Zhiyi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Zhiyi
智顗
Painting of Śramaṇa Zhiyi.
Religion	Buddhism
School	Tiantai
Lineage	4th generation
Temple	Waguan Temple Guoqing Temple
Other names	Chen De'an (Chinese: 陳德安), Master Tiantai (天台大師), Master Zhizhe (智者大師)
Dharma names	Zhiyi
Personal
Nationality	Chinese
Born	16 February 538 Gong'an County, Hubei, China
Died	3 August 597(597-08-03) (aged 59) Tiantai County, Zhejiang, China
Religious career
Teacher	Faxu (Chinese: 法緒) Huikuang (Chinese: 慧曠) Nanyue Huisi

Zhiyi (born Chen De'an, 538–597 CE) was a very important Buddhist monk in ancient China. He is known as the fourth leader, or "patriarch," of the Tiantai school of Buddhism. His official title was Śramaṇa Zhiyi, which showed he was part of a long tradition of spiritual seekers.

Zhiyi was special because he was the first person in Chinese Buddhist history to organize and explain Buddhist teachings in a full, clear, and logical way. He also helped create a unique Chinese way of practicing Buddhism, different from its Indian origins. Some experts even compare him to great thinkers like Thomas Aquinas, who organized religious ideas in other parts of the world.

The Life of Zhiyi

Zhiyi was born with the family name Chen in Huarong District, which is now part of Hubei, China. When he was seventeen, his hometown was taken over by an army. After losing his parents and his home, Zhiyi decided to become a monk at the age of eighteen.

When he was 23, he met his most important teacher, Nanyue Huisi. Huisi was a master of meditation and later became known as Zhiyi's teacher in the Tiantai lineage. Zhiyi studied with Huisi for about seven years, from 560 to 567 CE.

Zhiyi's Time on Tiantai Mountain

After his studies, Zhiyi spent some time working in the southern capital city of Jiankang. In 575, he moved to Tiantai mountain. There, he focused on deep study and practice with his students. He worked on making the Indian meditation ideas of śamatha (calming) and vipaśyanā (wise seeing) into a detailed system. This system also included special rituals and ways to confess and make amends.

In 585, Zhiyi returned to Jinling. There, he finished his major writings about the Lotus Sutra. These important works are called the Fahua wenzhu (finished in 587 CE) and the Fahua xuanyi (finished in 593 CE).

David W. Chappell, a scholar, believes that Zhiyi created a religious system that could easily fit into other cultures. It could also develop new practices and help Buddhism spread around the world.

Important Writings

Zhiyi wrote many important books that helped shape Buddhist practice.

Xiao Zhiguan: A Meditation Guide

One of Zhiyi's key works is the Xiao Zhiguan. Its full name means "Small Treatise on Concentration and Insight." This book was likely the first practical guide for meditation written in China. It had a big impact on how Chan meditation developed later on.

Mohe Zhiguan: The Great Treatise

Another very important book by Zhiyi is the Mohe Zhiguan. This title means "Great Treatise on Concentration and Insight." This book is seen as the main text of the Tiantai school. It is considered Zhiyi's greatest work, summarizing his understanding of Buddhism.

The Mohe Zhiguan was based on lectures Zhiyi gave in 594 in the city of Jinling. It brought together all his experiences from Mount Tiantai and his studies. The word 'zhi' in the title refers to deep meditation and a calm, peaceful state of mind. The word 'guan' means contemplation and the wisdom that comes from it. Zhiyi taught that these practices could be done while sitting or even during daily activities.

Other important works by Zhiyi include the Liumiao Famen, Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra (Fahua Wenju), and Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra (Fahua Xuanyi). About thirty of his works are still available today, though some might have been written by his students.

Zhiyi's Teachings

Zhiyi's teachings are central to the Tiantai school of Buddhism. He explained complex ideas in ways that made them easier to understand and practice.

Balancing Calming and Insight

Zhiyi's Xiao Zhiguan explains how to practice śamatha (calming) and vipaśyanā (wise seeing). He taught that it is important to have a good balance between these two practices for spiritual growth.

The Four Samadhis

Zhiyi created a set of practices called the 'Four Samadhis'. These are explained in his Mohe Zhiguan. These practices help people reach a state of perfect enlightenment.

The Four Samadhis are:

• Constantly Seated Samādhi: This involves sitting still for 90 days, only leaving the seat for basic needs.
• Constantly Walking Samādhi: This means walking mindfully for 90 days while meditating on Amitabha Buddha.
• Half-Walking Half-Seated Samādhi: This includes different practices like chanting, thinking about how all things are empty, and the "Lotus samādhi." This also involves prayer, worship, and reciting the Lotus sutra.
• Neither Walking nor Sitting Samādhi: This practice focuses on being aware of thoughts as they appear in the mind. One should see them as not moving, not starting, not ending, not coming, and not going.

