【Review】While John baptized with water, Jesus transferred The Holy Spirit, which could not be expressed in words and letters, using parables and meshalim. That is the baptism of The Holy Spirit.
The baptism of The Holy Spirit, which had been transmitted to India by one of the Twelve, Thomas, who is honored as the twin of Jesus (Both Didymus and Thomas mean twin in Greek and in Aramaic respectively.), was brought into the tradition of aphoristic teaching of Zen Buddhism and then sublimated into riddle-like koans.
○Juzhi Raises One Finger
There was a Zen (Chan) scholar named Juzhi in China during the Tang Dynasty. One day, when he practiced very intensely and entered deep into the great silence of samadhi in a little hut in Jinhua mountain, a nun walked into the hut, walked around his seat three times and declared, "If you can say a word of Zen, I'll take my rain hat off." Juzhi sat tongue-tied, unable to come up with a "word of Zen" He could only say, "It's getting late; just stay for the night." She said, "If you can speak, I'll stay." Again Juzhi had no reply. Disgusted by his inaction, the nun left.
This encounter completely discombobulated poor Juzhi. The next day, Tienlung visited his hut. Juzhi poured out the whole story and asked Tienlung to tell him a turning word (Zen word that turns people from ambivalence to enlightenment). Tienlung simply raised one finger, and at that moment Juzhi was enlightened. Thereafter Juzhi raised his finger whenever he was asked a question.
Some time later, a visitor asked Juzhi's attendant what his master preached. The boy too raised his finger. Hearing of this, Juzhi cut off the boy's finger. As he ran from the room, screaming with pain, Juzhi called to him, "What is the Buddha?" The boy, lifting his hand (to stick out his finger) saw no finger there and became suddenly enlightened.
When Juzhi was about to die, he gathered his monks around him. "I received this one-finger Zen from Tienlung. I used it all my life but never used it up." Then he passed away.
○Comments of prominent monks
There are following some comments of prominent monks in the "Jingde Chuandeng Lu" (Record of the Transmission of the Lamp) and "Cong rong an lu" published during the Northern Song dynasty and the Jin dynasty respectively.
Changqing said, "Fine food is not for a satisfied man to eat."
Xuansha said, "If I had seen him at the time, I would have broken off his finger."
Caoshan said, "Judi's understanding was crude--he only recognized one state, one perspective. Everyone claps their hands, but it would be funny if you met him in the West Pure Land.
Yunju said, "When Xuansha spoke that way, was he agreeing with Judi or not? If he agreed, why did he say he'd break off his finger? If not, where was Judi's fault? "
Xuanjiao said, "Tell me, what did Xuansha mean in speaking that way? I say, after all he doubts. Tell me, was Judi enlightened or not? If he was enlightened, why say his understanding was crude? If he wasn't enlightened, yet he said he used his 'one-finger' Zen all his life without exhausting it.
○Koan is spirit
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. (John 6:63) The parables and meshalim count for nothing without The Spirit. After all twirling koans without turning the light inwards, illuminating the Self, is like "you search around where fart comes from wearing a shit on the tip of your nose." (Kodo Sawaki)
[Reference]
○Gutei [Juzhi] Raises One Finger : The Gateless Barrier Case 3
Whenever Gutei Osho was asked about Zen, he simply raised his finger.
Onece a visitor asked Gutei's boy attendant, "What dose your master teach?"
The boy too raised his finger.
Hearing of this, Gutei cut off the boy's finger with a knife.
The boy, screaming with pain, began to run away.
Gutei called to him, and when he turned around, Gutei to raised his finger,
The boy suddenly became enlightened.
When Gutei was about to pass away, he said to his assembled monks, "I obtained one-finger Zen from Tenryu (Tienlung) and used it all my life but still did not exhaust it."
When he had finished saying this, he entered into eternal Nirvana.
Please check the contents that have been updated in this article on"The Origin of Christianity", an e-book, which is being updated from time to time.
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