Description
Book SynopsisThe Linjilu (Record of Linji or LJL) is one of the foundational texts of Chan/Zen Buddhist literature, and an accomplished work of baihua (vernacular) literature. Its indelibly memorable title character, the Master Linji--infamous for the shout, the whack of the rattan stick, and the declaration that sutras are toilet paper--is himself an embodiment of the very teachings he propounds to his students: he is a true person, free of dithering; he exhibits the non-verbal, unconstrained spontaneity of the buddha-nature; he is always active, never passive; and he is aware that nothing is lacking at all, at any time, in his round of daily activities. This bracing new translation transmits the LJL''s living expression of Zen''s personal realization of the meaning beyond words, as interpreted by ten commentaries produced by Japanese Zen monks, over a span of over four centuries, ranging from the late 1300s, when Five-Mountains Zen flourished in Kyoto and Kamakura, through the early 1700s, an age
Trade ReviewJeffrey Broughton's Record of Linji is a magnificent work of scholarship. It translates what the author rightly calls 'the most prominent work in all of Chan literature,' and goes far beyond all previous translations in making this seminal text understandable by embedding the ten most important Zen commentaries into the original text. This rich textual tradition is made readily available to readers of Broughton's translation and the result is an opportunity to enter into Chan and Zen discourse that has been previously unavailable to western readers. * Dale Wright, David B. and Mary H. Gamble Professor in Religion, Occidental College *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ; Abbreviations ; Introduction ; Translation of the Linjilu ; Part I: Dharma-Hall Convocations ; Part II: Sangha Instruction ; Part III: Calibrating and Adjudicating ; Part IV: Record of the Karman of the Master's Career ; Part V: Stupa Record of Chan Master Linji Huizhao ; Yuanjue Zongyan's Xuanhe 2 (1120) Linjilu Edition (LJL) ; Appendix 1: Pre-Song Linji and Puhua Sayings and Episodes Preserved in the Collection of the Patriarchal Hall (Zutangji) ; Appendix 2: Pre-Song Linji Sayings Preserved in the Mind-Mirror Record (Zongjinglu) ; Notes ; Bibliography ; Index
