The Móhē zhǐguān (; Sanskrit: Mahā[[samatha-vipassana|śamathavipaśyanā]]) is a major Buddhist doctrinal treatise based on lectures given by the Chinese Tiantai patriarch Zhiyi (538–597 CE) in 594.[1] These lectures were compiled and edited by Zhiyi´s disciple Guanding (561-632) into seven chapters in ten fascicles.[2]
The voluminous Móhē zhǐguān is a comprehensive Buddhist doctrinal summa that discusses meditation and various key Buddhist doctrines which were very influential in the development of Buddhist meditation and Buddhist philosophy in China. It is one of the central texts of Tiantai (and Japanese Tendai).[3]
See main article: Samatha-vipassana. A major focus of the Móhē zhǐguān is the practice of samatha (Chinese: 止 zhǐ, calming or stabilizing meditation) and vipassana (Chinese: 觀 guān, clear seeing or insight). Zhiyi teaches two types of zhiguan - in sitting meditation and responding to objects following conditions or practicing mindfully in daily life. Zhiyi uses quotes from all the Mahayana sutras available in China at the time and tries to include all doctrines into his meditation system. The text is founded firmly on scripture, every key assertion of the text is supported by sutra quotations.[4] In the Móhē zhǐguān, Zhiyi also discusses several key Buddhist doctrines in its exposition of meditative praxis. A major doctrinal view of the work is that of the superiority of the practice of "sudden" samatha-vipassana, which sees the ultimate reality present at the very start of one's practice.[5] In the fifth volume of this treatise, Zhiyi reveals the doctrine of "three thousand realms in a single life-moment" (ichinen sanzen), which is considered to be the essence of his teachings.
Zhiyi divides his meditation system into three major sets, the "twenty-five skillful devices", the "Four samādhis" and the "ten modes of contemplation".
The "twenty-five skillful devices" are preparatory practices which include keeping the five precepts, being in a quiet place, adjusting food intake and posture as well as restraining desire in the five senses and restraining the five hindrances.
The four samadhis are designed for beginners who wish to practice meditation intensively. They are:[6]
After the meditator has practiced the four samadhis, he then moves on to contemplating the "ten objects":
The core of the exposition is taken up by the skandhas, ayatanas and dhatus, which are to be contemplated in ten "modes":
The concept of the three truths is a key element in Zhiyi's exposition of the practice of contemplation. Zhiyi's "perfectly integrated threefold truth" is an extension of Nagarjuna's Two truths doctrine.[7] This "round and inter-inclusive" truth is made up of emptiness, conventional existence, and the middle way between the first two, a simultaneous and integral affirmation of both. Contemplating a mental moment with regard to this truth or "threefold contemplation within one moment of mental activity" (yixinsanguan) is seen as the highest form of contemplation and as the ultimate form of realization. It leads to universal salvation (du zhongsheng) because through the transformation of oneself, one can therefore transform others.
According to Rev. Jikai Dehn, the major commentaries on this text in the Tendai tradition are:[8]
The first is a Chinese commentary by the sixth Tiantai patriarch; the latter three are Japanese works.