In 705 AD, the first year of the Shenlong era(神龍元年), when Emperor Zhongzong(中宗) restored the Tang dynasty, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng(六祖慧能) explained to an imperial envoy sent by the court, "The Pure Zen of the Tathagata is one in which it is unknown where it comes from and where it is going, and it neither arises nor ceases." This time, let's explore "The Pure Zen of the Tathagata."

In 705 AD, the first year of the Shenlong era(神龍元年), when Emperor Zhongzong(中宗), the fourth emperor who had been deposed by Empress Wu Zetian(則天武后), was restored as the sixth emperor and the country's name was restored from Wu Zhou(武周) to Tang(唐), Emperor Zhongzong and Dowager Wu Zetian ordered two Zen monks known as the "Two Greats of Dongshan(東山二傑)," Songyue HuiAn(嵩岳慧安) and Yuquan Shenxiu(玉泉神秀), to come to the palace and expound on the profound teachings of Buddhism on the Lantern Festival, which marked the milestone of the political upheaval. However, both monks declined and recommended Zen Master Huineng(慧能禅師), the sixth patriarch and legitimate successor to the fifth patriarch Hongren(五祖弘忍), as a person worthy of this honor. Therefore, Emperor Zhongzong dispatched Xue Jian(薛簡) as an imperial envoy to Caoxi(曹渓) in Guangdong Province.

At the time, the court was in a state of chaos, with the faction loyal to Emperor Zhongzong's mother, Wu Zetian, and the relatives of Empress Wei(韋皇后) vying for power. It is possible that this was the real reason why both Huian and Shenxiu declined to enter the court.

Incidentally, in 710, Emperor Zhongzong was poisoned by Empress Wei and her daughter Princess Anle(安楽公主), and Empress Wei and Princess Anle were then killed by Li Longji (李隆基 Emperor Xuanzong玄宗), the son of Emperor Zhongzong's younger brother, Li Dan (李旦 Emperor Ruizong睿宗).

Perhaps due to these circumstances, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng also refused to come to the capital, citing poor health as the reason, stating that he wanted to spend the rest of his life in a remote mountain forest.

At that time, Xue Jian asked Huineng, "All the Zen monks in the capital say, 'Those who wish to attain the Way must sit in meditation. Liberation is impossible without sitting in meditation.' What do you think?"

Huineng retorted, "The Way is attained through the use of the mind, not through sitting. The Diamond Sutra states, 'To say that the Tathagata sits or lies is to practice the wrong path.' Why is that? The Pure Zen of the Tathagata is something whose origin and destination are unknown, and which neither arises nor ceases. All Buddhist teachings transcend the existence of space and time. Since ultimate liberation cannot be proven, how can it be achieved simply by sitting?" (Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch)

On the day Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the Passover festival and drove out the temple merchants, one of the Pharisees, a Jewish leader named Nicodemus, came to him in the middle of the night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John 3:1-8)

It seems that Jesus revealed to Nicodemus that the 'primitive integration' is only restored through 'spiritual rebirth' or the so-called "ZaihuoXiancheng (再活现成: Resurrection)" of Zen Buddhism(禅宗).

Jesus said, "There are many standing at the door, but those who are alone will enter the bridal suite." (Thomas 75)

According to Mr. Sasagu Arai, author of the Japanese version of The Gospel of Thomas, 'nymphon,' the original word of 'bridal suite,' literally means 'the place of marriage' where is performed the 'Holy Marriage' liturgy, that is, the liturgy for separated a male and a female to restore to the primitiveness which has not been split into male and female through Gnosis. Nymphon is given the highest status among the 'five liturgies of the Gospel of Philip.' The 'bridal suite' is a symbol of the kingdom where a male and a female are promised to enter as 'a single one.' 'A single one' means 'one who transcends division and recovers the original integration (propator = original Self) in himself or herself.' And the reign of this 'original Self' means realization of the kingdom of God. In the Gospel of Thomas, the phrase of 'single one' is repeatedly used as a keyword.

