Linji's Four Shouts

Text

Linji said to a monk: "Sometimes my shout is like the jeweled sword of the Vajra King. Sometimes my shout is like a golden-haired lion crouching on the ground. Sometimes my shout is like a fishing pole with a reed shade. Sometimes my shout does not function as a shout at all. How do you understand this?" The monk hesitated. Linji shouted.

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Speaker
  Linji Yixuan

Lineage: Linji

By Linji Yixuan

• When You Meet a Swordsmanproverb
• The True Person of No Ranksermon
• Linji's Three Blows from Huangbodialogue
• If You Meet the Buddha, Kill the Buddhasaying
• Be the Master Wherever You Aresaying

From Record of Linji

• When You Meet a Swordsman
• The True Person of No Rank
• Linji's Three Blows from Huangbo
• If You Meet the Buddha, Kill the Buddha
• The True Person of No Rank
• Kill the Buddha, Kill the Patriarchs
• Followers of the Way

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Record of Linji, Critical Examinations

  Record of Linji: Linji's Four Shouts