3. Sudden Enlightenment

In Early Buddhism, the enlightenment is developed empirically through gradual progressive three-fold training (sikkhā) of,

1. higher virtue (adhisīla-sikkhā),
2. higher mind (adhicitta-sikkhā), and
3. higher wisdom (adhipaññā-sikkhā).

In the Aṅguttara Nikāya (An iii, 9, § 88), training in “higher virtue” includes following the Patimokkha, training in “higher mind” (sometimes simply referred to as “concentration”) includes entering and dwelling in the four jhānas, and training in “higher wisdom” includes directly perceiving the Four Noble Truths:

“Monks, there are these three forms of training. What three? The training in the higher morality, that in the higher thought and that in the higher insight.

And what, monks, is the training in the higher morality? Herein a monk lives moral and restrained with the restraint of the obligations … he takes up and trains himself in the laws of morality. This is called “the training in the higher morality.”

And what, monks, is the training in the higher thought? Herein a, monk, remote from sensual desires (practises the four musings) … attaining the fourth musing he abides therein. This is called “the training in the higher thought.”

And what, monks, is the training in the higher insight? Herein a monk understands, as it really is, the meaning of This is Ill: This is the arising of Ill: This is the ending of Ill: This is the practice leading to the ending of Ill. This is called “the training in the higher insight.” These are the three forms of training.‖^[1]

Thus, according to Early Buddhism tradition, the enlightenment of the reality “as it is” is a result of the respectively training Sīla, Samādhi and Paññā.

However, according to the Laṅkāvatārasūtra of Mahāyāna tradition, the enlightenment of the innate Buddha-nature is realized through direct intuition or intuitive revulsion of discernment without gradual empirical development or progressive cultivation through meditation.

“Mahāmati, it is like a mirror indiscriminately and instantaneously reflecting in it forms and images; in the same way, Mahāmati, the purification by the Tathāgata of all beings is instantaneous, who makes them free from discrimination and leads them to the state of imagelessness. Mahāmati, it is like the sun or the moon revealing all forms instantaneously by illuminating them with its light; in the same way, Mahāmati, the Tathāgata, by making all beings discard the habit-energy which issues from the erroneous views they entertain in regard to an external world which is of the Mind, instantaneously reveals to all beings the realm of unthinkable knowledge which belongs to Buddhahood. It is like the Ālayavijñāna making instantaneously a world of body, property, and abode, which is what is seen of Mind itself; in the same way, Mahāmati, the Nishyanda-Buddha, instantaneously maturing the mentality of beings, places them in the palatial abode of the Akanishṭha mansion where they will become practisers of various spiritual exercises. Mahāmati, it is like the Dharmatā-Buddha shining forth instantaneously with the rays that issue from the Nishyanda-Nirmāṇa [-Buddha]; in the same way, Mahāmati, the noble truth of self-realisation instantaneously shines out when the false [dualistic] views of existence and non-existence are discarded.”^[2]

Thus, in order to stop the outflow of the defiled mind and cleanse all habit-energy of beings, it needs a long time and gradual cultivation to do. But, the Buddha can instantaneously reveal to all beings the realm of unthinkable knowledge which belongs to Buddhahood like a mirror indiscriminately and instantaneously reflecting in it the outside forms and images.

To explain the state of sudden enlightenment, the Laṅkāvatārasūtra mentions the idea of revulsion or up-turning or abrupt transformation, which leads us to imagine the process to be sudden rather than gradual.

Prof. Suzuki comments on this state as follows.

The fact may be ascribed to the innate construction of the mind, or, to use Buddhist terminology, to the working of individual karma. Still, one may say, when the process of purification is so gradual and quiet that the man in question never becomes conscious of the changes taking place in his spiritual life, would he ever experience what is termed in the Laṅkāvatārasūtra as revulsion? Psychologically this is a phenomenon suddenly happening in the consciousness. When a man was walking in a certain direction all the time, his steps are all of a sudden made to turn back; he faces now the North instead of the South. This abrupt shift of the vista is a revolution; he is sure to be strongly conscious of the transformation. The unconscious process that preceded it may have been gradual, but as far as his conscious mind is concerned, the revulsion has taken place instantaneously. This is however a mooted question in the psychology of religion.^[3]

Although Prof. Suzuki accepts the thought of revulsion in the enlightenment, he does not follow the view of “sudden enlightenment, gradual cultivation” when he thinks that the process of enlightenment needed by the Buddha for the cleansing is accidentally sometimes gradual and sometimes sudden.^[4] However, in my view, the enlightenment must take place suddenly and not gradually, because it belongs to the realm of epistemology (one either sees or not see yet the Buddha-nature), not of practice. Enlightenment is not the end of the process of practice, before and after enlightenment are all the long and hard period of cultivation. One has attained enlightenment, he will still bear the rebirth if his craving passion (defilement) has not yet cleansed. So he needs to continue to cultivate his defiled mind after enlightenment.

Therefore, Chinese Chan master Muzhou Daoming (780-877 CE), a disciple of Huangbo, said to the monks that:

大事未明。如喪考妣。
大事已明。亦如喪考妣。^[5]

Great Enlightenment still unknown, it is like mourning deceased-mother
Great Enlightenment known, it is also like mourning deceased-mother.^[6]

Muzhou Daoming (or Daozong), also known as Chenzunsu, the enlightened head monk of the Huang-bo community, who helped Chan master Linji gain enlightenment by encouraging Linji to go to question abbot Huangbo about “what the Buddha‘s main teaching is” for three times. As a filial monk, after enlightening, Muzhou went back his homeland, lived in Kaiyuan temple to take care of his old mother by making grass-sandal for sale or gift. People there also called him Chen Puxie (grass-sandal Chen) from the rush sandals he plaited and hung under the roof space of the temple to give or sell to passersby.^[7] Before enlightenment, the practitioner makes the best effort of cultivation to realize the Buddha-nature. This work is extremely hard because of the obstruction of the very thick and firm illusion, bad karma and habitenergy. So it is like the suffering in the funeral of mother passed away. However, after enlightenment, how to remain constant to the Buddhanature free from the obscuration of illusion is also a very hard working due to the bad habit-energy accumulated from the beginningless time. In addition, the vows of saving living beings are also the hard works of the enlightened ones. Hence, this cultivation is also difficult like the mourning of passed-mother of a filial son. Thus, the above teachings of Muzhou emphasize on the importance of the sudden enlightenment as well as the gradual cultivation of both before and after enlightenment.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The Book of the Gradual Sayings (Aṅguttara Nikāya), tr. F.L. Woodward & E.Majjhimanikāya. Hare, Vol. I, pp. 214-15.

[2]:

Lanka 50 (Laṅkāvatāra-Sūtra 56)

[3]:

Dīghanikāya.Taisho Tripiṭaka (CBETA 2011). Suzuki, Studies in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, p. 207.

[4]:

Ibid.

[5]:

Zong-jian-fa-lin 宗鑑法林 (Xuzangjing 66n1297, p. 424b10.)

[6]:

The translation is made by the writer. The English translation of the text is not available.

[7]:

The Record of Linji, tr. Ruth Fuller Sasaki, ed. Thomas Yūhō Kirchner, pp. 94-95