When Zen Master Nanyue Huairang(南嶽懐譲) in the Tang Dynasty of China first visited the Sixth Patriarch Huineng(六祖慧能), Huineng asked, "Where are you from?" Huairang replied, "I am from Mount Song(嵩山)." Then Huineng asked in return, "What is it that has come thus?(甚麼物恁麼来)?" Huairang was completely bewildered and could not answer a single word. So, this time, let's take a look at the koan, "What is it that has come thus?"

Zen Master Huairang's secular surname was Du(杜), and he was born on April 8th of the second year of the Yifeng(儀鳳) era of Emperor Gaozong(高宗帝) of the Tang dynasty in Jinzhou (金州:present-day Ankang City, Shaanxi Province). He read Buddhist texts from a young age, and at the age of 15, he became a monk under Hongjing(弘景) at Yuquan Temple(玉泉寺) in Jingzhou(荊州), where he studied the Vinaya Pitaka(毘尼蔵). However, at the urging of his fellow students, he became a disciple of National Master Huian(慧安国師) at Mount Song(嵩山). National Master Huian was a Dharma successor of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren(五祖弘忍) and a fellow disciple of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng(六祖慧能). Therefore, at Huian's recommendation, Huairang visited Zen Master Huineng at Baolin Temple(宝林寺) in Caoxi(曹渓).

Huineng asked, "Where are you from?" Huairang replied, "I am from Mount Song(嵩山)." Then Huineng asked in return, "What is it that has come thus?(甚麼物恁麼来)?"

In short, he was saying, "Show me your true colors," but Huairang was completely bewildered and could not answer a single word.

After studying under Huineng for eight years and contemplating the meaning of "What is it that has come thus?", Huairang one day suddenly understood and immediately entered Huineng's abbot's quarters, saying, "I finally understand the meaning of your question when we first met." Huineng replied, "Oh, really? Tell me."

To this, Huairang replied, "To speak about a thing is to miss the mark." In other words, "No matter how much you try to describe "one's original face" or "Buddha-nature" and even seems like it, you will never be able to accurately describe its true nature.

Then Huineng pressed further, saying, "Ah, I see. So, can you practice and enlighten?"

Dogen Zenji (道元禅師), the founder of the Japanese Soto Zen School (曹洞宗), in his book 'Shobogenzo Bendowa (正法眼蔵弁道話)' says, "Though each man has Buddha-nature in abundance, he cannot make it appear without practice or live it without enlightenment."

Huairang replied, "Practice and enlightenment are not non-existent, but they cannot be defiled." In other words, he asserted, "I'm not saying that practice and enlightenment don't exist, but you can't be corrupted by such things." This is precisely the same view that Huineng took when he told Yin Zong Abbot of Faxingsi Temple, "Meditation and liberation are not discussed."

Then Huineng acknowledged Huairang's view, saying, "That's right. It is a place protected by the Buddhas, and it cannot be defiled. The same is true for you and me."

Huineng further added, "Prajnatara (the 27th Patriarch) of the Western Heaven has prophesied that a swift horse will spring forth from your feet and bring peace to the world(踏殺天下人). If you keep this in mind, there is no need to hastily open your mouth."

Upon hearing this, Huairang was deeply moved and spent another 15 years training under Huineng. After that, he went to Nanyue(南嶽) and greatly spread Zen Buddhism, and it is said that after his death he was given the posthumous title of Great Master Dahui(大慧禅師).

Incidentally, Prajnatara's revelation, "A magnificent horse will spring forth from beneath your feet and bring peace to the world," is said to be a prophecy of the rise of the Hongzhou school, led by Zen Master Mazu Daoyi, from beneath the feet of the Sixth Patriarch Huineng and Nanyue Huairang.

The "Jingde Chuandeng-lu(景徳伝灯録)" lists 33 main successors and 10 secondary successors, totaling 43 prominent figures, including Nanyue Huairang(南嶽懐譲), Qingyuan Xingsi(青原行思), Nanyang Huizhong(南陽慧忠), Yongjia Xuanjue(永嘉玄覚), and Heze Shenhui(荷沢神会). Of these, the lineages of Nanyue Huairang and Qingyuan Xingsi are considered to have flourished.

However, the list of Huineng's Dharma successors varies greatly depending on the source. The earliest "Shenhui Hua Lu(神会話録)" only mentions Shenhui, while the Dunhuang(敦煌) version of the "Liu Zu Tan Jing(六組壇経)" lists 10: Fahai(法海), Zhongcheng(忠誠), Fada(法達), Zhichang(智常), Zhitong(志通), Zhiche(志徹), Zhidao(志道), Fazhen(法珍), Faru(法如), and Shenhui(神会). Nanyue Huairang's name is absent, and the historical accuracy of those other than Shenhui is considered limited.

Huineng's works include the "Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch(六祖壇経)" and the "Commentary on the Diamond Sutra(金剛経解義)," but both are said to have problems in their creation.

Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me to someone and tell me whom I am like." Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a righteous angel." Matthew said to him, "You are like a wise philosopher." Thomas said to him, "Master, my mouth is wholly incapable of saying whom you are like."

The Orthodox Gospels record that Peter was praised by Jesus, who said, "You are the Holy One of God.(John 6:12)" However, when Thomas said, "My mouth is wholly incapable of saying whom you are like," Jesus praised him highly, saying, "I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring that I have tended."(Thomas13)

According to Mr. Sasagu Arai, author of the Japanese version of The Gospel of Thomas, 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 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, also asks "Why so many people are around the fountain, but no one enters it?" in his writing 'Against Celsus.'

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)