The 84,000 Levels of Enlightenment
One Thursday evening, after a Dharma talk at the Cambridge Zen Center, a student said to Seung Sahn Soen-sa, "I have a question about enlightenment. Now enlightenment is very good…"
Soen-sa said, "It is very bad!" (Laughter from the audience.)
The student said, "The perfected virtues of enlightenment were outlined by the Lord Buddha himself. He said that enlightenment has seven limbs."
"Seven?"
"Seven."
"No-many more than that!" (Laughter.)
"My question is, if one has awakened, is that enough? Is Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi, the Unexcelled Perfect Enlightenment, enough? Is that the same as Nirvana? Or is Nirvana a provisional form? Some teachers say there are two levels of enlightenment, some say there are three. What do you teach about levels of enlightenment? Are there one, two, three, or more?"
Soen-sa said, "There are many levels of enlightenment. About 84,000 levels. How many do you want?" (Laughter.)
"That's very interesting."
"I will teach you all of them." (Laughter.)
"I've heard this teaching before. This comes from T'ien-t'ai philosophy."
"How many do you want? One, two, three, 84,000?"
"I'm aware of the teaching. But could you describe what are the two stages…"
Soen-sa handed the student a cup of water and said, "Drink this."
The student drank.
"How did it taste?"
"As water should."
"You have just attained the 84,000 levels of enlightenment." (Laughter.)
The student said, "That's more than I expected." (Laughter.) "Thank you."
Soen-sa said, "Okay, now I will explain. In Zen, we teach that there are three kinds of enlightenment." Then, holding up the moktak[1], "This is a moktak. But if you say it is a moktak, you are attached to name and form. And if you say it is not a moktak, you are attached to emptiness. So is this a moktak or not? This is one of the elementary kong-ans that we use. If you answer by hitting the floor or shouting 'KATZ!!!' or hitting me, this is first enlightenment. Everything becomes one. Buddha, you, me, the moktak, the sound, KATZ, HIT-all becomes one. The ten thousand dharmas return to the One."
The student snapped his fingers.
"That's correct. This is first enlightenment. Next is original enlightenment. Is this a moktak or not? This time, you answer, 'The wall is white, the moktak is brown,' or, 'The sky is blue, the grass is green,' or, 'Three times three equals nine.' Everything is like this. This is original enlightenment. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Next is final enlightenment. This is very important. What is final enlightenment?" Soen-sa hit the moktak. "Only this. Only one point. The truth is just like this. So we teach that there are three kinds: first enlightenment, original enlightenment, and final enlightenment. At first they seem to be the same. But they are not the same. Is it clear now?"
"Much clearer than usual."
"Only this. If you do hard training in Zen, you will soon understand."
"Thank you."
"Okay, then I ask you: Once Zen Master Dong Sahn was weighing flax. Somebody came up to him and asked, 'What is Buddha?' He answered, 'Three pounds of flax.' What does this mean?"
The student thought for a few moments, then said, "Three pounds of flax means just what three pounds of flax are."
Soen-sa said, "Only this?"
"That's all I can think of tonight."
"Yah, that's a good answer. Not bad, not good."
The student was silent.
Soen-sa said, "Okay, next question. Somebody asked Zen Master Un-mun, 'What is Buddha?' Un-mun answered, 'Dry shit on a stick.' Both Zen Masters were asked, 'What is Buddha?' But Dong Sahn said, 'Three pounds of flax' and Un-mun said, 'Dry shit on a stick.' Are these two answers the same or different?"
The student said, "When you understand with the one mind, they're the same."
Soen-sa said, "Only this?"
"It's the best I can do."
"I thought you were a keen-eyed lion, but now I understand that you are a blind dog."
The student said, "Maybe some day I'll be able to see."
Soen-sa said, "Now you are a blind dog. You must again become a keen-eyed lion."
The student closed his eyes and bowed.
Note
[1]A gourd-like instrument used to set the rhythm during chanting.
