"An analogy often used in Zen to describe one of the final stages in meditation before an awakening is reached."
"The instant one perceives only stillness and experiences liveliness; it is called in Zen parlance 'reaching the top of a hundred-foot pole'. All Masters advise their disciples not to abide in this state， which is not real." Xu-Yun 1988:191
"From the hundred-foot pole， as the Chinese say， at the top of which is the height of thought， we must take the existential leap to direct awareness， and this super-thinking is， in particular， the springboard of the Chinese 'Ch'an' which became in Japan 'Zen' Buddhism."
Title of a well-known Zen koan.