About Gradual training

The Buddha sometimes described the practice (patipatti) of his teaching as the gradual training because the Noble Eightfold Path involves a process of mind-body transformation that unfolds over a sometimes lengthy period.Just as the ocean has a gradual shelf, a gradual slope, a gradual inclination, with a sudden drop-off only after a long stretch, in the same way this discipline of Dhamma (dhamma-vinaya) has a gradual training (anupubbasikkhā), a gradual performance (anupubbakiriyā), a gradual progression (anupubbapatipadā), with a penetration to gnosis only after a long stretch.