Zhiyi 智顗 and Tendai’s Chinese roots 中國之天台宗:
Tiantai Dashi Zhiyi (天台大師智顗), also known as Zhizhe 智者, was born during the declining years of China’s Liang Dynasty 梁朝 in 538 A.D., in Jingzhou 荊州. His surname was Chen 陳, and his given name De’an 德安. The sack of the capital city of Jiangling 江陵 left Zhiyi and his brother orphaned and alone, and one of Zhiyi’s biographies tells us that at the young age of 15, he had already vowed to become a monk and preserve the Buddha-Dharma:
於長沙像前發弘大願，誓作沙門，荷負正法為己重任。
In Changsha before an icon [of the Buddha], he gave rise to extensive and great vows, swearing to become a śramaṇa (i.e. mendicant), and shoulder the True Dharma as his primary responsibility.
《隋天台智者大師別傳》The Oral Transmission of Great Master Tiantai Zhizhe of the Sui:
Much like Saichō two hundred years later, we can see that Zhiyi already had strong karmic connections with the Buddha-Dharma. In 555 A.D. at the tender age of seventeen, Zhiyi was placed under the tutelage of a monk named Faxu 沙門法緒 at the Guoyuansi Temple 果願寺, and officially left the home-life 出家. We are advised that Faxu conferred on him the Ten Precepts 十戒, and guided him in the rules of behaviour for monastics (緒授以十戒，導以律儀。). A few years later, Zhiyi headed north to further his knowledge of the Buddha-Dharma under Vinaya Master Huiguang 慧曠律師, though we are only told that he studied the ‘Vaipulya’ 方等 during this time. Given its significance in Zhiyi’s later practice, and the fact that Master Huiguang was a Vinaya teacher, this most likely refers to the Vaipulya Samādhi 方等三昧.
Following this vinaya training, Zhiyi went to Mount Daxian 大賢山 in western Shandong Prefecture 山東省, sometime around 560 A.D.. At Mount Daxian, we are told that he focused primarily on recitation of The Tripartite Lotus Sūtra 法華三部經 (誦《法華經》、《無量義經》、《普賢觀經》). So we can say that it is at this time that Zhiyi confirmed his conviction in the supreme importance of the Lotus Sūtra. And based on his next steps, we can surmise that he left Daxian in order to clarify his understanding of the Lotus Sūtra’s doctrines.
This is because Zhiyi journeyed from Mount Daxian, to Mount Dasu 大蘇山, where he placed himself under the tutelage of the renowned Meditation Master and Lotus Sūtra specialist, Huisi 慧思禪師. Zhiyi would come to consider Huisi as his True Master 師匠, and it is clear that their karmic link had been formed long before the present life. It appears that Master Huisi was equally taken with his disciple, for on meeting Zhiyi, we are told he exclaimed:
思曰：
“昔日靈山，同聽《法華》，宿緣所追，今復來矣。”
Master Huisi said:
“In days of yore at Vulture Peak, [we] together heard the Dharma Flower Sūtra (i.e. Lotus Sūtra) [expounded], and drawn by the conditions of previous lives, [you] have now returned!”
《東土九祖》(The Nine Patriarchs of the Eastern Land)
On the foundation of this long established connection, Huisi is said to have shown Zhiyi his practice-space dedicated to Samantabhadra Bodhisattva 普賢道場, and there taught him the method of contemplating the Lotus Sūtra based on its 14th Chapter 四安樂行. This in the main, is the Dharma Flower Repentance Rite or Hokke Senbō 法華懺悔, and the Dharma Flower Samādhi or Hokke Zanmai 法華三昧, still practised in the Tendai School today. This training must have been very austere, and gives us a further glimpse into the kind of man Zhiyi was:
於是昏曉苦到，如教研心。於時但勇於求法，而貧於資供。切柏為香，柏盡則繼之以栗；卷簾進月，月沒則燎之以松。
Thereupon, day and night (lit. in dark and light) he was frugal, and just as he was taught he polished his thoughts. At that time, he was utterly fearless in search of the Dharma, but he lacked the essentials to make offerings. [And so,] he cut cypress as his incense, and when the cypress was exhausted he then continued with chestnuts [as his offering]. He’d roll back the curtains as the moon rose [for light, and when] the moon disappeared he then illuminated [the space] with [the burning of] pine.
《隋天台智者大師別傳》（The Oral Transmission of Great Master Tiantai Zhizhe of the Sui:）
The fact that his biography advises us that he “lacked the essentials to make offerings” should not be overlooked. As a monastic who had vowed to uphold the Buddha-Dharma, Zhiyi would have done whatever he could to procure resources to make his offerings. In fact, he would have made offerings before considering his own well-being and sustenance. And therefore, we can imagine what this picture implies regarding his daily essentials. Zhiyi is said to have continued ascetic practise in this way for two weeks, at which point he reached the Medicine King Chapter of the Lotus Sūtra 藥王菩薩本事品 (i.e. ch.23) in his recitation rounds. Upon reading the following line, in which the Buddhas praise the offerings made by the Bodhisattva Sarvasattvapriyadarśana 一切眾生憙見菩薩, Zhiyi is said to have had a profound awakening:
「是真精進，是名真法供養如來。」(CBETA 2023.Q4, T09, no. 262, p. 53b11-12)
“This is true diligence! This is referred to as offering the True Dharma to the Tathāgatas!”
