Tiantai
Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. Drawing from earlier Mahāyāna sources such as Madhyamaka, founded by Nāgārjuna, who is traditionally regarded as the first patriarch of the school, Tiantai Buddhism emphasizes the "One Vehicle" doctrine derived from the influential Lotus Sūtra, as well as the philosophy of its fourth patriarch, Zhiyi, the principal founder of the tradition. Brook Ziporyn, professor of ancient and medieval Chinese religion and philosophy, states that Tiantai Buddhism is "the earliest attempt at a thoroughgoing Sinitic reworking of the Indian Buddhist tradition." According to Paul Swanson, scholar of Buddhist studies, Tiantai Buddhism grew to become "one of the most influential Buddhist traditions in China and Japan."
Tiantai is sometimes also called "The Dharma Flower School", after its focus on the Lotus Sūtra, whose Chinese title translates to "Subtle Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra". During the Sui dynasty, the Tiantai school became one of the leading schools of Chinese Buddhism, with numerous large temples supported by emperors and wealthy patrons. The school's influence waned and was revived again in the Tang by figures like Zhanran, experiencing a second revival period during the Song dynasty. Chinese Tiantai remains a living tradition to this day, being particularly strong in Hong Kong and Zhejiang Province.
The Japanese Tendai school is also an influential tradition which branched off from Tiantai during the 9th century, and played a major role in the development of Japanese Buddhism. A Korean offshoot, the Cheontae school, was also established during the 12th century. Furthermore, Tiantai were very influential in the development of other forms of East Asian Buddhism, such as Chan and Pure Land.
History
The Indian Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna is traditionally taken to be the first patriarch of the Tiantai school. Madhyamaka works associated with Nāgārjuna like the and the are important sources for the Tiantai school.The sixth century dhyāna master Huiwen is traditionally considered to be the second patriarch of the Tiantai school. Through studying and meditating on the works of Nāgārjuna, Huiwen is considered by the Tiantai tradition to have awakened to the profound meaning of Nāgārjuna's teaching on the middle way.
Huiwen later transmitted his teachings to Chan master Nanyue Huisi, 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 .
Huisi then transmitted his teachings to Zhiyi, traditionally figured as the fourth patriarch of Tiantai, who is said to have practiced the Lotus Samādhi and to have become enlightened to the meaning of the "Lotus Sutra". The above lineage was proposed by Buddhists of later times and do not reflect the popularity of the monks at that time.
Zhiyi's Tiantai school grew into a broad tradition which was able to absorb new influences and develop new creative methods over time. The tradition emphasized both scriptural study and meditative practice, and taught an inclusive array of Buddhist practices, from meditation, to repentance rites and Pure Land practice.
Zhiyi
Scholars such as Paul L. Swanson consider Zhiyi to have been the major founder of the Tiantai school as well as one of the greatest Chinese Buddhist philosophers. He was the first to systematize and popularize the complex synthesis of Tiantai doctrine as an original Chinese tradition. Zhiyi and his direct students authored numerous exegetical works, and treatises that explain the foundational cultivation methods of the Tiantai tradition.Zhiyi analyzed and organized all Buddhist teachings into a comprehensive system of study and practice. He used the "Lotus Sutra" and its teaching on the One Vehicle and skillful means as the foundation for this system. Zhiyi's classification system culminates with the "Lotus Sutra", which he saw as the most complete teachings. His other innovations include a unique doctrine of a threefold truth along with a new system of Buddhist meditation and cultivation. Zhiyi's legacy also owes much to his disciple Guanding, who compiled the masters' "three main works" after Zhiyi's death.
Zhiyi spent much time on Tiantai Mountain, which became a major center for the tradition. "Tiantai" in modern simplified Chinese means "celestial platform"; however, according to traditional Chinese sources such as Zhanran, the word refers to three stars in a constellation which is located just below the Big Dipper. Two other key centers of the early tradition were Yu-Ch'uan monastery in Hubei, which was the site where Zhiyi preached the and the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, and the Chang'an region, including Mount Wutai.
Zhiyi and the other Tiantai masters of the Sui dynasty era who succeeded him also wrote numerous works on other sutras such as the,, and the Pure Land sutras. Zhiyi's Tiantai doctrine provided a flexible system for the tradition which could be adapted to various Buddhist practices and teachings. Zhiyi's Tiantai school received much imperial support during the Sui dynasty, because of this, it was the largest Buddhist school at the beginning of the Tang and thus suffered because of its close relationship with the house of Sui.
