When enlightenment comes very quickly, we call it "sudden enlightenment"; when it takes a long time, we call it "gradual enlightenment." We say that people who get enlightened quickly have "sharp karmic roots, " and people who do not, have "dull karmic roots." Where do these distinctions between sudden and gradual, sharp and dull come from? In Buddhism we believe that the time span of a life includes one's past as well as future lives. When we meet someone with sharp karmic roots, we believe that they must have practiced diligently in past lives to have such good karma. Such people have a good chance of becoming enlightened in this life, or some life in the near future. Conversely, we believe that people of dull karmic roots did not practice too well in prior lives, but may sharpen their karmic roots by being diligent now. Taking into account that a person's history spans over many lives, we can see there is really no difference between sudden and gradual enlightenment, or sharp and dull karmic roots. It is a very gradual process which sometimes ripens very quickly, in a flash of joyous awakening. So, as Buddhists, we believe that the fruition of practice depends on how diligently one has practiced in both the past and the present.

The important thing is whether people believe in rebirth. This belief is often difficult to accept in its entirety even among practicing Buddhists. But those who do not believe in rebirth have no way of explaining the differences in people's achievements in the practice. They can merely imagine that some are more fortunate than others. From the standpoint of a single life, yes, there is good and bad fortune. But from the standpoint of many lives over eons of time, the force of karma applies equally to all. This is the law of karma, of cause and effect.

I would like to illustrate at least two stages of enlightenment by relating two stories. The first appears in the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch. It goes like this:

At one time the Sixth Patriarch Hui-Neng was staying at a certain temple. Two young monks there were observing a flag on a pole. One monk said, "See how the flag moves in the wind!" The other responded, "No, the flag can't move, it is the wind that is moving." The Sixth Patriarch, overhearing this debate, said, "Neither flag nor wind moves. Mind is moving." Upon hearing this, the two monks realized his meaning. What level of enlightenment does this remark indicate?