《妙法蓮華經》卷6〈23藥王菩薩本事品〉The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Sublime Dharma (Fascicle 6: Chapter 23: The Chapter on the Former Lives of Medicine King Bodhisattva)
It is worth looking at the context surrounding this passage in the Lotus Sūtra, for when we do, it is hard not to see parallels with Zhiyi’s earlier vows, and the austerities which he cultivated. The tradition has taken these parallels to be evidence of the master’s karmic link, and embodiment of the essence of the Lotus Sūtra:
「爾時彼佛為一切眾生憙見菩薩，及眾菩薩、諸聲聞眾，說法華經。「是一切眾生憙見菩薩，樂習苦行，於日月淨明德佛法中，精進經行，一心求佛，滿萬二千歲已，得現一切色身三昧。得此三昧已，心大歡喜，即作念言：『我得現一切色身三昧，皆是得聞法華經力，我今當供養日月淨明德佛及法華經。』即時入是三昧，於虛空中，雨曼陀羅華、摩訶曼陀羅華、細末堅黑栴檀，滿虛空中，如雲而下，又雨海此岸栴檀之香——此香六銖，價直娑婆世界——以供養佛。作是供養已，從三昧起，而自念言：『我雖以神力供養於佛，不如以身供養。』即服諸香——栴檀、薰陸、兜樓婆、畢力迦、沈水、膠香，又飲瞻蔔諸華香油，滿千二百歲已，香油塗身，於日月淨明德佛前，以天寶衣而自纏身，灌諸香油，以神通力願而自然身，光明遍照八十億恒河沙世界。其中諸佛同時讚言：『善哉，善哉！善男子！是真精進，是名真法供養如來。若以華、香、瓔珞、燒香、末香、塗香、天繒、幡蓋及海此岸栴檀之香，如是等種種諸物供養，所不能及；假使國城、妻子布施，亦所不及。善男子！是名第一之施，於諸施中最尊最上，以法供養諸如來故。』作是語已而各默然。其身火燃千二百歲，過是已後，其身乃盡。「一切眾生憙見菩薩作如是法供養已，命終之後，復生日月淨明德佛國中，於淨德王家結加趺坐，忽然化生。即為其父而說偈言：「『大王今當知， 我經行彼處， 即時得一切， 現諸身三昧。 懃行大精進， 捨所愛之身， 供養於世尊， 為求無上慧。』」(CBETA 2023.Q4, T09, no. 262, p. 53a22-b25)
Thereupon, that Buddha expounded the Dharma Flower Sūtra for the sake of Bodhisattva Sarvasattvapriyadarśana, the assembly of bodhisattvas and all of the assembly of śrāvakas. This Bodhisattva Sarvasattvapriyadarśana was fond of repeated ascetic practice, and diligently cultivated within the Dharma of Candrasūryavimalaprabhāsaśrī Buddha. With single mind he sought Buddhahood, and having done so for a full twelve thousand years, he attained the Sarvarūpasaṃdarśana Samādhi. Having attained this samādhi, his heart was greatly overjoyed, and he had this thought: “My attainment of the Sarvarūpasaṃdarśana Samādhi is wholly [the result of] the power of having heard this Dharma Flower Sūtra, [and so] I will now make offerings to Candrasūryavimalaprabhāsaśrī Buddha and the Dharma Flower Sūtra.” Then at that time he entered this samādhi, and from empty space rained down mandārava flowers and mahāmandārava flowers. Filling empty space, fine powdered black candana [incense formed] like clouds and fell. There further rained candana incense from this-shore of the ocean [of existence]. Six portions of this incense has the value of the [whole] Sahā World-sphere, [and it is] with these that he made offerings to the Buddha. Having made these offerings, he arose from samādhi and thought to himself: “Though I’ve made offerings to the Buddha by means of my spiritual powers, this is not equal to making an offering by means of my body. ” Then he ingested all of the incenses, candana kundurūka, turuṣka, pṛkkā, aguru, gulgulu; and drank the scented oils of campaka and all the flowers. Having done this for a full twelve thousand years, he daubed his body with incense and oils, and in front of Candrasūryavimalaprabhāsaśrī Buddha, wrapped his body in heavenly jewelled robes, and sprinkled the incenses and oils [over it]. With the power of his spiritual-penetrations he made a vow, and then ignited his own body, the radiant light of which pervasively illuminated the world-spheres [as numerous as] the sands of eighty million Gaṇgā rivers. Amidst this, all of the Buddhas at the same time praised him saying: “Excellent! Excellent! Good Son! This is true diligence! This is referred to as offering the True Dharma to the Tathāgatas! If with flowers, incense, garlands, burning incense, powdered incense, rubbing-incense, divine cloths, banners, parasols and even candana inscense from this-shore of the ocean [of existence, one were to make offering], the offering of all such things as these would not be equal to this! Even if, with countries, cities, wives and children one made offering, these would also not equal this! Good son! This is referred to as the supreme giving, for among all giving it is most exalted, and most excellent! This is because it is an offering of the Dharma to all the Tathāgatas.” Having said this, each was then silent. His body burned for twelve hundred years, after which his body was finally consumed. Having made an offering of the Dharma like this, [when his] life came to an end he was again born in the land of Candrasūryavimalaprabhāsaśrī Buddha. In the household of King Vimaladatta he was suddenly born by transformation, sitting cross-legged. And then for the sake of his father he spoke verses saying:
“Great King you should now know,
I cultivated in that place,
And at that time attained the Samādhi
Sarvarūpasaṃdarśana.
