The unlimited dependent arising of the Distinct Teaching One Vehicle of the Hua yen ching, which also refers to the "round" in "round teaching," is a peculiar doctrine of the Hua-yen School. However, since the Hua yen ching is not common to the Hearers and the rest of the Mahaayaana the important question arises how the distinct teaching of the Hua yen ching could encompass the teachings of all the sutras. Chih-yen (602-668 CE) and Fa-tsang (643-712 CE) put much effort into establishing a theoretical foundation to solve this problem. The most important of their tenets is the "Common Teaching One Vehicle" which is founded on the basis of the "combining three into one" as taught in the Lotus Sutra. This served as the bridge to connect with the Distinct Teaching One Vehicle. As to the relationship between the Common Teaching One Vehicle and the Distinct Teaching One Vehicle, they have the "one vehicle" in common and diff er in terms of "common teaching" versus "distinct teaching". On the basis of this commonness and difference, Chih-yen and Fa-tsang established the theory that Hua yen which propounds the distinct teaching excells the Lotus which preaches the common teaching, or in other word that the Hua-yen system surpasses the T'ien-t'ai system. Chih-yen's ideas can be gathered primarily from the T'an hsu an chi and K'ung mu chang while Fa-tsang's explanations are to be found in the Wu chiao chang. Concentrating on the thought of these masters the present paper discussed problems related to the common and distinct teachings.
