consummates in enlightenment, the uprooting of suffering from
its  very  basis.  Nothing  short  will  suffice  or succeed.
Suffering, in other words, is a total ontologized  phenomenon
in the sense that the basis of a single element  of suffering
is related  to the whole  being  and that, when the uprooting
occurs, the result  will be a total phenomenon.  In this way,
we may say with  all Buddhists  that  ignorance  (wu-ming(r),
avidyaa) and enlightenment(wu(g),bodhi) are two poles  of the
selfsame  phenomenon, one  of-which  is bound  and the  other
unbound, ontologically speaking.
　　 As  experiential  reality  is  taking  place  within  the
context of impermanence,the grasp of it must necessarily come
about   drastically   and   abruptly.   The  Zen  method   of
enlightenment  carries  these drastic  and abrupt means which
dare the devotee to act and respond in uncommon ways, all the
while  keeping  his  senses, including  the mind, wide  open,
resilient, total and full. He is unruffled by the paradoxical
nature of
sa.msaara  and  nirvaa.na, and  encouraged  and motivated  to
explore  its  depth  by  avoiding  entanglement  with  things
logical  and  conceptual.  The  Japanese  Zen  master,  Dogen
(1200-53), gave a graphic description  of the sammsaaric bound
life as katto(s) (vines), a life depicted  as wisteria  vines
entwining among themselves  in which the condition gets worse
and  worse.(l6) So beneath  all  the simplicity  and  artless
antics  of  the  devotee, the  ground  is  prepared  for  the
ultimate event. The method is gradual in the sense that

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step  by step analysis, understanding  and concretion  of the
facts  of  existence  are  brought  together, but  the  final
enlightenment must come abruptly or suddenly.(17)
　　 In   contrast　　 to   the　　 Zen   abrupt　　 method　　 of
enlightenment,there  is the  Taoist  quietistic  method.  But
these two methods are not really contradictory since Zen, for
example, incorporates the quietistic nature in its meditative
process.  There  is  actually  no  difference  in the  Taoist
"forgetting  himself"  and the Zennist concept  of losing his
self.  Any devotee, eiher Taoist  or Zennist, may spend hours
"honing  up" for the final grasp  of reality, but he must not
waste  his  time  in futile  "brick  grinding"  to produce  a
mirror, or in squeamish rituals upholding Confucian virtues.
　　 The leading philosophic doctrine in Taoist quietism is
action-in-nonaction (wei wu-wei(t)).  Many interpretations
have   been   offered   on  this  important   doctrine,  from
laissez-faire  to do-nothing, but  its significance  will  be
missed  if there is no focus  on the glimpses  of reality  as
discussed  earlier.  Action  (wei) does  not take place  in a
vacuum but requires  a 'filler'  to function  properly.  That
'filler'  is provided  by the concept  of non-being  (wu(u)),
which  is part  and  parcel  of  non-action  (wu-wei) or vice
versa, and which is also the reality  glimpsed  in the manner
of the galloping horse.  It(wu) is like the interstices  of a
net and yet more, since it also inludes  the warp and woof of
the net itself -  the whole reality.  Thus, wu or the Tao are
primitives,the uncarved  block  (su p'o(v)), which  presences
itself  in the actions  taken  by man but does not force  its
manifestation.  Through  action  the nature of non-action  is
known, but  non-action  is always  the  foundation  of action.
There is a parity of process involved  here but not identical
with the Buddhist  kind, though similar  strains  run through
both.  Chapter  42 of the Tao Te Ching exhibits  how the Tao,
One,Two, Three and Ten Thousand Things implicate one another.
It is an affirmation  of the cosmological, atemporal analysis
of the phenomena of existence.  Chapter 1 of the same work, a
capsule presentation of Taoism, also spells out the nature of