This is also the standpoint of the contemporary Sanbo Kyodan, according to whom kensho is at the start of the path to full enlightenment.
Willigis Jäger (born 7 March 1925 in Hösbach) is a German Benedictine monk, mystic, and Zen master, who trained and taught in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition (being given the Japanese name Koun-ken) until 2009, and then continued his own sangha independently.
Yamada was appointed the leader of the Sanbo Kyodan in 1967, 1970 or 1973 and continued to differentiate the lineage from other Japanese Zen traditions by deemphasizing the separation between laypeople and the ordained—just as his teacher Yasutani had done.