When we speak of the word
'enlightenment', what might come to mind is the image of an
electric bulb within suddenly switching on, illuminating the
darkness of our delusion with the all-pervading light of wisdom. Of
course, this happens suddenly, with a sense of great surprise and
wonder. If the experience of being enlightened is truly so, is this
to say that enlightenment is always sudden in nature? Yes, as
above, and no. No, because there is a process of spiritual practice
that leads up to the moment of realisation too. As this process is
involved, the 'one' moment of illumination is not as 'out of the
blue' as we assume. In this sense, enlightenment is gradual too, or
graduated. Many of us romanticise the coming of 'one' grand moment
of great enlightenment, when our relatively dull minds at the
moment takes a mighty leap and springs to new life, similar to what
happened to the Buddha under the Bodhi Tree. The truth is, before
it arrives, there is hard work needed to get ready, and there are
really more 'less enlightening' moments than expected along the way
too. In the case of the Buddha, he was already as spiritually ripe
as ripe could be, while we need to work harder at further ripening
ourselves!
For a less abstract picture
of the process of many gradual enlightenments leading to many
sudden enlightenments, imagine a large drinking glass, filled with
multiple smaller glasses within, each nested in
another, in the manner of Russian (matryoshka) dolls of decreasing
sizes placed one inside the other. (The 'Matryoshka Principle' of
the interdependence of 'objects within similar objects' appears in
nature too, such as the layering of onion skins.) When water, which
represents the topping up of the conditions for spiritual insight
fill the nested glasses, it first fills the innermost glass, till
it brims over. The process of topping up represents the gradual
nature of advancing towards enlightenment, while the process of
overflowing represents the sudden nature of enlightenment – the
moment a great insight 'strikes'. In short, the sudden nature is
dependent on the less noticeable gradual nature of change, which
can take place over the course of many lifetimes. The combination
of past and present diligence explains why some are more 'prone' to
sudden insights than others. How quickly one becomes enlightened
depends on personal efforts. All is karmically fair and
square!
Truly insightful moments are
always sudden and surprising. If they are not so, they would not be
true breakthroughs, not significantly insightful enough to effect a
life-changing paradigm shift. The Buddha too expressed
delightful surprise on the night he attained Buddhahood, when he
saw that all beings have Buddha-nature, that they too could realise
Buddhahood like he did. When the innermost glass brims over,
overflowing with insight, nothing is lost, as the next outer glass
begins the process of topping up immediately, to work towards the
next greater insight… till the entire large glass of all glasses
finally overflows with the greatest insight that encompasses all
insights. As such, the process of spiritual cultivation towards
Buddhahood is not via the realisation of a single insight, but the
culmination of many insights, with each dependent and building upon
the previous in a series, leading to the 'grand finale'. Gradual
and sudden enlightenments, being parts of the same process, are
thus non-dualistic. Again, since how swiftly one stage of insight
is realised and leads to the next is conditioned by our diligence
in Dharma practice, let us not pine for moments of overflowing
illumination, and forget that they are possible only with moments
of topping up!
奇哉奇哉! 一切众生皆有如来智慧德相，
皆因妄想和执着而不能证得。
Wonderful, wonderful! All sentient beings have
the wise and meritorious signs of Tathagatas (Buddhas),
but all because of delusions and attachments (now) cannot realise
them (yet).
- The Buddha (Upon Enlightenment)
Shen Shi'An