Zhiyi (; 538–597 CE) also called Tiantai Dashi () and Zhizhe (, "Wise One"), was a Chinese Buddhist monk, philosopher, meditation teacher, and exegete. He is considered to be the founder of the Tiantai Buddhist tradition, as well as its fourth patriarch. Śramaṇa Zhiyi is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the development of East Asian Buddhist thought and practice. As the first major Chinese Buddhist thinker to construct a comprehensive religious system based primarily on Chinese interpretations, Zhiyi played a crucial role in synthesizing various strands of Mahayana Buddhism into a unique coherent framework. According to David W. Chappell, Zhiyi "has been ranked with Thomas Aquinas and al-Ghazali as one of the great systematizers of religious thought and practice in world history."
Zhiyi relied on the teachings of the Lotus Sutra as the main basis for his system, though he also drew on numerous texts, such as the works of Nagarjuna. One of his central innovations was the Threefold Truth, which unifies the truths of emptiness, and provisional existence, with a holistic third truth: the middle. Zhiyi also developed an influential interpretation of the Lotus Sutra, which he used to interpret all other Mahayana Buddhist teachings. Zhiyi's comprehensive work on Buddhist practice, the (Great Cessation-Contemplation), outlines step-by-step instructions for Buddhist meditation and cultivation, combining traditional Indian methods with unique innovations. This text continues to serve as an influential guide for meditators across East Asian Buddhist traditions.Rev. Jikai Dehn, Mohe Zhiguan study materials, http://tendaiaustralia.org.au/documents/MoheZhiguanOutline.pdf
Zhiyi's Tiantai school became one of the most significant Buddhist traditions in imperial China, and its teachings later spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Zhiyi's synthesis of doctrine and practice remains a cornerstone of East Asian Buddhist philosophy. His three great works, the Great Cessation-Contemplation, the Profound Meaning of The Lotus Sutra, and the Words and Phrases of The Lotus Sutra are the foundational treatises for the Tiantai, Tendai (Japanese) and Cheontae (Korean) traditions. Zhiyi's works also influenced other Buddhist traditions, such as Chan/Zen, Pure Land and Nichiren Buddhism, and continue to be studied by Asian Buddhists for their depth, clarity, and systematic approach to Buddhist thought. His system provides a universalist Mahayana framework which allowed it to easily adapt to new times and cultures.
Biography
Born with the surname Chen () in Huarong District, Jing Prefecture (now Hubei), Zhiyi lost his parents and hometown of Jiangling to the Western Wei army when he was just seventeen. He subsequently became a Buddhist monk at eighteen. As a young monk, he studied Mahayana sutras and Vinaya, and also recited the Threefold Lotus Sutra, under the guidance of Vinaya master Huikuang (d.u.).
At 23, Zhiyi met his most important teacher, Nanyue Huisi (515–577 CE), a meditation and Lotus Sutra master who would later be listed as Zhiyi's predecessor in the Tiantai lineage. On first meeting, Huisi is said to have greeted Zhiyi as an old friend, since he recognized that they had both been present in the Lotus Sutra assembly at Vulture's Peak. Under Huisi's tutelage (from 560 to 567), Zhiyi practiced the Lotus Samadhi Repentance, the Pratyutpanna Samadhi, the (the samādhi of freely flowing thoughts), the Lotus Sutra based "four practices of ease and bliss" (), and the meditative recitation of the Lotus Sutra.
In 567, Zhiyi (now 30 and approved by Huisi as his successor) traveled with several followers to Waguansi monastery at the Southern capital of Jinling (Jiangsu) to give teachings on the Lotus Sutra and the . He spent eight years at the capital teaching. After eight years, feeling that his efforts in the capital were not effective in bringing people to the true Dharma, he moved to Tiantai mountain (Zhejiang province) in 575, where he would remain for eleven years studying and practicing. This move came around the same time as the second great persecution of Buddhism by Emperor Wu (r. 561–578) was raging in the north. Zhiyi also built a monastery on mountain Tiantai, which was later named Xiuchansi ().
In 585 Zhiyi returned to the capital of Jinling as requested by the king of Chen. It is here that he would give a series of lectures on the Lotus Sutra which would later be edited by his disciple into an influential commentary, the (, or for short, T. 1718). Zhiyi also acted as preceptor of the bodhisattva precepts to the future Emperor Yang (r. 604-617) of Sui, at the prince's request, who then granted Zhiyi the title of Dashi "Zhizhe" (Great Master Wise Man). He then founded another monastery in his native Jingzhou which later came to be called ().
In the latter part of his life, he gave other lectures which would become his other great works, the (Profound Meaning of The Lotus Sutra) and the (Great Calming and Insight). He also wrote two commentaries on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa just before the end of his life in 597.
Guanding's biography of Zhiyi states that as he was dying he made offerings to Maitreya, recited the names of , and (Guanyin), and listened to recitations from the Lotus Sutra and the Contemplation Sutra while waiting for Avalokitesvara to welcome him into the pure land.
Zhiyi is said to have thirty two direct disciples. Guanding (561–632) was his most influential disciple, since he was responsible for recording and preserving the master's legacy. It was Guanding who edited and published the master's lectures into the Mohe Zhiguan and the two great commentaries on the Lotus Sutra. Guanding also wrote his own original works, including two commentaries on the Nirvana Sutra.
Zhiyi was vastly influential on the development of East Asian Buddhism. His Tiantai school became one of the most important traditions of Buddhist study and practice in the history of China and Japan (where it became Tendai Buddhism). Zhiyi's work also influenced the development of other traditions like Chan and Pure Land.
