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gradual enlightenment

A Dictionary of Buddhism | 2004 | | Copyright

gradual enlightenment. In Chinese Ch'an history, this represents the view, traditionally imputed to the ‘Northern School’, that enlightenment (bodhi) is acquired gradually through long practice. A famous verse that appears in The Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch attributed to Shen-hsiu (606–706) compares the mind to a clear mirror upon which dust has accumulated. By wiping away the dust, the mirror gradually emerges in its clarity. Subsequent Ch'an thought came to reject this conception of religious practice, claiming that it was based on a false duality between delusion and enlightenment, practice and attainment, and prior and subsequent moments in time. In its place, Ch'an came to embrace the view of ‘sudden enlightenment’, which held that the mind was always inherently clear and enlightened, and that beings had only to realize this fact, a feat that could be accomplished instantaneously.

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DAMIEN KEOWN. "gradual enlightenment." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

DAMIEN KEOWN. "gradual enlightenment." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-gradualenlightenment.html

DAMIEN KEOWN. "gradual enlightenment." A Dictionary of Buddhism. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O108-gradualenlightenment.html

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Gradual enlightenment

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | | Copyright

Gradual enlightenment/sudden enlightenment. Schools within Ch'an Buddhism in China, derived from two pupils of Hung Jen, Shen Hsiu, and Hui-Neng. They correspond to the Northern and Southern Schools.

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JOHN BOWKER. "Gradual enlightenment." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "Gradual enlightenment." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Gradualenlightenment.html

JOHN BOWKER. "Gradual enlightenment." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Gradualenlightenment.html

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