Chan The distinction between sudden awakening and gradual awakening () has its roots in Indian Buddhism. It was first introduced in China at the beginning of the
5th century by
Daosheng. The term became of central importance in
Chan Buddhism, where it is used to denote the doctrinal position that
awakening, the comprehension or realization of the Buddhist teachings, happens simultaneously, and is not the fruit of a gradual accretion or realisation.
Shenhui In the 8th century the distinction became part of a struggle for influence at the Chinese court by
Shenhui, a student of
Huineng. Hereafter "sudden enlightenment" became one of the hallmarks of Chan Buddhism, though the sharp distinction was softened by subsequent generations of practitioners. This softening is reflected in the
Platform Sutra of
Huineng.
Rivalry between schools While the socalled "Southern School" was said to place emphasis on sudden enlightenment, it also marked a shift in doctrinal basis from the
Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra to the
prajnaparamita tradition, especially the
Diamond Sutra. The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, which endorses the
Buddha-nature, emphasized purity of mind, which can be attained in gradations. The
Diamond Sutra emphasizes
śūnyatā, which "must be realized totally or not at all". Once this dichotomy was in place, it defined its own logic and rhetorics, which are also recognizable in the distinction between
Caodong (
Sōtō) and
Linji (
Rinzai) schools. But it also leads to a "sometimes bitter and always prolix sectarian controversy between later Ch'an and
Hua-yen exegetes". In the
Huayan classification of teachings, the sudden approach was regarded inferior to the Perfect Teaching of Huayan.
Guifeng Zongmi, fifth patriarch of Huayan and Chan master, devised his
own classification to counter this subordination. To establish the superiority of Chan,
Jinul, the most important figure in the formation of
Korean Seon, explained the sudden approach as not pointing to mere emptiness, but to
suchness or the
dharmadhatu.
Later re-interpretations Guifeng Zongmi, fifth-generation successor to Shenhui, also softened the edge between sudden and gradual. In his analysis, sudden awakening points to seeing into one's true nature, but is to be followed by a gradual cultivation to attain
buddhahood. This gradual cultivation is also recognized by
Dongshan Liangjie, who described the
Five Ranks of enlightenment. Other example of depiction of stages on the path are the
Ten Bulls, which detail the steps on the Path, The Three Mysterious Gates of
Linji, and the
Four Ways of Knowing of
Hakuin Ekaku. This gradual cultivation is described by Chan Master Sheng Yen as follows:
Huayen In the Fivefold Classification of the Huayan and the
Five Periods and Eight Teachings of the Tiantai, the sudden teaching was given a high place. However, it was still inferior to these schools' Complete or Perfect teachings. == Pure Land Buddhism ==