Tiantai
Encyclopedia
Tiantai is an important school of Buddhism
in China
, Japan
, Korea
, and Vietnam
. In Japan the school is known as Tendai
, and in Korea it is known as Cheontae
. Tiantai is also called the "Lotus School", due to its emphasis on the Lotus Sūtra
as its doctrinal basis. David Chappell writes that the Tiantai school has a reputation for being the most comprehensive and diversified school of Chinese Buddhism. David Chappell
frames the broad doctrines of the Tiantai school as being suited to adapt to other cultures, to evolve new practices, and to universalize Buddhism.
During the Tang Dynasty
, the Tiantai school became one of the leading schools of Chinese Buddhism, with numerous large temples supported by emperors and wealthy patrons, with many thousands of monks and millions of followers.
as the guide, the as the support, and the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra for methods of contemplation.
Nan Huaijin summarizes the main teaching of the Tiantai school as the following: the One Vehicle (Skt. Ekayāna
), the vehicle of attaining Buddhahood
, as the main principle; the three forms of śamatha-vipaśyanā
correlated with the meditative perspectives of emptiness, provisional existence, and the mean, as the method of cultivating realization.
The Tiantai school became doctrinally broad, able to absorb and give rise to other movements within Buddhism. The tradition emphasized both scriptural study and meditative practice, and taught the rapid attainment of Buddhahood through observing the mind. The Tiantai school also took up a principle of triple truth derived from Nāgārjuna: phenomena are empty of self-nature, phenomena exist provisionally from a worldly perspective, and phenomena are both empty of existence and exist provisionally at once. The transient world of phenomena is thus seen as one with the unchanging, undifferentiated substratum of existence
. This doctrine of interpenetration is reflected in the Tiantai teaching of three thousand realms in a single moment of thought.
Of the Tiantai meditation treatises, Zhiyi's Concise Śamatha-vipaśyanā (小止観), Mahā-śamatha-vipaśyanā (摩訶止観), and Six Subtle Dharma Gates (六妙法門) are the most widely read in China. Rujun Wu (1993: p. 1) identifies the work Mahā-śamatha-vipaśyanā of Zhiyi as the seminal meditation text of the Tiantai school. Regarding the functions of śamatha and vipaśyanā in meditation, Zhiyi writes in his work Concise Śamatha-vipaśyanā:
The Tiantai school also places a great emphasis on Mindfulness of Breathing
(Skt. ) in accordance with the principles of śamatha and vipaśyanā. Zhiyi classifies breathing into four main categories: panting (喘), unhurried breathing (風), deep and quiet breathing (氣), and stillness or rest (息). Zhiyi holds that the first three kinds of breathing are incorrect, while the fourth is correct, and that the breathing should reach stillness and rest.
's philosophy of the Middle Way, he is traditionally taken to be the first patriarch of the Tiantai school.
The sixth century dhyāna
master Huiwen (慧文) is traditionally considered to be the second patriarch of the Tiantai school. Huiwen studied the works of Nāgārjuna, and is said to have awakened to the profound meaning of Nāgārjuna's words: "All conditioned phenomena I speak of as empty, and are but false names which also indicate the mean."
Huiwen later transmitted his teachings to the dhyāna master Huisi (Ch. 慧思, 515-577 CE), who is traditionally figured as the third patriarch. During meditation, he is said to have realized the Lotus Samādhi
, indicating enlightenment and Buddhahood. He authored the text Mahāyāna-śamatha-vipaśyanā.
Venerable Huisi then transmitted his teachings to Śramaṇa Zhiyi
(Ch. 智顗, 538-597 CE), who is traditionally figured as the fourth patriarch of Tiantai, who is said to have practiced the Lotus Samādhi and to have become enlightened quickly. He authored many treatises such as explanations of the Buddhist texts, and especially systematic manuals of various lengths which explain and enumerate methods of Buddhist practice and meditation. Most scholars consider Zhiyi to have been the major founder of the Tiantai school, since he did the most to systematize and popularize the doctrines and methods associated with it. At a later date, the school's sixth patriarch, Zhanran
, would compose clarifying commentaries on Zhiyi's writings.
Zhiyi analyzed and organized all the Āgamas and Mahayana sutra
s into a system of five periods and eight types of teachings. For example, many elementary doctrines and bridging concepts had been taught early in the Buddha's advent when the vast majority of the people during his time were not yet ready to grasp the 'ultimate truth'. These teachings (the Āgamas) were an upaya
, or skillful means, were simply an example of the Buddha employing his boundless wisdom to lead those people towards the truth. Subsequent teachings delivered to more advanced followers thus represent a more complete and accurate picture of the Buddha's teachings, and did away with some of the philosophical 'crutches' introduced earlier. Zhiyi's classification culminated with the Lotus Sutra
, which he held to be the supreme synthesis of Buddhist doctrine.
