釋聖嚴; Shih, Sheng-yen; 蕅益智旭; 《教觀綱宗》; 天台教觀; 教判; Ou-yi, Zhi-xu; Jiao Guan Gang Zong; various divisions of teaching or doctrine; the teachings and meditation techniques of Tien-tai School
The Essence of Teaching and Meditation (Jiao Guan Gang Zong) is one of the noted writings by Master Ou-yi Zhi-xu in late Ming Dynasty. Although Zhi-xu emphasized the teachings and meditation techniques of Tien-tai School，he didn't belong to the lineage of Tien-tai School. He was a proponent of precepts with Brahmajala Sutra as his central thought. In terms of practice，he was a pure land practitioner based on Surajgama Sutra. The teachings and meditation techniques of Tien-tai School were his tools in research, and also his bases in analyzing the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha.
Because Zhi-xu was a learned scholar in different Hinayana and Mahayana Schools, he didn't confine himself in the teachings of only Tien-tai School. Rather than assuming that Jiao Guan Gang Zong is an introduction of Tien-tai teachings, it is better to say that he utilized the introduction of the teachings and meditation techniques of Tien-tai School to let readers understand the skeleton of whole Buddha dharma. We can also say that Jiao Guan Gang Zong is the teachings of the new Tien-tai School in late Ming Dynasty. It is the last famous writing of Chinese Tien-tai School. Since Zhi-xu himself wrote a commentary on it，until now it is still widely read and explained. There are many commentaries on it. These two books had been studied and spread by the Buddhist scholars of China and Japan.
