無諍三昧=wuzheng sanmei (samādhi without dispute); 四念處=the four foundations of mindfulness; 心性=the nature of mind; 心相=the appearance of mind; 如意神通=the magical power of the mind; 諸法實相=the Reality of all Dharmas
Huisi was the third founder of the Tiantai School and has been hailed as the pioneer of the school. He was also one of the earliest founders of the Tiantai Teaching. His contemplative perspective and the foundation for the practice have greatly affected Zhiyi and prompted him to establish the Tiantai School. Zhiyi developed an esoteric and profound Tiantai teaching system. Huisi wrote three books to explain his contemplative perspective: Suiziyi Sanmei ( Samādhi of Freely Following One’s Thought), Zhufa Wuzheng Sanmei Famen(DharmaGate of the Samādhi Where in All Dharmas are Without Dispute), and Fahua Jing Anlexing Yi(The Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra’s Course of Ease and Bliss). Among the three publications, The Zhufa Wuzheng Sanmei Famen has received the least academic scrutiny. One possible explaination of this may be that this book has a small impact on Zhiyi and thus failed to develop into any of the four Samādhis. The study probes into “Huisi’s contemplative perspective of the Zhufa Wuzheng Sanmei Famen” and will dissect the topic into the following four parts: Firstly, the study will expound the meaning of the “wuzheng sanmei (samādhi without dispute).” “Wuzheng sanmei (Samādhi without dispute)” is one of the cultivation means of Mahāyāna Buddhism, and what does it mean? The study will scrutinize the root of the naming of wuzheng sanmei (samādhi without dispute) and the sūtra based on which the term is developed. Secondly, the study will examine Huisi’s reinterpretation of Mahāyāna Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism. He reinterpretated some Theravada meditaiton practices mentioned in “infinite names of meditation” according to Mahāyāna Buddhist scriptures. Huisi was influenced by The Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom in the “four foundations of mindfulness” and regarded them as a cultivation principle of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Thirdly, the study will examine the characteristics of the practice of the contemplative perspective which include the upholding of pureness and the cultivation of mediation; the obedience of disciplines and the cultivation of meditation are the cornerstone of studying Buddhism principles. In Huisi’s contemplative perspective, mediation and Prajñā (the highest wisdom) are inseparable. Focusing on the magical power of the mind, for it is capable of omniscient divine changes; it expands without limitations and bestows epiphany upon the good and evil alike. In Buddhism, the mind is the eighth consciousness and the receptive mind is the seventh consciousness (the root consciousness) and the branch consciousness of the six consciousness. The last one is the true perspective of fulfilment. It is the perspective of one body and one mind. In other words, it is the idea of the “Realms of Ten Dharmas” and behaviours being carried out upon the production of a thought in mind. The ideas of wisdom (prajñā) and the fruits in Buddhism refer to the “Ultimate Truth” of all phenomena and the merits derived through practicing “four foundations of mindfulness” respectively.