Rigorously cultivating Great Vigour,
I cast off the body that I loved,
To make an offering to the World Honoured One,
In order to seek the Unsurpassed Wisdom.”
《妙法蓮華經》卷6〈23藥王菩薩本事品〉The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Sublime Dharma (Fascicle 6: Chapter 23: The Chapter on the Former Lives of Medicine King Bodhisattva)
The physical act being described in the text is self-immolation. However, we can see that the underlying message is that the ultimate form of giving is the giving of oneself fully. That is, “rigourously cultivating great vigour” and “casting off the body that you love” “in order to seek the Unsurpassed Wisdom. Just like the Bodhisattva Sarvasattvapriyadarśana then, Zhiyi was giving his all to the Buddhas and the Lotus Sūtra – for he knew that any attainment he achieved would be “wholly [the result of] the power of having heard this Dharma Flower Sūtra”. He threw himself into the ocean of the Sublime Dharma 妙法 by casting off the body which he loved, because he was confident in the knowledge that the words of the Buddhas are true, not vacuous 真實不虛. And so once again, when we read that Zhiyi “lacked the essentials to make offerings”, we need to be familiar with the context of the Lotus Sūtra, and infer that he therefore made an offering of himself, by giving all.
Master Huisi for his part, like the Buddha Candrasūryavimalaprabhāsaśrī before him, taught his disciple the Lotus Sūtra, resulting in the realisation of his disciple. Indeed, when we think of how Zhiyi might have responded to Master Huisi upon hearing from his teacher that they had met in the past during the Assembly on Vulture Peak, the Lotus Sūtra informs us that on reuniting with his master, Sarvasattvapriyadarśana was moved to say:
「「『容顏甚奇妙， 光明照十方， 我適曾供養， 今復還親覲。』」(CBETA 2023.Q4, T09, no. 262, p. 53c4-5)
“How rare and sublime your countenance is,
Its radiant light illuminates the ten directions.
Once upon a time I made offerings [to you],
And now I have returned to draw close and behold you.”
《妙法蓮華經》卷6〈23藥王菩薩本事品〉The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Sublime Dharma (Fascicle 6: Chapter 23: The Chapter on the Former Lives of Medicine King Bodhisattva)
And this gives us a sense of what it looks like to encounter one’s true master. Like a Buddha together with a Buddha 唯佛與佛, they fully fathomed the True Characteristic of all Dharmas 諸法實相 together, and transmitted the Lamp of the Dharma 不滅之法燈 from one generation to the next 以心傳心.
One of Zhiyi’s biographies describes his deeply profound awakening at this time, in the following words:
到此一句，身心豁然，寂而入定，持因靜發。照了《法華》，若高輝之臨幽谷；達諸法相，似長風之遊太虛。
Arriving at this line [in the Lotus], his body and mind were suddenly quiescent and he entered into concentration (止). And on the basis of this quietude, [his wisdom] arose (觀) (The Guoqingbailu has 明慧便發). He fully understood the Dharma Flower [Sūtra], just as a high light looks down upon a dark valley. And he comprehended the characteristics of all dharmas, like a far-reaching wind rambles through the great void!
《隋天台智者大師別傳》The Oral Transmission of Great Master Tiantai Zhizhe of the Sui
I talk elsewhere on this website about “our obligation” as heirs of this high and faultless lineage. But when we speak of the relationship between a teacher and his disciples, we are talking on the one hand, about the transmission of that which we once heard upon Vulture Peak together 常在靈鷲山 (i.e. the Transmission from the Golden Mouth 金口相承), and on the other about the teacher-disciple relationship we have in the present life, which confirms the former (i.e. the Transmission from a Present Master 今師相承). In concrete terms, when both of these come together, they are none other than the transmission of the Way of the Buddhas from one mind to another 佛祖之道, 以心傳心. And the teacher-disciple relationship is central to all of this:
「唯佛與佛, 乃能究盡, 諸法實相」
Only a Buddha together with a Buddha is able to fully fathom the True Characteristic of all dharmas.
