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Spring - The Recorded Sayings of Linji
The four great Bodhisattvas associated with the four sacred mountains—Manjushri at Wutai Mountain, Avalokiteshvara at Putuo Mountain, Samantabhadra at Emei Mountain, and Kṣitigarbha at Jiuhua Mountain—attract Buddhist pilgrims who practice the method of three steps, one bow (taking three steps and then making a full prostration), expressing patience and deep reverence. However, according to Master Linji, it is not necessary to climb these famous mountains to encounter the Bodhisattvas, because “they are already present in the here and now, right in our own hearts.” Visiting mountain temples or practicing mindfulness of the Buddha at the four places of his birth, enlightenment, first teaching, and passing into Nirvana are only skillful means to nourish our spiritual well-being and bring peace to body and mind, not to seek some entity outside ourselves.
The Linji teachings emphasize “not seeking”—whether through dynamic koan meditation or silent illumination—because seeking is still an attachment. To break through “object” (the perceived) and “subject” (the perceiver), the Master offered four ways of handling (The Fourfold Analysis):
- Eliminate the object but not the subject
- Eliminate the subject but not the object
- Eliminate both subject and object
- Eliminate neither subject nor object
Only the first phrase (the initial word of instruction) is the unique opportunity to open the heart and see insight; any further seeking, even with the three famous koans (“Does a dog have Buddha-nature?”, “What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the West?”), if used to continue searching for answers, only wastes mental energy. The teacher–student relationship should follow the principle of host and guest, not becoming attached to mystery or dogma, so that insight into the nature of no birth and no death, no inside and no outside, can arise right in the present moment.