The Five Periods and Eight Teachings

To help organize all the different Buddhist teachings, Zhiyi created a system called the Five Periods and Eight Teachings. This system helped explain when and how the Buddha taught different ideas.

The Five Periods describe the Buddha's teachings over time, like stages of milk turning into ghee (clarified butter):

1. The Flower Garland Period: Taught right after the Buddha became enlightened. These teachings were very deep and only understood by advanced students.
2. The Agama Period: Taught at Deer Park, lasting 12 years. These were the basic teachings, like karma, rebirth, and the Four Noble Truths.
3. The Correct and Equal Period: Lasting 8 years. These teachings started to move from simpler ideas to more advanced ones.
4. The Wisdom Period: Lasting 22 years. These teachings focused on the idea of "Perfection of Wisdom," showing that different types of teachings were just helpful tools.
5. The Lotus and Nirvana Period: Lasting 8 years. These final teachings, found in the Lotus Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra, were considered the most complete and showed the Buddha's true message.

The Eight Teachings further organized the Buddha's lessons based on how they were given and to whom:

• Four types based on the listener: Sudden, Gradual, Indeterminate, and Secret teachings.
• Four types of sources: Teachings for simpler paths, teachings for advanced paths, teachings found in both, and teachings that go beyond both (like the Lotus Sutra).

Three Thousand Realms in a Single Moment

Zhiyi also taught a deep idea called "Three Thousand Realms in a Single Thought Moment." This concept, based on the Lotus Sutra, suggests that all possible worlds and experiences exist within one single moment of thought.

The number "Three Thousand" comes from a calculation:

• The Ten Worlds (different states of life) multiplied by ten (because each world contains all others) equals 100.
• This 100 is multiplied by ten (the Ten Factors of Life from the Lotus Sutra) which gives 1,000.
• Finally, 1,000 is multiplied by three (the Three Realms of Existence: self, others, and the environment) which results in 3,000.

This teaching means that every single thought we have can connect to and influence all of existence.

See also

In Spanish: Zhiyi para niños

• Guoqing Temple
• Zhou Jichang

Works

• Dharmamitra (trans.): The Essentials of Buddhist Meditation by Shramana Zhiyi, Kalavinka Press 2008, ISBN: 978-1-935413-00-4
• Donner, Neal & Daniel B. Stevenson (1993). The Great Calming and Contemplation. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press.
• Shen, Haiyan. The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: T’ien-t’ai Philosophy of Buddhism volumes I and II. Delhi: Originals, 2005. ISBN: 8188629413
• Swanson, Paul L.; trans. (2004). The Great Cessation and Contemplation (Mo-ho Chih-kuan, Chapter 1-6), CD-ROM, Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Co.
• Tam, Wai Lun (1986). A Study and Translation on the Kuan-hsin-lun of Chih-i (538-597) and its Commentary by Kuan-Ting, Hamilton, Ontario: McMaster University
• Thich Tien Tam, trans. (1992). Ten Doubt about Pure Land by Dharma Master Chi-I (T. 47 No. 1961). In: Pure Land Buddhism - Dialogues with Ancient Masters, NY: Sutra Translation Committee of the United States and Canada & Buddha Dharma Education Association, pp. 19–51.

Secondary sources

• Chappell, David W. (1987). 'Is Tendai Buddhism Relevant to the Modern World?', Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 14/2-3, 247–266.
• Dumoulin, Heinrich (1993). "Early Chinese Zen Reexamined ~ A Supplement to 'Zen Buddhism: A History'", Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1993 20/1.
• Dumoulin, Heinrich (author); Heisig, James W. (trans.) & Knitter, Paul, trans. (2005). Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 1: India and China. World Wisdom. ISBN: 978-0-941532-89-1
• Hurvitz, Leon (1962). Chih-i (538–597): An Introduction to the Life and Ideas of a Chinese Buddhist Monk. Mélanges Chinois et Bouddhiques XII, Bruxelles: Institut Belge des Hautes Études Chinoises.
• Kantor, Hans-Rudolf (2002). Contemplation: Practice, Doctrine and Wisdom in the Teaching of Zhiyi (538-597), Inter-Religio 42, 21-37
• Rhodes, Robert (2012). The Development of Zhiyi´s Three Contemplations and its Relation to the Three Truths Theory. In Conference Papers: Tiantai Buddhist Thought and Practice, Taipei: Huafan University, pp. 312–357
• Stevenson, Daniel B. (1986). The Four Kinds of Samādhi in Early T'ien-t'ai Buddhism. In: Peter N. Gregory: Traditions of Meditation in Chinese Buddhism Vol. 1, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, pp.  45–98. ISBN: 0-8248-1088-0.