The Liu-miao-fa-merl or Six Profound Gateways to Dharma: A Study of the Variable Method of Meditation in the Light of the Debate between Sekiguchi and Sato on the T'ien-T'ai Classification of Buddhist Doctrine

Abstract

<p>The primary purpose of this thesis is to undertake a critical assessment of the Liu-miao-fa-men or Six Profound Gateways to Dharma which was composed by Chih-i, the acknowledged founder of the T'ien-t'ai School.</p> <p>T'ien-t'ai practice is usually treated under the three general headings of the Complete and Sudden Method of Meditation (Yuan-tun chih-kuan), the Gradual Method of Meditation (Chien-tz'u chih-kuan), and the Variable Method of Meditation (Pu-ting chih-kuan). The Liu-miaofa- men embodies the Variable Method of Meditation and illustrates its significant characteristics.</p> <p>The T'ien-t'ai ssu-chiao-i or Outline of the T'ien-t'ai Fourfold Teachings had been thought to provide a concise and reliable presentation of T'ien-t'ai doctrine until Sekiguchi Shindai challenged its authority. Sekiguchi criticized the text by refuting the three-century-Iong acknowledgement that the scheme of Five Periods and Eight Teachings (Wu-shih pa-chiao) faithfully represents the thought of Chih-i and summarizes the whole system of T'ien-t'ai Buddhism. With the results of the debates between Sekiguchi and Sato Tetsuei, the signification of the theory of Five Periods and Eight Teachings is now clear. Accordingly, a fuller and more accurate presentation of the early T'ien-t'ai doctrinal system as formulated by Chih-i can be made.</p> <p>Thus, the secondary purpose of this thesis is to discern the T'ien-t'ai classification and to see doctrinal disparities within the T'ien-t'ai tradition in its right perspective. Without such an effort, a critical assessment of the Liu-miao-fa-men is impossible, and the characteristics of the Variable Method of Meditation remain vague.</p>