A Concise Course of Tiantai Sect Lesson 4: Master of Wisdom Dacheng Tiantai Sect

Master Ming, the fourth ancestor of Taizong, was the founder who made the greatest contribution to Tiantai Buddhism after Master Huisi of Nanyue. He made a panoramic view of Infinite Buddhism, completed a system and achieved great success in Tiantai Buddhism.

Master of the Wise (538-597), the word Zhiyi, was born in Huarong, Jingzhou (southwest of Qianjiang, Hubei) in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. When I was young, I was smart. At the age of seven, I can recite "Pumenpin" and be free from vulgarity. When I was eighteen years old, I wanted to become a monk according to the temple law, and then I studied with my lawyer Kuang Hui, studying law and studying Mahayana classics. Master Shi Huisi promoted the teaching concept in Dasushan, Gwangju, Henan Province, and he started to study it. At this time, he was only 23 years old. As soon as Master Huisi saw him coming, he said, "In the past, Lingshan listened to Fahua, which was chased by the old life, but now it's back!" When the master and apprentice met, they all listened to Hokkekyo at the Lingshan Dharma Meeting of Sakyamuni Buddha. They met again in this life because of the pursuit of the old fate. Master Huisi taught him the method of practicing Pu Xian Dojo (that is, practicing Buddhism and Samadha and observing the reality of various laws), and also taught him the "Four Blessings".

Since then, the wise master has diligently practiced asceticism in the morning and evening according to his teaching and research heart. After more than ten days, I recited the sentence of Hokkekyo Yaowangpin to "it is true diligence, and it is true law to support the Tathagata". My body and mind were suddenly enlightened. Seeing Lingshan for a while, being silent and calm for a while, showing wisdom. "If I take photos of Fahua, if Gao Hui is in the valley; Reaching all the dharma phases is like swimming in the wind. " After the decision, he asked his teacher to confirm the realm of his realization, and Master Hui gave him profound practice. From then on, I combined my understanding with the Buddhism taught by Master, and I agreed with an idea. After four days and four nights of intensive training and more than a hundred years of hard training, my understanding has made great progress and won the seal and praise of Master Huisi:

"No, Carker, I don't know. Settlers are convenient before the samadhi of France and China; By the holder, the first spin Dalagni also. Words are divided into thousands of people, and your argument can't be bad! Speaking of speakers, it is the first. "

So he entrusted the law to the wise master, and the wise master said on his behalf, "The law pays the courtiers, and the French king has nothing to do!"

In the first year of Chen Guangda (567), the wise master was thirty years old and went to Jinling (now Nanjing, Jiangsu) to preach the Dharma at the order of the master. In the first year (569), Chen Taijian was invited to preach "Hokkekyo" in the Waguan Temple, and began to establish a brand-new patriarchal significance, laying the basic system of Taiwan's religious view. The master lived in the crock temple for eight years and gave lectures on Great Wisdom and Paramita Interpretation successively, which won the respect of the ruling and opposition parties.

In the autumn of the seventh year of Chen Taijian (575), the master insisted on the retention of the emperor and courtiers, and led more than 20 disciples, including Bian Hui, to live in Tiantai Mountain, Zhejiang Province. Thanks to the guidance of monks, the Buddha Dragon Dojo was established in the mountain, and at the same time, he was enlightened. At the peak of China, he worshipped Buddhism, meditated day and night, and surrendered to the devil who combined rigidity with softness. Ten years later, in 585, Chen Zhide returned to Jinling at the invitation of Chen Houzhu. By this time, the master had formed his own doctrine of Buddhism's righteousness and behavior. In the first year of Zhenming, Chen Houzhu (587), the master taught Mandarin sentences in Guangzhai Temple in Jinling. In the 13th or 14th year of Emperor Wendi (593-594), the master gave lectures on Fahua Xuanyi and Maha Zhiguan in yuquan temple, Jingzhou, which were recorded by disciple Zhang An. Together with Fahua Huaju, they were called "Tiantai Three Major Departments", which were the fundamental treasures of Tang Taizong's debate. In addition, the master also has five monographs, such as Guanyin Xuanyi, A Book of Guanyin, Jin Guangming Xuanyi, Jin Guang Ming Wen Ju and Guan Jing Shuo, which are internationally known as "Tiantai Five Small Parts".

