In truth, [the nun Myôshin] was beyond the three degrees of wisdom and the ten degrees of sanctity, and this act of Awakening was that of a successor in the direct line of the Buddhas and Patriarchs. This is why, today, when the position of superior or deputy superior is vacant in a temple, a nun who has attained enlightenment must be hired. Even if he’s a senior monk with many years of practice behind him, a monk who hasn’t attained enlightenment is useless.
Dogen – Raihai-tokuzui – 1240 – Quoted in Trois leçons de zen, Gallimard