Following Master Zhiyi, his disciple, Master Guanding played a crucial role in transmitting Tiantai doctrine by recording and organizing Master Zhiyi's works, ensuring they were heard in later times. Guanding also contributed to the protection and continuity of the school by communicating with the Sui government after Zhiyi's passing. He compiled Guoqing Bailu, which collected early historical materials of Tiantai School.
Tang era and Zhanran
After the generations of Zhiyi and his disciple Guanding, Tiantai was eclipsed for a time by newer schools such as the East Asian Yogācāra, and Huayan schools, until the 6th patriarch Jingxi Zhanran revived the school and defended its doctrine against these rival schools.During the Tang Dynasty, a key Tiantai figure was Jingxi Zhanran, a great teacher and exegete who wrote three important commentaries on Zhiyi's three major works and instructed many influential monks. His writings defended the Tiantai tradition's unity of study and practice against various rival factions. The Tang era debates between the Faxiang school and the Tiantai school concerning the notion of universal Buddhahood were particularly heated, with the Faxiang school asserting that different beings had different natures and therefore would reach different states of enlightenment, while the Tiantai school argued in favor of the Lotus Sutra teaching of Buddhahood for all beings.
Zhanran's view of Buddha nature was expanded in his , which is the key source for the doctrine of "the Buddha-nature of Insentient Beings." This influential doctrine held that since buddha-nature was all-pervasive, even insentient objects like mountains, sounds and smells have buddha-nature. Thus, according to Zhanran, "every blade of grass, tree, pebble, and particle of dust is perfectly endowed with buddha nature". Zhanran also emphasized the importance of scripture, seeing it as having the power to transmit the Tiantai lineage, in contrast to Chan influenced views which saw lineage as transmitted "mind to mind", outside the scriptures.
During the Tang dynasty, the revival of Tiantai School was also related to the involvement of several lay Buddhists scholars. Figures like Liang Su 梁肅, a scholar specializing in Tiantai and Confucian doctrine and a disciple of Zhanran, contributed to the school's development and critiqued doctrines in other schools from a Tiantai perspective. Liangsu wrote numerous works drawing on Tiantai thought. Other important lay scholars included Li’ao and Liu Zongyuan.
The Tang era was also a period of increasing syncretism within the Tiantai tradition. One example of this tendency is the synthesis of Tiantai teaching and Chinese esoteric Buddhism taught by Yi Xing and his followers. Tiantai monks also became key figures in Chinese Pure Land Buddhism during the Tang. Some of these key Pure Land figures affiliated with Tiantai include Chengyuan and Fazhao. Tiantai authors also wrote at least five different Pure Land works during the Tang which were attributed to Zhiyi, including the and the .
Ziporyn writes that during the late Tang, Tiantai entered a time of crisis, "an age marked internally by the deterioration of distinctive Tiantai ideas and marked externally by the loss of crucial texts and monastic institutions, especially after the persecution of 845."
During this latter Tang period, Huayan and Chan influences became increasingly prominent in some Tiantai lineages. Zhanran's disciple and seventh patriarch Daosui, and other figures such as Zhiyuan and Daochang Ningfen are seen as exhibiting some of these influences. Daosui is important because he was the primary teacher of Saichō, the founder of the Japanese Tiantai tradition. Other Tiantai syncretists include Deshao who was associated with the Fayan branch of Chan. His student Yongming Yanshou attempted to unify Tiantai, Huayen and Yogacara teachings under a kind of idealism influenced by Zongmi, emphasizing what he called the "one pure formless mind".
Zhanran is a towering figure for the later Tiantai tradition. His commentaries were one of the few Tang sources that survive into the Song dynasty, where they would become the orthodox exegetical works for the Tiantai tradition as it attempted to rebuild after the chaos of the late Tang. However, Zhanran's influence during the Tang should not be overstated. Donner and Stevenson note that Tiantai was a diverse tradition from its very beginnings, with numerous traditions and lineages in different regions absorbing different influences. They write "such diversity suggests that we should speak in the plural when we speak of eighth-century Tiantai "tradition", with Zhanran's particular camp constituting but one among a number of semiautonomous lines."