The Tien-Tai teaching explanation of Zhi-Xu is not so traditional. With merging thoughts across multiple sects of Chinese Buddhist, he played a key role which could be called the general history of Tien-Tai evolution from Tang, Sung to Ming dynasties of Chinese. Because of the richness of his thought, Zhi-Xu's sectarian judgment are inconsistent among current scholars. According to our research, we found there are four denominations of Zhi-Xu's fusing thoughts: First, Zhi-Xu used "Six Stages of Realization to Buddhahood" of Tien-Tai to assimilate Perfect Teaching of Huayan sects. In his thought, not only Buddha could be in term of Perfect, everyone could be used "Six Stages of Realization to Buddhahood" to identify their Perfectness. Second, Zhi-Xu believed both of Yogacara and 《The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana》 got the meaning of Perfect Teaching. Since Buddha and the Bodhisattva always mutually take Empiricism and or Metaphysics as the ways of guiding people to prove the Buddha Nature. Either Eight Consciousness Doctrine of Yogacara from Empiricism point of view, or Tathata Doctrine of 《The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana》 from Metaphysics point of view, Zhi-Xu took it as part of Buddha Nature. Third, Zhi-Xu took the point of 《The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana》 from Tein-Tai's masters. Zhan-Ran's thought included Tathata and Mind-only Doctrine, the boundary between these two is not so clear, it led different explanation of how to practice Tein-Tai's Samatha-Vipassana Bhavana among the masters in Sung dynasties. The monks of traditional sects supported to practice Samatha-Vipassana Bhavana with mind first , then with Tathata. But the monks of non-traditional sects support to practice Samatha-Vipassana Bhavana with Tathata directly. However, Zhi-Xi didn't take either one but merged these two thoughts. He adopted the mind-only thought of Yogacara into Tein-Tai Perfect Teaching and chose chanting Amito-Buddha's name as practicing Samatha-Vipassana Bhavana. Even though, this it still respect Tein-Tai Doctrine since reincarnation to The Pure Land in West is also belong to Tein-Tai's thought. Fourth, Zhi-Xu emphasized the Bhavana of chanting Amito-Buddha's name is simple to us, but its background Doctrine is belong to Tein-Tai Perfect Teaching. The tips of realizing this Bhavana are chanting Amito-Buddha's name with a ring counting the chanting numbers, well dealing with the people around you, and don't be persistent. Once you can keep practicing this way till Amito-Buddha leading you to go to The Pure Land in West, that means you got what Tathata it is with Samatha-Vipassana Bhavana of mind-only.
