Zhiyi

Zhiyi was born in 538 in present-day Hunan, into a family of officials, and became a monk at seventeen after the fall of the Liang dynasty brought ruin to his family. He studied under the meditation master Huisi on Mount Dasu, who taught him the Lotus Sūtra and the union of meditation and doctrine.

He taught for some years in the southern capital, Jiankang (present-day Nanjing), drawing large audiences, but in 575 withdrew with a few disciples to Mount Tiantai, where he deepened his practice and thought. Later the Sui prince Yang Guang, the future emperor, became his patron and gave him the title Zhizhe, “the Wise One”. He died in 597.

Zhiyi wrote little himself; his main works are lectures recorded by his disciple Guanding: the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra, the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, and the Great Calming and Contemplation, delivered in 594. Together they form one of the most comprehensive systems in Buddhist thought, joining a classification of all the Buddha’s teachings with a complete path of meditation.

He also wrote shorter manuals of meditation for beginners, and rules for the community on Mount Tiantai, including the practice of repentance rituals. Later Chinese and Japanese Buddhists honoured him as a great teacher, and the Tendai school of Japan honours him as the founder of its teaching.