《妙法蓮華經》卷1〈2 方便品〉The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Sublime Dharma Fascicle 1: Chapter 2: Skilful Means)
Nevertheless, we may wonder with some confusion and suspicion, as to why these two teacher-disciple relationships are necessary when one would do? Readers with some faculty in Buddhism for example, might be willing to accept the necessity of the Buddha predicting a disciple’s awakening (vyākaraṇa/ 授記), but look on with some concern at the need for a current teacher who would confirm this in the present. Once again, this is not a special innovation of the Tiantai/Tendai school, but rather the description of what it is to be a bodhisattva in the Lotus Sūtra:
「爾時佛告舍利弗：「吾今於天、人、沙門、婆羅門等大眾中說，我昔曾於二萬億佛所，為無上道故，常教化汝，汝亦長夜隨我受學。我以方便引導汝故，生我法中。舍利弗！我昔教汝志願佛道，汝今悉忘，而便自謂已得滅度。我今還欲令汝憶念本願所行道故，為諸聲聞說是大乘經，名妙法蓮華，教菩薩法，佛所護念。「舍利弗！汝於未來世，過無量無邊不可思議劫，供養若干千萬億佛，奉持正法，具足菩薩所行之道，當得作佛，號曰華光如來、應供、正遍知、明行足、善逝、世間解、無上士、調御丈夫、天人師、佛、世尊。」(CBETA 2023.Q4, T09, no. 262, p. 11b9-20)
Thereupon, The Buddha said to Śāriputra: “now amidst the assembly of gods, men, śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas and so forth, I tell [you this]: in the past in the presence of twenty thousands koṭīs of Buddhas, for the sake of the Unsurpassed Path, I was constantly teaching and transforming you. Furthermore, throughout the long night you followed me and accepted what I taught you. It is because I guided you by way of skilful means, that you [are now] born in My Dharma. Śāriputra! In the past I taught you to aspire after the Way of the Buddhas. You have now forgotten all of this, and yet you say of yourself that you’ve already attained the Liberation of Extinction (nirvāṇa). I now return because I desire to cause you to remember your former vow to cultivate The Path, and for the sake of all the śrāvakas expound this Mahāyāna sūtra called The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Sublime Dharma; the method for instructing bodhisattvas, which is protected and cherished by Buddhas. Śāriputra! In the future having passed through infinite, boundless, inconceivable and inexpressible kalpas, having made offerings to many countless myriads of Buddhas, humbly upholding the True Dharma, and perfecting the Path cultivated by the Bodhisattvas- you will become a Buddha named Flower Radiance Tathāgata, an arhat (i.e. Worthy of Offerings), samyaksaṃbuddha (i.e. Fully & Perfectly Awakened), vidyācaraṇa saṃpanna (i.e. Perfected in Wisdom & Conduct), sugata (i.e. Well-gone), lokavid (i.e. Knower of the World) , anuttarā (i.e. Unsurpassed One), purusadamya sāratha (i.e. Tamer of Men), śāstā devamanuṣyānām (i.e. Teacher of Gods & Men), buddho bhagavān (i.e. Buddha World Honoured One).
《妙法蓮華經》卷2〈3 譬喻品〉The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Sublime Dharma Fascicle 2: Chapter 3: A Parable)
Many an ardent follower and devotee of the Lotus Sūtra has read these words multiple times without ever noticing how extraordinary this teaching is. In short, the Lotus Sūtra tells the disciples in no uncertain terms that they are all ‘bodhisattvas’. And then it intimates as we’ve just read, that an integral part of what it means to be a ‘bodhisattva’ is to have forgotten that one is a bodhisattva.
This is a doctrinal point which we could discuss at great length. Here however, we will keep it simple. The text is telling us that in order to conduct our bodhisattva practice; that is, the obligation to transform into all manner of forms and save all manner of beings- we must not know that we are bodhisattvas. This is because to truly be able to speak to people as their equal, and to understand them- we must actually be them. In this way, one can truly sit before another being, and understand the interaction as taking place between a Buddha together with a Buddha. If we instead knew that we were bodhisattvas as we were doing all of this, it would impact how we went about assisting them. In myriad lifetimes then, we have unbeknownst to ourselves been actually cultivating the practice of the bodhisattvas- for the Buddha already taught us that we will be Buddhas aeons ago. And if we knew that this is what we were doing, we would not have been able to be the light in the darkness for all sentient beings. As Brook Ziporyn puts it in his “Emptiness and Omnipresence” (2016):
“we are all bodhisattvas without realizing it, and our practice of the bodhisattva path is going on right now, not in spite of not realizing it, but because we don’t realize it. We have never known what we are doing, and it is only in this way that we have thus far been able to actually do it.”
