The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment reads more like a full-blown Mahāyāna scripture than a slim koan collection. Instead of a grab-bag of paradoxical cases (as in the Gateless Gate or Blue Cliff Record), it unfolds over fifty-seven chapters of dharma dialogue—addressing bodhisattvas, clearing karmic obstructions and outlining both sudden and gradual paths. That dual approach is its hallmark: while the Platform Sutra of Huineng champions pure sudden awakening, Perfect Enlightenment weaves sudden insight and step-by-step cultivation into one seamless teaching.

Doctrinally, it borrows from Huayan’s interpenetrating realms, Tiantai’s “three truths,” and Madhyamaka emptiness to articulate a central vision of One Mind embracing all phenomena. Unlike Dōgen’s poetic and often abstruse Shōbōgenzō, its style remains clear and almost conversational, making complex ideas—repentance, purification, skillful means—accessible to both monks and laypeople. In modern Korean and Chinese Sŏn training, it still gets weekly recitations, underscoring its liturgical heft far beyond meditation manuals.

At the 2024 Seoul Buddhist Studies Conference, scholars noted how its commentarial lineage shaped ritual forms unique to Korean Sŏn, where chanting the sutra—known as Gyeongche—became a communal practice of heart-opening and moral repair. In a world awash with bite-sized mindfulness apps, this sutra stands out as a buffet of Buddhist philosophy, ethics and practice, offering a structured roadmap rather than just pointing to the door. That blend of systematic teaching, ritual life and doctrinal richness makes the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment a singular jewel in the Zen treasury.