Seongcheol - Teachings - in Deep Sleep, One Mind

In Deep Sleep, One Mind

Seongcheol also set a clear benchmark that the practitioner could apply to gauge his level of practice. Throughout his life, many followers came to him to obtain acknowledgement of their enlightenment. He was dismayed at the number of people who thought they had attained perfect enlightenment by experiencing some mental phenomenon during their practice. He therefore reiterated that every enlightened person from the Buddha and on had asserted the same definition of what enlightenment is. True attainment, he quoted, came only after going beyond the level of being able to meditate in deep sleep. Only after being able to meditate on a gong'an continuously, without interruption, throughout the waking state, then the dreaming state, and finally in deep sleep, one reaches the state where enlightenment can become possible. Before any of this, one should never claim to have become enlightened, even though there may be many instances of weird mental phenomena that happens during one's practice. The levels he identified were:

1. In the waking state, one mind (Hangul: 동정일여, Hanja: 動靜一如): the state where the practitioner can meditate on a gong'an continuously throughout the day without interruption, even through talking and thinking.
2. In the dreaming state, one mind (Hangul: 몽중일여, Hanja: 夢中一如): the state where the practitioner can meditate on a gong'an continuously in the dreaming state.
3. In deep sleep, one mind (Hangul: 숙면일여, Hanja: 熟眠一如): the state described above, where the practitioner can meditate on a gong'an continuously through even the deepest sleep.
4. In death, attain life (Hangul: 사중득활, Hanja: 死中得活): from the previous state where all thoughts are overtaken by the gong'an (therefore, the practitioner is considered mentally "dead"), the moment of attaining enlightenment, that is, "life."
5. Great, round, mirror-like wisdom (Hangul: 대원경지, Hanja: 大圓鏡智): the state of perfect enlightenment, using the analogy of the bright mirror for the great internal wisdom that comes forth during enlightenment. The final state where the practitioner loses the sense of self, is liberated from his karma, and therefore, all future rebirths.