In the 16th year of Emperor Kai of Sui Dynasty (596), the master was 59 years old and returned to Tiantai Mountain this spring. The following winter, Yang Guangcheng, King of Jin, invited the master out of the mountain. When the master arrived at Shicheng Temple in Xinchang (now the Great Buddha Temple in Xinchang, Zhejiang Province), he was unable to move forward due to illness. So after he was given the theory of mindfulness, he sat in front of Maitreya Buddha and sang three treasures to solemnly express his silence. There are 36 masterpieces handed down from ancient times, 140 volumes. Later generations of Taiwan Province scholars called it "the Tiantai wise man Fa Kongbao and the great Zen master Jue Hui Ling".

The theoretical system of the wise masters not only inherits and develops the thoughts of the two masters, Huiwen and Huisi, but also absorbs the essence of the Three Theories and Nirvana prevailing in the Southern Dynasties, critically absorbs the strengths of the ten teachers of the "Three Schools in the South and Seven Schools in the North", and finally systematizes the wonderful meaning of Fahua and Dragon Tree Teaching in the unique form of China philosophers. Therefore, the wise master is called the fourth ancestor. In fact, he is an outstanding founder who created a systematic religious view and standardized practice! For example, the sixth volume of the Complete Works of the Buddha quoted the words praised by the wise and obedient master of the Song Dynasty: "I was born as a Buddha, and although I knew all kinds of classics, I was born with Fa Hua. ..... I am the only wise man, and Lingshan personally inherits it, and Dasu understands the Tao, giving full play to its wonderful use and praising Mahayana. Interpret the scriptures with five meanings (namely "Fa Hua Xuan Yi"), four sentences (namely "Fa Hua Wen Ju"), and ten chapters (namely "Moho Intuition"), so the solution is all-encompassing, with both righteousness and view, which can be described as a mirror for pedestrians and a beacon for the night! The Great Tianzhu Theory (referring to the writings of ancient Indian ancestors) is not of its kind, but is it beyond China's reach? ..... Cover a wise man with the purpose of knowing "Fahua" is wonderful, so Longshu Beiqi (Huiwen) is not as good as it is. If you don't have a purpose in life, you can visit three times. In fact, Zulongshu, Zongbeiqi and Bing Nanyue (Huisi) are all in the same strain, just like a contract. ..... Tiantai (the wise master) talks about three truths and three views, surpassing the benevolent king and surpassing the wreath classics; Sanzhi Sande is based on Nirvana and Jiejie, and the meaning used is based on Fahuawei and guided by the theory of wisdom. " He also said: "It is not enough to give up the knowledge of Tiantai and want to know the meaning of Buddhism. ..... I am a wise man, a great Zen master, and a sage of heaven, and I am ready for all merits and demerits. I thought that my grandfather's three views failed to achieve greatness, so he made an appointment with Fahua to realize the door, saying that he should stop looking at the road and establish Chen Ji as the eternal law! " During the master's life, his testimony and works were widely spread and had a great influence. We should know that this statement is correct.

The life of a wise master is the most brilliant page in the history of rooftop teaching. He not only established the rooftop teaching concept system, trained many excellent students, but also greatly promoted the healthy development of Buddhism in China, making the Western Buddhism from India fully integrated into the cultural soil of the Han nationality. The reason why this master was honored as "Little Oriental Sakyamuni" by later generations is inseparable from his great achievements in spreading Buddhism.

Any Buddhist who wants to be the forerunner of the times to promote the development of Buddhism must go deep into the Dharma Sea as far as possible, realize profound wisdom, reveal the wonderful merits and demerits of nature, integrate all the wisdom achievements accumulated by Gude sages, and turn them into their own use and wonderful use. Then, with their own fortune, observe the current opportunities, skillfully understand the legislative significance, enlighten the opportunities, and apply them to make Buddhism alive.

Learn from Tiantai Sect, welcome to pay attention to Tiantai Sect's wonderful method, Hokkekyo, Tiantai Sect Lecture Hall, Tiantai Religious Station and Mahayana Buddhism Tiantai Sect. I hope those who are interested in Tiantai can learn from the past and revive Tiantai, so that the wisdom of the wise can shine again!