DDB: 天台宗 | Tiantai zong

Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

天台宗

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: Tiantai zong

Senses:

One of the thirteen schools of Buddhism in China 十三宗 and Japan, one of the doctrinal schools 教宗 in Korea. Also called the 'Lotus Sutra school' 法華宗.

[China:] A Mahāyāna school established by Zhiyi 智顗 of Tiantai mountain. Zhiyi, taking the Lotus Sutra 法華經 as his main text, classified the other Buddhist sūtras into five periods 五時 and eight types of teachings; he discussed the theory of perfect interpenetration of the triple truth 三諦 and taught the rapid attainment of Buddhahood through the practice of observing the mind. The Chinese line of transmission starts with Huiwen 慧文 of the Northern Chi and follows with Huisi 慧思. Next Zhiyi explained the three great scriptures of the school 法華三部 emphasizing both scriptural study and practice. The sixth patriarch, Jingqi 荊溪 also popularized the school through his commentaries on these three scriptures.
[Korea:] Tiantai was introduced to Korea as Cheontae a couple of times during earlier periods, but was not firmly established until the time of Uicheon 義天 (1055–1101) who established Cheontae in the Goryeo as an independent school. Due to Uicheonʼs influence, it came to be a major force in the world of Goryeo Buddhism. After he returned from Song China in 1086, Uicheon sought to ease conflict between the doctrinal 教 schools and Seon 禪 schools, believing that the Cheontae doctrine would be effective to this end. Cheontae would over time diminish in strength as a distinct school in Korea, but many of its teachings were absorbed into the Jogye Seon 曹溪 tradition.
[Japan:] The Tiantai teaching was brought to Japan by Jianshen 鑑眞 in the middle of the eighth century, but it was not widely accepted. In 805, Saichō 最澄 brought back the Tendai teachings from China and made the temple that he had built on Mt. Hiei 比叡山, the Enryakuji, a center for the study and practice of Tendai. However, what he had transmitted from China was not exclusively Tendai, but also included Zen 禪, Esoteric 密教 and Monastic Discipline 戒律 teachings. This tendency became more marked in the doctrines of his successors, such as Ennin 圓仁 and Enchin 圓珍. The Tendai school flourished under the patronage of the imperial family and nobility in Japan.

[Charles Muller; source(s): JEBD]

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[Dictionary References]

Chūgoku bukkyōshi jiten (Kamata) 266

Bukkyō jiten (Ui) 758

Bulgyo sajeon 849a

Fo Guang Dictionary 1342

Ding Fubao

Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.) 895d

Iwanami bukkyō jiten 595

Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha) 316a/351

Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki) (v.1-6)3798a,3250c

Bukkyō daijiten (Oda) 1253-1*1871-1-23

(Soothill's) Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms 144

The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

Entry created: 1993-09-01

Updated: 2013-07-10