Can you elaborate on the phenomenon of sudden meditative attainment or sudden awakening?

Throughout the history of Zen, there are numerous accounts of masters achieving enlightenment or deep meditative absorption in seemingly extraordinary ways — through a sudden shout, a strike, or the mere hearing of a Zen phrase. These instances of sudden awakening often arise when an individual, having accumulated great merit over past lives, encounters the right conditions. In an instant, they transcend ordinary perception, as if someone lost in a dense forest suddenly opens their eyes to find themselves standing within a magnificent palace.

Having never struggled through the arduous journey of finding their way out of the dense forest, never having endured the swamps, thorns, and obstacles that line the path, they lack the experiential knowledge and method necessary to guide others. They can eloquently describe the splendor of the palace, the bliss of meditative absorption, and the profundity of their awakening, evoking admiration and longing in those who listen. Yet their words offer no true roadmap or systematic method. The path to spiritual realization remains elusive to their audience, for while they have arrived, they cannot illuminate the way for others to follow.

This phenomenon is akin to someone who becomes wealthy by sheer luck. If asked for their secret to success, they can offer only vague or impractical advice. A person of great karmic merit may chance upon a bag of gold while scavenging and suddenly rise to wealth. Yet if another person without such merit attempts the same, they will end up only as an ordinary scavenger. Similarly, some are born into nobility or unexpectedly inherit vast fortunes. When asked, “How can I attain wealth as you have?” they can describe the luxuries of their life but offer no tangible path for others to follow.

In contrast, the Buddha was a supremely rare being — one who not only attained the highest enlightenment but also charted a meticulous, systematic path for others to follow. He did not merely describe the palace of awakening; He mapped the way out of the dense forest of ignorance, guiding sentient beings step by step toward the shore of true liberation.