Theos-Talk Archives (November 1999 Message tl00105)

Grigor, thanks for the very nice discussion of sudden
and gradual paths.  The distinction is important.

According to the proponents of the sudden path
(and probably Zen is the best known), the gradual
path is itself sort of a prerequisite or training period.
However, they claim that no one can possibly gradually
rise into spirituality. The gradual path, they say,
only takes you so far and no farther. A leap is
required. A jump in attitude and perspective.  The
gradual path suggests that we can just keep learning
and studying and doing good and purifying ourselves
until we rise into spiritual insight. The sudden path
folks say that this is a deception of the human mind,
which must be left behind. The suuden school says
that the human mind cannot be gradually transcended,
but must be transcended in a leap of consciousness,
so to speak.

Jerry S.