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{{About|Japanese term Satori (悟り)|Chinese term Wu (悟)|Wu (awareness)}}
{{short description|Japanese Buddhist term for awakening}}
{{italic title}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Zen Buddhism}}
{{Buddhism}}
'''''Satori''''' ({{langx|ja|悟り}}) is a [[Buddhism in Japan|Japanese Buddhist]] term for "[[Enlightenment in Buddhism|awakening]]", "comprehension; understanding".<ref>{{cite web |url =http://jisho.org/words?jap=&eng=satori&dict=edict |title =Satori |website =Jisho |access-date=2020-12-01 |archive-date= 2014-10-06 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20141006111855/http://jisho.org/words?jap=&eng=satori&dict=edict |url-status =live }}</ref> The word derives from the Japanese verb ''[[satoru]]''.{{sfn|Suzuki|1994a|p=88}}<ref name=":0" />

In the [[Zen|Zen Buddhist]] tradition, ''satori'' refers to a deep experience of ''[[kenshō]]'',{{sfn|Kapleau|1989|p ={{Page needed|date =December 2020}}}}<ref>{{Cite book|last =Diener|first =Michael|title =The encyclopedia of Eastern philosophy and religion : Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen|date =1994|publisher =Shambhala|others =Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber, Stephan Schuhmacher, Gert Woerner|isbn =0-87773-433-X|edition =1 |location =Boston|page =180|oclc =18051472|quote =Semantically ''kenshō'' has the same meaning as ''satori'' and the two terms are often used synonymously.  Nevertheless it is customary to use the word ''satori'' when speaking of the enlightenment of the Buddha or the Zen patriarchs and to use the word ''kenshō'' when speaking of an initial enlightenment experience that still requires to be deepened.}}</ref>  "seeing into one's true [[Buddha-nature|nature]]". ''Ken'' means "seeing," ''shō'' means "nature" or "essence".{{sfn|Kapleau|1989|p={{Page needed|date=December 2020}}}}

''Satori'' and ''kenshō'' are commonly translated as "[[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]]", a word that is also used to translate ''[[bodhi]]'', ''[[prajñā (Buddhism)|prajñā]]'' and [[Buddhahood]].

==Definition==
''Satori'' means the experience of awakening ("enlightenment") or apprehension of the true nature of reality.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Diener|first=Michael|title=The encyclopedia of Eastern philosophy and religion : Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen|date=1994|publisher=Shambhala|others=Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber, Stephan Schuhmacher, Gert Woerner|isbn=0-87773-433-X|edition=1st|location=Boston|pages=308|oclc=18051472|quote=Satori: Jap.; Zen term for the experience of awakening (enlightenment).  The word derives from the verb satoru, "to know"; however, it has nothing to do with "knowledge" in the ordinary or philosophical sense because in the experience of enlightenment there is no distinction between knower and known.}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Keown|first=Damien|title=A dictionary of Buddhism|date=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=Stephen Hodge, Charles Brewer Jones, Paola Tinti|isbn=0-19-860560-9|location=Oxford|pages=256|oclc=59361180|quote=Satori...In Japanese Zen Buddhism an intuitive apprehension of the nature of reality that transcends conceptual thought and cannot be expressed through 'words and letters.'}}</ref>  It is often considered an experience which cannot be expressed in words.<ref name=":1" />  While the term ''satori'' is derived from the Japanese verb "to know" (''satoru''), it is distinct from the philosophical concept of knowledge as it represents a transcendence of the distinction between one that knows and knowledge.<ref name=":0" />

[[D. T. Suzuki]], a Japanese author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were influential in the West, described "... looking into one's nature or the opening of satori";{{sfn|Suzuki|1994b|p=259}} and said "This acquiring of a new point of view in our dealings with life and the world is popularly called by Japanese Zen students 'satori' (''[[Wu (awareness)|wu]]'' in Chinese). It is really another name for Enlightenment (''[[Enlightenment in Buddhism#Buddha's awakening|anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi]]'')".{{sfn|Suzuki|1994b|p=229}}{{refn|group=note|D. T. Suzuki has been criticised for his highly idealised and inaccurate picture of Japanese Zen.{{sfn|McRae|2003|p={{Page needed|date=December 2020}}}} ''Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi'' is the highest state of realisation and awakening. ''Satori'', or ''kenshō'', is the first glimpse into "nature", to be followed by further training.}}