It is possible that the verse 75 of the Gospel of Thomas was a pair of the verse 74.

He said, "Lord, there are many around the drinking trough, but there is nothing in the well." (Thomas 74)

The drinking trough is 'a spring of water welling up to eternal life,' that is, the one which is promised that if one drinks from it, he or she can become like Jesus. And it, like 'bridal suite,' is a symbol of 'original Self' and refers to 'the Kingdom.' Origenes Adamantius (182?-251), who have won the high honor of the greatest early Christian theologian, asks "Why so many people are around the fountain, but no one enters it?" in his writing 'Against Celsus.'

After having been preaching for more than 40 years in various parts of India, Buddha said to Sariputra, one of the ten great his disciples, "Shariputra, the truth existed as universality within individual events and things in this world, in other words, the real image, can only be understood and shared among Buddhas but not among ordinary men. It is useless to explain to the ordinary. However, now I, joyful and fearless, in the midst of the bodhisattvas, honestly discarding expedient means, will preach only the unsurpassed Way. (Lotus Sutra Chapter 2: Expedient Means)" Then he preached the unsurpassed Way, that is, the Lotus Sutra.

The unsurpassed Way of Buddhism is that only Buddha can understand and he or she, who can drink from 'a spring of water welling up to eternal life,' is only one who can marry Jesus and become 'a single one.' Therefore, it is not surprising that many people gather at church, but none enter the spring.

On the other hand, the following description can be found in the section on Zen Master Heze Shenhui of Xijing in the Jingde Chuandeng Lu (Records of the Transmission of the Lamp in the Jingde Era):

－－－　　－－－

After the death of the ancestor, for twenty years, the Caoxi(曹渓) Sudden Enlightenment School fell into decline in Jing and Wu(荊呉) regions, while the Songyue(嵩嶽) Gradual Enlightenment School flourished in Qin and Luo(秦洛). The Master(ShenHui) entered the capital. In the fourth year of the Tianbao era(天宝四年), he established the two schools, the Southern Neng Sudden Enlightenment School(南能頓宗) and the Northern Xiu Gradual Enlightenment School(北秀漸教), and wrote the *Xianzong Ji(顕宗記)*, which became widely popular.

－－－　　－－－

In other words, despite the Fifth Patriarch Hongren designating Huineng as his successor, Northern Zen, which emphasized gradual enlightenment and was led by Shenxiu and Huian, flourished in the capital Chang'an and Luoyang (Qin-Luo). In contrast, Southern Zen, which emphasized sudden enlightenment and was led by the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, seems to have almost completely disappeared even in its base of Caoxi within 20 years of Huineng's death.

However, in the fourth year of Tianbao (745 AD), Zen Master He Ze Shenhui traveled to either Chang'an or Luoyang, clearly defining the differences between the Southern and Northern styles and writing the *Xianzong Ji*, which promoted Southern Zen. This is considered to have established the tradition of Chinese Zen Buddhism with Zen Master Huineng as the Sixth Patriarch.

What is interesting is that it appears that Zen Master Yuquan Shenxiu (606?-706), who is considered the founder of Northern Zen and to whom Empress Wu Zetian was devoted, played an important role in designating Zen Master Huineng as the sixth patriarch of the unification of Chinese Zen Buddhism.

According to the dialectic of the Gospel of John,

【thesis】　"A man can possess eternal life through accepting testimony of the Son of man and being baptized by him." (John 5:24)

【anti-thesis】　But "The one who comes from the earth cannot accept the testimony by one from heaven."(John 3:32)

How then can a man possess eternal life?

【synthesis】　"If you want to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, you can just go back to the word which was with God in the beginning (John 1:1) and certify that God is truthful. (John 3:33)"

When he said, "You are Huichao," Zen Master Fayan thrusted vivid Self in Huichao in front of his eyes. (The Origin of Christianity P.171)