I would like to postulate three models in the progress of insight meditation, ie, the progress of
penetration into the three universal characteristics. The first model is the model of the microscope.
The progress of insight would be like a microscope that is consistently increasing its power of
magnification.
The second model is that of a growing tree, something conical in nature, like a cypress or a
spruce.The third model is the model of the elixir of immortality. Maybe you cannot find it here, but
the Chinese usually make use of ginseng. The legend of ginseng is that when it becomes the elixir
of immortality, the root will grow into the form of a human being.