Brook Ziporyn “Emptiness and Omnipresence” (2016)
The special role of a teacher in this situation, is that they remind us of our original vow. Huisi and Zhiyi were a Buddha together with a Buddha many moons ago, and it is because of those former karmic connections that the two Buddhas were drawn back together for the remembering. And the unique and indispensable role of the Lotus Sūtra then, is to exist as the words of the Buddhas that independently verify this information (i.e. the Transmission of Vulture Peak 靈山相承), just as the Buddha Prabhūtaratna 多寶佛 or Many Treasures Buddha acted as the external witness and verifier for Śākyamuni’s preaching of the Lotus Sūtra in chapter 11. This isn’t all about us either, for in thinking about ourselves as unwitting bodhisattvas appearing in all and every possible form, we naturally can’t help but look at others as similarly unwitting bodhisattvas!
When Huisi, reminded Zhiyi of his original vow by declaring that they had met formerly on Vulture Peak, he was performing this sublime sacred duty, and quite literally causing the assembly of Vulture Peak to eternally remain 常在靈鷲山. Zhiyi likewise participated in this sublime eternal dance by proceeding to study the Lotus Sūtra in such a way that he gave his all, and verified Huisi’s words. Given that Zhiyi’s awakening on Mount Dasu was merely a remembering of what he previously heard at Vulture Peak, the content of his original awakening on Vulture Peak and this awakening on remembering, should not be thought of as differing in even the smallest way. For:
「天台大師靈山親承，承止觀也；大蘇妙悟，悟止觀也；」(CBETA 2023.Q4, T46, no. 1915, p. 462a15-16)
[That which] Great Master Tiantai [Zhiyi] received in person on Vulture Peak, was the transmission of Śamatha and Vipaśyanā [meditation]. His sublime awakening on [Mount] Dasu, was the realization of this Śamatha and Vipaśyanā [meditation].
《修習止觀坐禪法要》The Essential Methods for the Practice of Śamatha and Vipaśyanā Seated Meditation
This is the sublime and intimate duty of a teacher and a student- for in this context, the teacher and student are equals: i.e. a Buddha together with a Buddha. And this is why Huisi is said to have made the following remarks on Zhiyi’s awakening:
起而白師，師曰：非爾弗感，非我莫識。
Then [Zhiyi] got up and spoke to his master. Master [Huisi] responded: “If it were not you, this would not have been experienced. If it were not me, this would not be confirmed.”
《國清百錄》 (敕造國清寺碑文第九十三) One Hundred Records of Guoqingsi (Letter 93: Imperial Decree [concerning] the Inscription at Guoqingsi)
In other words, both had an integral role to play, such that if either was truly subordinated to the other, they would no longer be a Buddha together with a Buddha. Zhiyi and his lay disciple Prince Yangguang 煬帝 of the Sui Dynasty 隋代 would show their understanding of this mutual relationship, when they bestowed names upon each other, reminiscent of how a Buddha bestows a ‘buddha-name’ when predicting a disciples future Buddhahood (vyākaraṇa/ 授記). In the case of Master Zhiyi and Prince Yangguang, we have two Buddhas offering names to each other in mutual relation:
以是年十一月二十三日，於總管金城殿設千僧齋授菩薩戒法。師謂王曰: “大王紆遵聖禁，可名總持。”王贊師曰： “大師傳佛法燈，宜稱智者。” (CBETA 2023.Q4, T49, no. 2035, p. 183a21-24)
On the 23rd day of the eleventh month of [that] year, the ministers of the capital offered a meal to a thousand monastics at the palace, on the occasion of the Conferral of the Bodhisattva Precepts. Master [Zhiyi] spoke to the King saying: “The Great King humbles [himself] and keeps the noble prohibitions, and so he should be called: ‘Zongchi (i.e. Preserver/ dhāraṇī)’”. The King praised Master [Zhiyi] saying: “The Great Master transmits the Lamp of the Buddha-Dharma, [and so] it is fitting to refer to him as ‘Zhizhe’ (i.e. Knower or Wise One/ paṇḍita)”.
《佛祖統紀》卷6 The Comprehensive Record of the Buddhas and Patriarchs (Fascicle 6)
We are beginning to see how Zhiyi, his teacher and his disciples lived the Lotus Sūtra, and took this transmission extremely seriously. Some scholars who are unfamiliar with the notion of lineage within the Tiantai/Tendai community discussed, have suggested that Nichiren Shonin 日蓮上人 (1222–1282) was unique in his assertion that one should conduct a “bodily-reading” of the Lotus 法華色読 (Hokke Shikidoku) or embody the Lotus Sūtra. These scholars did not innovate this claim themselves however, but took it from Nichiren himself. In his Letter to Priest Nichirō in Prison for example, Nichiren states that:
“others read the Lotus Sutra with their mouths alone, in word alone, but they do not read it with their hearts. And even if they read it with their hearts, they do not read it with their actions. It is reading the sutra with both one’s body and mind that is truly praiseworthy!”
