As the founder of the first Buddhist school -- T'ien-t'ai Buddhism in China, master Chih-i's indispensable contribution toward the establishment of Chinese Buddhism is reflected mainly in his ingenious interpretation of one of the most important Buddhist scriptures -- the Lotus Suutra (Saddharmapu.n.driikasuutra). This is because such an interpretation is not simply the interpretation of the scripture，but more significantly，through his systematic exposition of the Lotus Suutra, Chih-i expresses his own philosophical thought. Precisely speaking，the interpretation itself is a concrete demonstration of Chih-i's own philosophical system of understanding Buddhism. In this paper，I will deal with Chih-i's system of sign interpretation，which is discussed under eight categories. The source work of this study is based on Chih-i's gigantic work The Abstruse Meaning of the Suutra of the Lotus Flower of the Fine Dharma (Taishoo vol. 33，no. 1716). This study reveals how Chih-i creatively interprets the Lotus Suutra, and how his perfect harmonization philosophy is at work through his system of sign interpretation.
Introduction 1. The interpretation of sign to investigate different meanings of a word 2. The interpretation of sign to decode the structure of a character 3. The interpretation of sign to reason out meanings of the black ink as form 4. The interpretation of sign to read a phrase 5. The interpretation of sign to use analogies i. Using the lotus to analogize the Subtlety of Objects (Yung-lien-hua P'i Ching-miao 用蓮華譬境妙) i.i. Using the lotus to analogize Objects as the Ten Suchnesses (Yung-lien-hua P'i Shih-ju-ching 用蓮花譬十如境) in terms of the Buddha-realm i.ii. Using the lotus to analogize Objects as the Twelvefold Causality (Yung-lien-hua P'i Shih-erh Yin-yuean-ching 用蓮花譬十二因緣境) i.iii. Using the lotus to analogize Objects as the Four Noble Truths (Yung-lien-hua P'i Ssu-ti-ching 用蓮花譬四諦境) i.iv. Using the lotus to analogize Objects as the Twofold Truth (Yung-lien-hua P'i Erh-ti-ching 用蓮花譬二諦境) i.v. Using the lotus to analogize Objects as the Threefold Truth, One Truth, and No-truth (Yung-lien-hua P'i San-ti-ching，I-shih-ti，Wu-ti Wu-shuo 用蓮花譬三諦境，一實諦，無諦無說) ii. Using the lotus to analogize the Subtlety of Knowledge (Yung-liem-hua P'i-chih-miao 用蓮花譬智妙) iii. Using the lotus to analogize the Subtlety of Practice (Yung-lien-hua P'i-hsing-miao 用蓮花譬行妙) iv. Using the lotus to analogize the Subtlety of Positions (Yung-lien-hua P'i-wei-miao 用蓮花譬位妙) v. Using the lotus to analogize the Subtlety of the Threefold Dharma as the vehicle (Yung-lien-hua P'i San-fa-sh'eng Miao 用蓮花譬三法乘妙) vi. Using the lotus to analogize the Subtlety of Empathy and Response (Yung-lien-hua P'i Kan-ying Miao 用蓮花譬感應妙) vii. Using the lotus to analogize the Subtlety of Supra-mundane Powers (Yung-lien-hua P'i Shen-t'ung Miao 用蓮花譬神通妙) viii. Using the lotus to analogize the Subtlety of Expounding the Dharma (Yung-lien-hua P'i Shuo-fa Miao 用蓮花譬說法妙) ix. Using the lotus to analogize the Subtlety of Retinues (Yung-lien-hua P'i Chuean-shu Miao 用蓮花譬眷屬妙) x. Using the lotus to analogize the Subtlety of Merit and Benefit (Yung-lien-hua P'i Kung-te Li-i Miao 用蓮花譬功德利益妙) 6. The interpretation of sign to explain what the Buddha intends to convey through his manifestation of supra-mundane powers 7. The interpretation of sign made by discussing the meaning contained in the Lotus Suutra 8. The interpretation of sign to use numbers 8. 1. The use of the category number ten 8. 2. The use of the category number six 8. 3. The use of the category number five 8. 4. The use of the category number four 8. 5. The use of the category number three 8. 6. The use of the category number one Conclusion
