SEAnews 2014-07-25 ArtNo.45226

【Review】My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. (John 17:15) Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17) For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. (John 17:19)
○Truth That's Never Been Spoken
　When Nanquan Puyuan (748-834), a disciple of Mazu Daoyi who is known as one of ancestors of Chan Buddhism during the period of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) in China, went to study to BaiZhang NiePan, a grandson-disciple of Mazu Daoyi and known as Master of Nirvana, NiePan asked Nanquan, "Is there a truth that all the sages since antiquity haven't spoken for people?" Nanquan said, "Yes, there is." NiePan said, "Oh, you think so. Then tell me, what is the truth that hasn't been spoken for people?" Nanquan immediately answered, "It's not mind, it's not Buddha, it's not any thing." NiePan said, "You said it." Now Nanquan asked NiePan, "I am just thus. What about you, Teacher?" NiePan said, "I am not a great man of knowledge either: how would I know whether it has been spoken or not?" Nanquan said, "I don't understand what you mean." NiePan said, "It's okay. I may have already spoken too much for you."
○Spiritual rebirth: Prerequisite for baptism of the Holy Spirit
　Though Jesus testified concerning the Word that had been with God and had been God in the beginning (John 1:1-2), even his disciples neither understood nor accepted (John 3:32) during his lifetime. After they met the resurrected Jesus in their experiences of spiritual rebirth, they recalled what he had said and believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. (John 2:22)
　According to John the Baptist, only the one who has certified that God is truthful, in other words, who has experienced spiritual rebirth, can be baptized with the Holy Spirit through accepting Jesus' testimony. (John 3:33)
○Sanctification: Prerequisite for spiritual rebirth
　Jesus told the true meaning of his crucifixion during his prayer after the Last Supper as follows. "For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. (John 17:19) (Thus) those who will believe in me through their message may be one and they may be brought to complete unity. (John 17:20-21) I have given them the glory that you gave me before the creation of the world, that they may be one as we are one. (John 17:22-24) Then they may have the full measure of my joy within them." (John 17:13)
　Jesus desired his disciples to be sanctified through wrestling with the realities they faced and to return to the Word that had been with God and had been God in the beginning (John 1:1-2), in other words, to be baptized with The Holy Spirit, just as he himself was to be crucified and to return to God (John 17:17-19).
[Reference]

○The Blue Cliff Record 28th case: NanQuan's Truth That's Never Been Spoken
NanQuan went to see Master Nirvana of BaiZhang (Mountain.)
Zhang asked, "Is there a truth that all the sages since antiquity haven't spoken for people?"
Quan said, "Yes, there is."
Zhang said, "What is the truth that hasn't been spoken for people?"
Quan said, "It's not mind, it's not buddha, it's not any thing."
Zhang said, "You said it."
Quan said, "I am just thus. What about you, Teacher?"
Zhang said, "I am not a great man of knowledge either: how would I know whether it has been spoken or not?"
Quan said, "I don't understand."
Zhang said, "I've already spoken too much for you."
○Mazu clan genealogy

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.

Free download of "The Origin of Christianity"

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