The implication is that he and his disciples alone embodied the Lotus Sūtra, and should be understood as a direct charge that this lineage of the Lotus Sūtra no longer exists in the Tiantai/Tendai school of his day, and subsequently ours. I note this difference here not to criticise the Nichiren tradition per se, but to point out that this idea of living the Lotus Sūtra is not unique to Nichiren, and to advise that this is naturally a claim which the Tiantai/Tendai tradition rejects in the strongest of terms.
There have in fact been many traditions throughout history who have challenged the Tiantai/Tendai schools claim to be upholders of this transmission. if we’re right in our conviction that this transmission within Tiantai/Tendai is more than just empty words however; that it is a genuine transmission, not merely a symbolic one; and that it is embodied in the teacher-disciple relationship of Candrasūryavimalaprabhāsaśrī Buddha and Sarvasattvapriyadarśana Bodhisattva, and is carried down to the present day within the Tiantai/Tendai tradition- then we ought to be able to identify common features of this transference down the ages, in the example of The Buddha’s sons and daughters (our intention here is only to show this transmission within Chinese Tiantai, and to Master Saichō in part 2. We will therefore take up the claim that the Tiantai/Tendai school maintains this transmission to this very day, at a later date).
We have seen thus far, that both Sarvasattvapriyadarśana and Zhiyi, though separated by vast swathes of time, share a number of common characteristics:
- Both share the conviction that the Dharma Flower Sūtra (i.e. Lotus Sūtra) is the greatest of all the Buddha’s teachings, and that this responsibility is to be shouldered by each generation, lest beings be left wandering in darkness.
- Both understand that any realisation they have attained, is due to the power of the Dharma Flower Sūtra (i.e. Lotus Sūtra).
- Both cultivated in austere circumstances, and dedicated themselves to harsh ascetic cultivation.
- Both saw themselves as the Lamp of the Dharma in the darkness of the world (Sarvasattvapriyadarśana quite literally made of himself a light which illuminated the universe, and Zhiyi’s realisation is likened to a ‘high light’ in a ‘dark valley’).
- Both demonstrate complete humility in the face of this responsibility, and give themselves fully to its majesty.
- Both advise that it is by means of the power of the Lotus Sūtra, and not by means of their own power, that they achieve anything of substance.
And these are qualities by which we ought to judge whether someone displays the marks of this transmission. Great Master Huisi then, as the teacher of Zhiyi who was likewise present on Vulture Peak ought also to demonstrate these same common characteristics. When we take a look at his writings, they indeed seem to be alive with the same spirit:
《法華經》者，大乘頓覺，無師自悟，疾成佛道，一切世間難信法門。凡是一切新學菩薩欲求大乘，超過一切諸菩薩，疾成佛道，須持戒、忍辱、精進，勤修禪定，專心勤學法華三昧。觀一切眾生皆如佛想，合掌禮拜，如敬世尊。亦觀一切眾生皆如大菩薩、善知識想。勇猛精進，求佛道者，如藥王菩薩，難行苦行，於過去日月淨明德佛法中，名為一切眾生喜見菩薩，聞《法華經》，精進求佛，於一生中得佛神通。
The Dharma Flower Sūtra is the Sudden Awakening of the Mahāyāna; it is spontaneous-realisation without a teacher; it is the swift attainment of the Way of the Buddhas; and it is the Dharma-gate which all the world find difficult to believe. As a rule, all newly studying bodhisattvas who desire to seek the Mahāyāna, and surpass all of the many bodhisattvas and swiftly attain the Way of the Buddhas- must uphold discipline (śīlapāramitā), forbearance (kṣāntipāramitā), vigour (vīryapāramitā), earnestly cultivate the dhyāna-concentrations (dhyānapāramitā), and wholeheartedly and earnestly study (prajñāpāramitā) the Dharma Flower Samādhi. They should observe all sentient beings as if they were Buddhas, and putting one’s palms together and prostrating, venerate them as if they were the World Honoured Ones [themselves]. They should further observe all sentient beings as if they were all Great Bodhisattvas, and have the thought that they are good spiritual friends. Those who seek the Way of the Buddhas with ferocious vigour, [should do] the arduous acts and ascetic practise just as Medicine King Bodhisattva did. In the past during the Dharma of Candrasūryavimalaprabhāsaśrī Buddha, he was named Sarvasattvapriyadarśana Bodhisattva, and hearing the Dharma Flower [Sūtra] he vigorously sought Buddhahood, attaining in a single lifetime the spiritual-penetrations of the Buddhas.
