On The Theory Of Six Identities Of Tiantai School

Originated in China, the Tiantai Sect is one of the thirteen schools in Chinese Buddhism and its theory of Liu-Ji (Ch. 六即) or Six-Identities is proposed by the founding patriarch, Master Zhi-Yi, also known as Master Zhi-Zhe (literally a wise man) .Liu-Ji, the Six-Identities of Buddhahood, illustrates a complete process of cultivation leading one from the status of an ordinary being to Buddhahood. ' Ji' means that all sentient beings are ultimately identical of the Buddha-nature, which implies that everyone has the same capacity for achieving enlightenment. 'Liu' means that while every sentient being innately possesses the Buddha-nature, there are six stages of practice to attain its ripe fruit. The first is Li-Ji or Identity-in-Principle which affirms the inherent Buddha-nature of all sentient beings. The second is Ming-Zi-Ji, Verbal-Identity; here intellectual understanding that we are all would-be Buddhas is gained. The third is Guan-Xing-Ji, Identity-in-Practice wherein one's behavior and mental states are brought to be concordance with the prior conceptual understanding through practice and skillful means. The fourth is Xiang-Si-Ji, Identity-of-Resemblance. One's thinking and awareness have come to resemble what has been expounded in the sutras of previous Buddhas. The fifth is Fen-Zheng-Ji, Identity-in-Partial-Realization. Ignorance weakens and wisdom becomes increasingly prominent. The sixth is Jiu-Jing-Ji, Ultimate-Identity, wherein Buddhahood or the final fruit is ultimately realized (or identified).In addition, Master Zhi-Zhe also classifies the teachings of Buddha into fourdivisions, namely San-Zang (the Tripitaka teaching), Tong (the Pervasive or Shared teaching), Bie (the Distinct teaching), and Yuan (the Complete teaching). It is said that in order to accommodate the different capacities of sentient beings, the Buddha expounds his teachings in these four divisions. Nevertheless, his goal is always set to awaken all sentient beings to the complete understanding of the Yuan teaching.This thesis explores these different implications of Liu-Ji expounded in the Tiantai School. It is composed of three parts: the preface, the main text and the conclusion.The preface describes the motivation and purposes of the thesis. A survey of the past research as well as the methodology I take is also elucidated.The main body of the text is divided into four chapters.The first chapter has four sections, elucidating the meaning of Liu-Ji. In particular, the first section illustrates the meaning of 'Ji', emphasizing that mind, Buddha, and sentient beings ultimately have no distinction. The second section uses the Praise of Liu-Ji by Master Pu-Run of the Sung dynasty to individually and sequentially explain the teaching of Six Identities. The third section identifies and integrates the related but various names of Liu-Ji in the Tiantai teachings. The fourth section summarizes what Liu-Ji means in each of the four divisions proposed by Master Zhi-Zhe.The second chapter has six sections which focus on the Liu-Ji of San-Zang teaching. Here San-Zang is Hinayana or the teaching of sravakas and pratyekabuddhas whose ultimate goal is to get rid of the afflictions and enter the nirvana of Pian-Zhen or one-sided reality. In the teaching of San-Zang, Liu-Ji involves the six stages of gradual cultivation leading one to entering nirvana.The third chapter has two sections, which discuss the Liu-Ji of Tong and Bie teachings, respectively. As an interrelating or bridging teaching, Tong connects the San-Zang teaching of Hinayana with the Bie and Yuan teachings of Mahayana. For this reason, Tong is regarded as the first stage of Mahayana and includes the three vehicles of sravaka, pratyekabuddha and bodhisattva simultaneously. On the other hand, being different from the other three, Bie is a distinctive teaching, a Mahayanateaching for bodhisattva alone. Regarding the process of cultivation, both Tong and Bie teachings have their respective Liu-Ji, the six stages of practice for actualizing the Bodhisattva ideal.The fourth chapter, as the core of this thesis, has six sections regarding the Liu-Ji of Yuan teaching. Yuan, the all-inclusive, complete and perfect teaching, is the realm of all Buddhas, which elucidates the ultimate identity, non-obstruction of all phenomena, the teaching of all-in-one and one-in-all and a perfect unbounded wholeness. Many of the doctrines in Tiantai School are closely associated with the Yuan teaching, for instance, the theory of Ultimate Reality, the complete unification of the three truths, the three contemplations in one mind and so forth. In the Yuan teaching, although the Buddha-natures of all sentient beings are in one essence with those of all Buddhas, it is still necessary to establish, depending on the degrees of understanding, the six stages of cultivation for practitioners to perfect themselves gradually from would-be Buddhas to real Buddhas.The conclusion has two sections which summarize the different meanings of Liu-Ji in the four divisions of Tiantai and identify the significance of Liu-Ji for contemporary society. Particularly, the first section discusses the interrelationships among the teachings of Liu-Ji in these four divisions. Especially, it identifies that the understandings of the first three divisions could be transferred to, connected with, identical to, or integrated with that of the last one, i.e., the Yuan teaching. Therefore, it is argued that the first three can be regarded as temporarily skillful means, leading all beings to enter the teaching of Yuan, the ultimate truth. The second section presents the significance of the teachings of Liu-Ji, which especially identifies the importance of practice and concludes that only when one equally emphasizes both teaching and practice can one really benefit from the doctrine of Liu-Ji proposed by Master Zhi-Zhe.