Most scholars regard the Tiantai as one of the first truly Chinese schools of Buddhist thought. The schools of Buddhism that had existed in China prior to the emergence of the Tiantai are generally believed to represent direct transplantations from India
, with little modification to their basic doctrines and methods. The creation of the Tiantai school signified the maturation and integration of Buddhism in the Chinese context. No longer content to simply translate texts received from Indian sources, Chinese Buddhists began to apply new analyses to old texts, and even to produce new scriptures and commentaries that would attain significant status within the East Asian sphere.
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. In Japan the school is known as Tendai
Tendai
is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...
, and in Korea it is known as Cheontae
Cheontae
Cheontae is the Korean descendant of the Chinese Buddhist school Tiantai. Tiantai was introduced to Korea a couple of times during earlier periods, but was not firmly established until the time of Uicheon who established Cheontae in Goryeo as an independent school.Due to Uicheon's influence, it...
. Tiantai is also called the "Lotus School", due to its emphasis on the Lotus Sūtra
Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...
as its doctrinal basis. David Chappell writes that the Tiantai school has a reputation for being the most comprehensive and diversified school of Chinese Buddhism. David Chappell
David W. Chappell
David Wellington Chappell was a professor of Buddhist studies whose specialties were Chinese Buddhist traditions and interreligious dialogue. After receiving a B.A. from Mount Allison University and a B.D. from McGill University, he completed a Ph.D. in the history of religions at Yale University...
frames the broad doctrines of the Tiantai school as being suited to adapt to other cultures, to evolve new practices, and to universalize Buddhism.
During the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, the Tiantai school became one of the leading schools of Chinese Buddhism, with numerous large temples supported by emperors and wealthy patrons, with many thousands of monks and millions of followers.
Doctrines
The Tiantai school takes the Lotus Sūtra () as the main basis, the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra of NāgārjunaNagarjuna
Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...
as the guide, the as the support, and the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra for methods of contemplation.
Nan Huaijin summarizes the main teaching of the Tiantai school as the following: the One Vehicle (Skt. Ekayāna
Ekayana
Ekayāna is a Sanskrit word that can mean "one path" or "one vehicle". The word took on special significance as a metaphor for a spriritual journey in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad...
), the vehicle of attaining Buddhahood
Buddhahood
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
, as the main principle; the three forms of śamatha-vipaśyanā
Vipassana
Vipassanā or vipaśyanā in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the true nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi . Vipassana is one of the world's most ancient techniques of meditation, the inception of which is attributed to Gautama Buddha...
correlated with the meditative perspectives of emptiness, provisional existence, and the mean, as the method of cultivating realization.
The Tiantai school became doctrinally broad, able to absorb and give rise to other movements within Buddhism. The tradition emphasized both scriptural study and meditative practice, and taught the rapid attainment of Buddhahood through observing the mind. The Tiantai school also took up a principle of triple truth derived from Nāgārjuna: phenomena are empty of self-nature, phenomena exist provisionally from a worldly perspective, and phenomena are both empty of existence and exist provisionally at once. The transient world of phenomena is thus seen as one with the unchanging, undifferentiated substratum of existence
Existence
In common usage, existence is the world we are aware of through our senses, and that persists independently without them. In academic philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning, being contrasted with essence, which specifies different forms of existence as well as different identity...
. This doctrine of interpenetration is reflected in the Tiantai teaching of three thousand realms in a single moment of thought.
Meditation
In China it has been traditionally held that the meditation methods of the Tiantai are the most systematic and comprehensive of all. In addition to its doctrinal basis in Indian Buddhist texts, the Tiantai school also emphasizes use of its own meditation texts which emphasize the principles of śamatha and vipaśyanā.Of the Tiantai meditation treatises, Zhiyi's Concise Śamatha-vipaśyanā (小止観), Mahā-śamatha-vipaśyanā (摩訶止観), and Six Subtle Dharma Gates (六妙法門) are the most widely read in China. Rujun Wu (1993: p. 1) identifies the work Mahā-śamatha-vipaśyanā of Zhiyi as the seminal meditation text of the Tiantai school. Regarding the functions of śamatha and vipaśyanā in meditation, Zhiyi writes in his work Concise Śamatha-vipaśyanā:
The Tiantai school also places a great emphasis on Mindfulness of Breathing
Anapanasati
Ānāpānasati , meaning 'mindfulness of breathing' , is a form of Buddhist meditation now common to the Tibetan, Zen, Tiantai, and Theravada schools of Buddhism, as well as western-based mindfulness programs.According to tradition, Anapanasati was...
(Skt. ) in accordance with the principles of śamatha and vipaśyanā. Zhiyi classifies breathing into four main categories: panting (喘), unhurried breathing (風), deep and quiet breathing (氣), and stillness or rest (息). Zhiyi holds that the first three kinds of breathing are incorrect, while the fourth is correct, and that the breathing should reach stillness and rest.
History
Due to the use of NāgārjunaNagarjuna
Nāgārjuna was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher. Along with his disciple Āryadeva, he is credited with founding the Mādhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism...
