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SATORI
163 So far there is room for confusion between three things, a school of training which aims at direct, im-mediate enlightenment, a rushing straight up the hill, which is undoubtedly the method of Zen; secondly, the violence and utter change of quality in the experience when achieved, which itself is the result of long preparation; and thirdly, the completeness or incompleteness of the experience when first achieved. Let us look at what seem to be contrary opinions to those already expressed.
In the Pali Canon of the Thera Vâda or Southern School of Buddhism we read: “Just as, Brethren, the mighty ocean deepens and slopes gradually down, not plunging by a steep precipice-even so, Brethren, in this Dhamma Discipline the training is gradual, it goes step by step; there is no sudden penetration to insight." That seems clear enough, and it accords with nature, such as the movement of the tide, the opening of a flower, the growth from childhood to maturity. And there is Zen "authority' for it. “When one is earnest enough," said a monk who attained satori, "realisation will come to one frequently, and there will be a stripping off at each step forward.” And his Master approved of the simile, and said, “The study of Zen is like the polishing of a gem; the more polished the brighter the gem ... when there is the more stripping off of its outer coatings, this life of yours will grow worth more than a gem.”I
Most western writers on Zen seem to take this view. Mrs. Suzuki, the American wife of Dr. Suzuki, who studied Zen with her husband, says, "In Zen there are grades of realisation ... there is an upward movement in Zen as in everything else, and to solve the first Koan
1 Essays II, p. 95.