《法華經安樂行義》The Meaning of the Dharma Flower Sūtra’s Cultivation of Peace and Bliss
「心自惟曰: 我於釋迦末法受持法華。今值慈尊感傷, 悲泣, 豁然覺悟。轉復精進, 靈瑞重沓。」(CBETA 2023.Q4, T50, no. 2060, p. 562c23-25)
In his heart [Master Huisi] thought to himself saying: “I have upheld the Dharma Flower [Sūtra] in the Dharma-ending [Age] of Śākyamuni [Buddha]. I have now encountered the Merciful Honoured One (i.e. Maitreya Buddha), and have been moved to tears [for I have] suddenly awakened!”
《續高僧傳》卷17 The Continuation of the Record of Emminent Monks
「我今誓願持令不滅, 教化眾生至彌勒佛出。」(CBETA 2023.Q4, T46, no. 1933, p. 786c11-12)
“I now vow to uphold [the Dharma] causing it not to be extinguished, and teach and transform sentient beings until Maitreya Buddha appears.”
《南嶽思大禪師立誓願文》 The Written Vows of the Convictions of Great Meditation Master Nanyue Huisi
「我從末法, 初始立大誓願。修習苦行, 如是過五十六億萬歲, 必願具足佛道功德見彌勒佛。」
“From the Dharma-ending [Age onwards] I establish the great vow, to repeatedly cultivate ascetic practices, and in this way passing through fifty-six million years, I will assuredly perfect the Virtues of the Path of the Buddhas, and see Maitreya Buddha.”
《南嶽思大禪師立誓願文》The Written Vows of the Convictions of Great Meditation Master Nanyue Huisi
We see in Huisi therefore the same humility, conviction in the Lotus Sūtra, duty to be the light for beings, and commitment to the cultivation of austere asceticism as we saw in Zhiyi. We also observe that it was no mere accident that Zhiyi experienced a deep awakening while reading the Chapter on the Medicine King Bodhisattva, for Huisi mentions the same in his own experiences.
Great Master Tiantai Zhiyi 天台大師智顗 passed into nirvāṇa while seated in meditation 端坐入滅during the eleventh month of 597 A.D. at the age of sixty. Throughout his turbulent existence, Zhiyi maintained a relatively small band of close disciples to whom he transmitted the Secret Essence of all the Buddhas 諸佛之祕要 (please note that ‘secret’ here implies ‘intimate”, rather than ‘restricted’). One such disciple named Zhang’an Dashi Guanding 章安大師 灌頂, recorded many of the master’s lectures and teachings, and so we owe much to his diligence today. Zhiyi’s impact on future generations has been so extensive that it is hard to exaggerate it, and among all of the great masters of East Asian Buddhism, he alone has been nicknamed The Śākyamuni of the Eastern Lands 東土迦文 and been heralded as the Re-appearance of the Śākyamuni 釋迦再現. Such accolades were never given before, nor since. And it is clear that even in the days leading up to his passing, he never tired of this burden:
貧道灰壤雖謝，願留心佛法，詢訪勝德，使義門無廢。深窮佛教，治道益明，遍行遍學，是菩薩行。
I a mendicant, will be ash and dirt, for this is death. I vow that my mind will return to the Buddha-Dharma, and enquiring after supreme virtue, ensure that the doctrines will not disappear. Deeply and exhaustively [investigate] the Teachings of the Buddhas, [and your] governance will progressively sharpen. For to cultivate extensively and study extensively; this is the Practice of the Bodhisattvas.
《國清百錄 》（遺書與晉王第六十五）One Hundred Records of Guoqingsi (Letter 65: Last Will Given to the King of Jin)
Even with his end approaching, Zhiyi was concerned only with the discernment of the Dharma (dharmapravicaya 擇法), and that he would continue to be instrumental in causing the continuation of the teachings (niṣyanda 等流). He vowed here in no uncertain terms, to return and continue the spread of this Sublime Dharma. Zhiyi had been the personal master of a crown prince, and was likened to the Buddha himself, and yet, such was the humble measure of the man that even after all he had done, he is recorded as having said of himself:
某宿世有幸，忝預法門，德行輕微，功業無取，謬為道俗所知。顧影羞躬，無以自處。上慚三寶，無興顯之能；下愧群生，少提拔之力。刻骨刻肌，將何所補？
Possessed of good fortune from previous lives, I am grateful that I was entrusted with the Dharma gates. [Though] my virtuous conduct is meagre in the extreme, and my meritorious actions are unworthy, I have unduly become known by the monastics and laity. Gazing at my reflection I am ashamed of myself, for there is nothing there on which I can rely. Upwardly to the Three Jewels I regret that I had no capacity to reveal them; downwardly to the myriad beings I am remorseful that my power to lift them up was paltry. [For one such as me] were I to even carve up my flesh and bones, how could this compensate [for my failings]!?
