: ''Rinzai-goroku'', ''Recorded Sayings of Linji'') or ''Línjìlù'' for short, is a collection of sayings and anecdotes attributed to Linji which is traditionally considered to be the main source of Linji's teachings. The full title is ''Zhenzhou linji huizhao chanshi yulu'' ({{lang|zh|鎭州臨濟慧照禪師語錄}}, ''Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Huizhao of Linji in Zhenzhou'').<ref>{{cite journal |last=Barber |first=Allan W. |url=https://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/DLMBS/en/search/search_detail.jsp?seq=596709 |title=The Education of Linji |journal=Studies in Zen Buddhism {{lang|ja|&#91;ゼンガク ケンキュウ&#93;}} |year=2018 |location=Kyoto, Japan |volume=96}}</ref> 

The standard edition of the ''Línjì yǔlù'' (c. 1120) was not completed until two hundred fifty years after Linji's death (866)."{{sfn|Welter|2008|p=82}} Thus parts of the text likely reflects the concerns of the [[Song dynasty]] Linji school rather than that of Linji in particular.{{sfn|Welter|n.d.}} The standard edition was first included within the massive ''Tiansheng guangdeng lu'' by the lay believer Li Zunxu (a student of Guyin Yuncong) in 1036 and it was independently printed in 1120 by Yuanjue Zongyan at Mount Gu in Fuzhou (present-day [[Fujian]]).{{sfn|Sasaki|2009|p=83}}  

Yanagida Seizan writes that "we have no way of determining exactly what the earliest version of the ''Linji lu'' was like or when it was compiled."{{sfn|Sasaki|2009|p=82}} In spite of this, Yanagida Seizan still held that the main twenty two sermons in the ''Línjì yǔlù'' "provide us with an account of the man and his teaching".{{sfn|Sasaki|2009|p=72}}  

Furthermore, earlier passages from Linji's sermons can be found in texts compiled before the 11th century, such as the ''Zutang ji'', the ''Zongjing lu,'' the ''Jingde Chuan-deng lu'' and the ''Tiansheng guang-denglu (Tiansheng-era Extensive record of the transmission)''.{{sfn|Welter|2008|p=4-6}}{{sfn|Sasaki|2009|p=64}} These passages contain minor differences with the parallel passages from Linji's sermons found in the  ''Línjì yǔlù'' according to Yanagida.{{sfn|Sasaki|2009|p=82}}  

Albert Welter also notes that the earliest fragments of Linji's teachings are found in the ''[[Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall|Zutang ji]]'', which was compiled in 952.{{sfn|Welter|2008|p=82}} However, regarding the contents of the ''Linji-lu'', he writes: 
<blockquote>Ultimately, the story of the Linji lu is the story of a movement that found its voice and identity through the image and alleged teachings of Linji. What these teachings represent are not the words of one man, which are in any case irretrievable, but the combined aspirations of the movement as a whole, projected onto the persona of Linji as founder. Linji wrote nothing himself. Our knowledge of his teachings allegedly depends on notes taken by students of his sermons, lectures, dialogues, and other interactions. The names of those who originally kept such notebooks are unknown to us. Eventually, fragments of Linji's teachings were included in Chan transmission records.{{sfn|Welter|2008|p=83}}</blockquote>

The ''Línjì yǔlù'' contains stories of Linji's interactions with teachers, contemporaries, and students. The recorded lectures are a mixture of the conventional and the [[Iconoclasm|iconoclastic]]; those who resented the iconoclastic nature of Linji discourse saw him as “one of the most infamous Chinese Chan masters who censored traditional Buddhist practices and doctrines.” <ref>{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.1080/23729988.2019.1686872 | doi=10.1080/23729988.2019.1686872 | title=How the Mount Wutai cult stimulated the development of Chinese Chan in southern China at Qingliang monasteries | date=2019 | last1=Keyworth | first1=George A. | journal=Studies in Chinese Religions | volume=5 | issue=3–4 | pages=353–376 | s2cid=213258968 }}</ref> Despite the iconoclasm, however, the ''Línjì yǔlù'' reflects a thorough knowledge of the [[sutras|''sūtra''s]]. Linji's style of teaching, as recorded in that text, exemplifies Chán development in the [[Hongzhou school]] ({{lang|zh|洪州宗}}) of [[Mazu Daoyi|Mazu]] and his successors, such as [[Huangbo Xiyun|Huangbo]], Linji's master.