Works
Major works Zhiyi's major works are known as the "Three Great Works of Tiantai" () or "Three Great Texts of the Lotus". These key works were compiled and edited by Zhiyi's disciple Guanding (561–632) from Zhiyi's lectures and writings. The three texts are:
Words and Phrases of the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower (, or for short, T. 1718), a traditional commentary which discusses each passage of the sutra. Profound Meaning of the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower (, short title: , T. 1716), a commentary which discusses the essential meaning of the Lotus Sutra. Great Calming-Insight (, T. 1911), a large treatise on doctrine and practice, based on lectures given by Zhiyi towards the end of his life, which were edited and arranged by his student Guanding. The title owes its name to the practice of samatha () and vipasyana (), which Zhiyi uses to cover the entirety of the Buddha Dharma. This work, though seen by tradition as also based on the Lotus Sutra, actually draws on numerous Mahayana texts to explicate the "perfect and sudden" () teachings on meditation. It cites sutras like the Avatamsaka Sutra extensively, even more than the Lotus Sutra. There is also another very important text by Zhiyi which is used as an introductory text to the study of Tiantai Buddhism. This is the twelve fascicle On the Four Teachings (, T 1929), which introduces the Tiantai view through an analysis of the fourfold teaching schema (which divides the Buddha's teaching into four aspects: Tripitaka, Shared, Separate, and Complete).
Important practice texts These are the three Major Tiantai treatises studied in mainland Tiantai and Japanese Tendai and remain the cornerstone of the tradition's doctrine and practice.
Zhiyi also wrote three shorter works on meditation practice, explaining different approaches calming and insight practice:
Explanation of the Sequential Dharma Gates of Dhyāna Pāramitā ( T 1916), which presents his teachings on the "gradual and sequential" approach to calming and insight meditation and was written towards the beginning of Zhiyi's career The (; lit Small Calming and Insight) was probably the first practical manual of meditation in China.Sekiguchi, Shindai, Tendai sho shikan no kenkyu, Tōkyō: Sankibō Busshorin (1954; repr. 1961) With its direct influence on the Tso-chan-i, this smaller meditation treatise was very influential in the development of Chan meditation.Bielefeldt, Carl (1986), Ch'ang-lu Tsung-tse's Tso-Ch'an I and the "Secret" of Zen Meditation; in 'Traditions of Meditation in Chinese Buddhism,' edited by Peter Gregory, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press The Six Wondrous Dharma Gates ( T 1917), presents the "variable" approach to calming and insight.
Zhiyi is also known for having composed four repentance rites, which influenced later Chinese Buddhist rituals and remain part of the Chinese Buddhist repertoire today. His four main repentance rites are:
Repentance Ritual for the Lotus Sūtra Samādhi (, T 1941) Vaipulya-samādhi Repentance Practice (), Repentance Ritual of Petitioning Avalokiteśvara (), Golden Light Repentance Practice ()
Other attributed works There are also numerous other texts attributed to Zhiyi in the Taishō Tripiṭaka, though scholars are unsure of their provenance. Some of these may have been written by his disciples or later Tiantai authors. In particular, the works on Pure Land sutras and on Guanyin are seen by modern scholars as later works, while the commentaries on the Vimalakīrti Sūtra are seen as important authentic works of Zhiyi. However, all these works remain important in the Tiantai tradition, which generally considers them as authentic. These secondary attributed works are:Zhiyi, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism
Profound Commentary on the Vimalakīrti Sūtra (, T 1777), an important work which was written by Zhiyi himself Concise Commentary on the Vimalakīrti Sūtra (, T 1778) Treatise on Contemplating the Mind (, T 1920), also called Treatise on the Churning of Milk, an authentic and important late work of Zhiyi Commentary on the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra (, T 1698) Commentary on the Sūtra for Humane Kings (, T 1705) Profound Meaning of the Golden Light Sūtra (, T 1783) Textual Commentary on the Golden Light Sūtra (, T 1785) Commentary on the Meaning of the Bodhisattva Precepts (, T 1811) Essentials of Seated Meditation in the Practice of Calming and Contemplation (, T 1915) The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (, T 1918) Oral Instructions on Meditation from the Great Master Zhiyi of Tiantai (, T 1919) Explanation of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Enlightening-Thought Samādhi (, T 1922) Gradual Entry into the Dharmadhātu (, T 1925) The Fourfold Teachings (, T 1929) Practice Methods for the Samādhi of the Expanded Teachings (, T 1940) Treatise on Ten Doubts about the Pure Land (, T 1961) The Five Expedient Gates of Mindfulness of the Buddha (, T 1962) Profound Meaning of Avalokiteśvara (, T 1726) Commentary on the Meaning of Avalokiteśvara (, T 1728) Commentary on the Sūtra of Inviting Avalokiteśvara (, T 1800) Commentary on the Sūtra on the Visualization of Amitāyus (, T 1750) Notes on the Meaning of the Amitābha Sūtra (, T 1755)
Teaching
Interpretation of the Lotus Sutra
Zhiyi's exegetical works make use of a hermeneutical scheme called the fivefold profound meanings which can also be applied to any Buddhist sutra and was widely influential on later Chinese Buddhist exegesis. These five fundamental elements of interpreting a sutra are:Rhodes, Robert F. (2016). Tiantai Hermeneutics: Zhiyi’s Interpretation of the Lotus Sutra Presented in the Miaofa lianhua jing xuanyi. In The Buddha’s Words and Their Interpretations, ed. Takami Inoue and Imre Hamar, 139–153. Kyoto: The Shin Buddhist Comprehensive Research Institute, Otani University.
Explaining the title ()