《國清百錄 》（發願疏文第六十四）One Hundred Records of Guoqingsi (Letter 64: Annotation of Vows)
It would be easy for a detractor to seize upon these remarks and assume that Zhiyi met his end, dejected and regretful. But if we have our wits about us, we see a great deal more. Indeed we see precisely why the man was likened to the Buddha! Bringing to mind the example of the Bodhisattva Sarvasattvapriyadarśana from the Lotus Sūtra extract above, we will recall that after having made extensive offerings with all and sundry, the value of which exceeded the universe many times over, the Bodhisattva lamented to himself saying:
『我雖以神力供養於佛，不如以身供養。』
“Though I’ve made offerings to the Buddha by means of my spiritual powers, this is not equal to making an offering by means of my body. ”
In other words, until he had given all, there was still more to be given. And in this way Zhiyi knew that he still had more to offer. This is the mark of one within this lineage. It is not about prophesies, special portents or being a chosen one. It is about the action of the present transforming one’s past and one’s future. It is about knowing that all of one’s actions are held within the context of one’s Buddhahood. And it is about the sincere desire to act as a light to beings lifetime after lifetime. It is not about bells and whistles, special scrolls and hats, nor about haughtily proclaiming oneself as the only means of salvation for the masses. It is humbled by the very great weight of responsibility, and sees neither monk nor layman. For in this there can only be a Buddha together with a Buddha.
This treatment of our great master Zhiyi in the present article has by necessity been brief. I have omitted much that I would have liked to include, for if all the stories of this man were told, the world could not fill the books that would be written. And so I have therefore attempted not to give an exhaustive treatment of his life, but rather have outlined only those episodes from which one might gain a measure of the man. I’ve further tried to highlight the immense importance of the lineage which he has passed down to us today, in an attempt to communicate that although we find ourselves distant in time from the master, he sits before our very eyes- if only we’d look.
In all my studies of this great man, and training with his descendants, I must confess that I’ve grown to love him as a son loves a father. I must therefore admit that like the writers of his ancient biographies, I can claim no objectivity in my appraisal of his achievements. For a long time therefore, I felt conflicted about writing this article (and its companion piece on Master Saichō,) and wondered whether it would be of use to others who have yet to find in him, the nobility that I cannot help but see. For this reason, I would like to close this article with the words of the man himself, lest my voice drown out the sage. Shortly before his death Zhiyi gave a lecture which would come down to us as the text known as the ‘Guanxin Lun’ 觀心論. In reading the work it seems fairly certain that Zhiyi knew his time was at hand, for in stating the reason for his lecture to a hypothetical questioner on that occasion, he offered what might be the best example of the man’s character in his own words:
問曰：「佛經無量，論亦甚多，弘法之人詵詵蓋世，聽受之眾無處不有。是則法雨普津四眾，露潤利益無邊。何所見聞？更何利益而造斯論？」
答曰：「如所問言，佛經無量，論亦甚多，是事共知。但弘法之人，為利物故，多施加水之乳，致令聽受之者，失真道味。四眾轉就澆離，致使信心之者，漸歇薄談，將恐深廣大法，不久停留！眾生眼滅失正法利，是以閑生悲傷煩究難忍！不惟凡淺寡聞少見，欲助鸚鵡，奮其翅力，輒承三寶力，欲作斯論也。」(CBETA 2023.Q4, T46, no. 1920, p. 584b10-18)
QUESTION: “The Buddha’s sūtras are infinite [in number], and the treatises [of the Masters] are likewise extremely numerous. Those who spread the Dharma are so profuse that they cover the earth, and there is nowhere that the multitudes who hear them [preach,] cannot be found. In this way, the rain of the Dharma universally saturates the Four Assemblies, [such that] the benefits of this soaking are boundless. What is it [then,] that you have seen and heard [that the masses have not]? Furthermore, what benefit is to be had in your authoring this treatise?
ANSWER: “As you have said in your question, the Buddha’s sūtras are infinite [in number], and the treatises [of the Masters] are likewise extremely numerous. These matters [in your first two claims,] are common knowledge. However, [as for your third claim,] those who spread the Dharma often add water to the milk [of their Dharma] offering, in order to benefit beings. As a result, those who hear them [in your fourth claim,] are led to lose the Flavour of the True Path. [And in this way] the Four Assemblies are gradually diluted and severed, until the faithful steadily disappear [or engage in] frivolous discourse. They will fear the deeply vast and great Dharma, [and so] it will not remain long! [For when] the Eyes (i.e. the āryas) among sentient beings are extinguished, they lose the Benefit of the True Dharma. And as a result, they will needlessly despair the extremity of their afflictions, and struggle to bear them! [As for your fifth enquiry,] not only am I a shallow and common-worldling, [but I’ve] heard little and seen scant. [Nevertheless,] I yearn to help the parrots to flap their wings, [and so] exclusively employing the power of the Three Treasures, I wish to compose this treatise.”
《觀心論》Treatise on the Contemplation of Mind
(NOTE: to read part two on the Transmission to Master Saichō, please click here, or visit the Lineage Dropdown menu, and click on Part 2)