's philosophy of the Middle Way, he is traditionally taken to be the first patriarch of the Tiantai school.
The sixth century dhyāna
Dhyāna in Buddhism
Dhyāna in Sanskrit or jhāna in Pāli can refer to either meditation or meditative states. Equivalent terms are "Chán" in modern Chinese, "Zen" in Japanese, "Seon" in Korean, "Thien" in Vietnamese, and "Samten" in Tibetan....
master Huiwen (慧文) is traditionally considered to be the second patriarch of the Tiantai school. Huiwen studied the works of Nāgārjuna, and is said to have awakened to the profound meaning of Nāgārjuna's words: "All conditioned phenomena I speak of as empty, and are but false names which also indicate the mean."
Huiwen later transmitted his teachings to the dhyāna master Huisi (Ch. 慧思, 515-577 CE), who is traditionally figured as the third patriarch. During meditation, he is said to have realized the Lotus Samādhi
Samadhi
Samadhi in Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools is a higher level of concentrated meditation, or dhyāna. In the yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali....
, indicating enlightenment and Buddhahood. He authored the text Mahāyāna-śamatha-vipaśyanā.
Venerable Huisi then transmitted his teachings to Śramaṇa Zhiyi
Zhiyi
Zhiyi is traditionally listed as the fourth patriarch, but is generally considered the founder of the Tiantai tradition of Buddhism in China. His standard title was Śramaṇa Zhiyi , linking him to the broad tradition of Indian asceticism...
(Ch. 智顗, 538-597 CE), who is traditionally figured as the fourth patriarch of Tiantai, who is said to have practiced the Lotus Samādhi and to have become enlightened quickly. He authored many treatises such as explanations of the Buddhist texts, and especially systematic manuals of various lengths which explain and enumerate methods of Buddhist practice and meditation. Most scholars consider Zhiyi to have been the major founder of the Tiantai school, since he did the most to systematize and popularize the doctrines and methods associated with it. At a later date, the school's sixth patriarch, Zhanran
Zhanran
Zhanran was the sixth patriarch of the Tiantai school of Chinese Buddhism. His lay surname was Wei 戚 and he was also known as Jingqi 荊溪 after his birthplace...
, would compose clarifying commentaries on Zhiyi's writings.
Zhiyi analyzed and organized all the Āgamas and Mahayana sutra
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
s into a system of five periods and eight types of teachings. For example, many elementary doctrines and bridging concepts had been taught early in the Buddha's advent when the vast majority of the people during his time were not yet ready to grasp the 'ultimate truth'. These teachings (the Āgamas) were an upaya
Upaya
Upaya is a term in Mahayana Buddhism which is derived from the root upa√i and refers to a means that goes or brings one up to some goal, often the goal of Enlightenment. The term is often used with kaushalya ; upaya-kaushalya means roughly "skill in means"...
, or skillful means, were simply an example of the Buddha employing his boundless wisdom to lead those people towards the truth. Subsequent teachings delivered to more advanced followers thus represent a more complete and accurate picture of the Buddha's teachings, and did away with some of the philosophical 'crutches' introduced earlier. Zhiyi's classification culminated with the Lotus Sutra
Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...
, which he held to be the supreme synthesis of Buddhist doctrine.
Most scholars regard the Tiantai as one of the first truly Chinese schools of Buddhist thought. The schools of Buddhism that had existed in China prior to the emergence of the Tiantai are generally believed to represent direct transplantations from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, with little modification to their basic doctrines and methods. The creation of the Tiantai school signified the maturation and integration of Buddhism in the Chinese context. No longer content to simply translate texts received from Indian sources, Chinese Buddhists began to apply new analyses to old texts, and even to produce new scriptures and commentaries that would attain significant status within the East Asian sphere.
See also
- Brook ZiporynBrook ZiporynBrook Ziporyn is an American sinologist and philosopher, as well as the leading English language scholar of Tiantai Buddhism. His research focuses on Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, Chinese intellectual history, and comparative philosophy. He is also known for publishing the most recent...
- CheontaeCheontaeCheontae is the Korean descendant of the Chinese Buddhist school Tiantai. Tiantai was introduced to Korea a couple of times during earlier periods, but was not firmly established until the time of Uicheon who established Cheontae in Goryeo as an independent school.Due to Uicheon's influence, it...
for Tiantai in Korea - Chinese Buddhism
- Guoqing TempleGuoqing TempleThe Guoqing Temple is a Buddhist temple on Mount Tiantai, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China. Originally built in 598 AD during the Sui Dynasty, and renovated during the reign of the Qing Yongzheng Emperor , the temple is located roughly from the city of Hangzhou...
- TendaiTendaiis a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...
for Tiantai in Japan - Zhou JichangZhou JichangZhou Jichang , Japanese: Shuu Kijou) was a Chinese painter of the Song Dynasty . His artwork featured many central themes of Chinese Buddhism and Buddhist folklore....
External links
- Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (log in with userID "guest")