==''Satori'' and ''kenshō''==
[[File:Satori.svg|thumb|left|[[Japanese language|Japanese]] characters for ''satori'']]
''Satori'' is often used interchangeably with ''kenshō''.{{sfn|Kapleau|1989|p={{Page needed|date=December 2020}}}} ''Kenshō'' refers to the perception of the [[Buddha-nature]] or [[Śūnyatā|emptiness]]. While the terms have the same meaning, customarily ''satori'' is used to refer to full, deep experience of enlightenment (such as of the Buddha), while ''kenshō'' is used to refer to a first experience of enlightenment that can still be expanded.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Diener|first=Michael|title=The encyclopedia of Eastern philosophy and religion : Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen|date=1994|publisher=Shambhala|others=Ingrid Fischer-Schreiber, Stephan Schuhmacher, Gert Woerner|isbn=0-87773-433-X|edition=1st|location=Boston|pages=180|oclc=18051472|quote=Semantically ''kenshō'' has the same meaning as ''satori'' and the two terms are often used synonymously.  Nevertheless it is customary to use the word ''satori'' when speaking of the enlightenment of the Buddha or the Zen patriarchs and to use the word ''kenshō'' when speaking of an initial enlightenment experience that still requires to be deepened.}}</ref> 

Distinct from this first insight, ''[[Daigo (Zen)|daigo-tettei]]'' is used to refer to a "deep" or lasting realization of the nature of existence.{{sfn|Kapleau|1989|p={{Page needed|date=December 2020}}}}


==Importance==
According to D. T. Suzuki,
{{quote|''Satori'' is the [[wikt:raison d'être|raison d'être]] of [[Zen]], without which Zen is not Zen. Therefore every contrivance, disciplinary and doctrinal, is directed towards ''satori''.{{sfn|Suzuki|1994a|p=95}}}}
This view is typical of [[Rinzai school|Rinzai]], which emphasizes ''satori''. The [[Sōtō|Sōtō school]] rejects this emphasis, and instead emphasizes "silent illumination" through the practice of ''[[zazen]]''.

==Realizing ''satori''==
In Japanese Buddhism, ''satori'' is  a "first step" or embarkation toward [[Buddhahood]]:
{{quote|Ch'an expressions refer to enlightenment as "seeing your self-nature". But even this is not enough. After seeing your self-nature, you need to deepen your experience even further and bring it into maturation. You should have enlightenment experiences again and again and support them with continuous practice. Even though Ch'an says that at the time of enlightenment, your outlook is the same as of the Buddha, you are not yet a full Buddha.{{sfn|Sheng Yen|2006|p=54}}}}

The student's mind must be prepared by rigorous study, with the use of [[koan]]s, and the practice of [[meditation]] to concentrate the mind, under the guidance of a teacher. Koans are short anecdotes of verbal exchanges between teachers and students, typically of the [[Song dynasty]], dealing with Buddhist teachings. The [[Rinzai]] school utilizes classic collections of koans such as ''[[The Gateless Barrier]]''. ''The Gateless Barrier'' was assembled by the early 13th-century Chinese Zen master [[Wumen Huikai]].

Wumen struggled for six years with koan "Zhaozhou's dog", assigned to him by Yuelin Shiguan (月林師觀; Japanese: Gatsurin Shikan) (1143–1217), before attaining ''kenshō''. After his understanding had been confirmed by Yuelin, Wumen wrote the following enlightenment poem:<ref>{{Cite web|title=Enlightenment Experience of Wumen Huikai at IMERE.org|url=https://www.imere.org/content/mystical-experience-wumen-huikai|access-date=2021-03-06|website=www.imere.org|archive-date=2021-06-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614205422/https://imere.org/content/mystical-experience-wumen-huikai|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{quote|<poem>A thunderclap under the clear blue sky
All beings on earth open their eyes;
Everything under heaven bows together;
[[Mount Meru|Mount Sumeru]] leaps up and dances.</poem>}}

==See also==
{{columnslist|colwidth=30em|
*[[Catharsis]]
*[[Epiphany (feeling)#In religion|Epiphany]]
*[[Gnosis]]
*[[Grok]]
*[[Peak experience]]
*[[Samadhi]]
*[[Satori generation]]
*[[Shiken haramitsu daikoumyo]]
*[[Sotāpanna]] or Stream Entry
*[[Ten Bulls]]
}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{Cite book|last=Kapleau|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Kapleau|year=1989|title=The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment|place=New York|publisher=Anchor Books|isbn=978-0-385-26093-0}}
*{{Cite book|last=McRae|first=John R.|year=2003|title=Seeing Through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism|publisher=The University Press Group Ltd|isbn=978-0-520-23798-8}}
*{{Cite book|last=Suzuki|first=D. T.|author-link=D. T. Suzuki|year=1994a|orig-year=1934|title=[[An Introduction to Zen Buddhism]]|publisher=Grove Press|isbn=978-0-8021-3055-6}}
*{{Cite book|last=Suzuki|first=D. T.|year=1994b|title=Essays in Zen Buddhism|publisher=Grove Press|isbn=978-0-8021-5118-6}}
*{{Cite book|author= Sheng Yen|author-link=Sheng-yen|year=2006|title=Dharma Drum: The Life and Heart of Chan Practice|place=Boston & London|publisher=Shambhala|isbn=978-1-59030-396-2}}
{{refend}}

{{Buddhism topics}}
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[[Category:Buddhist stages of enlightenment]]
[[Category:Zen Buddhist philosophical concepts]]