本期為天台學專輯；作者為中央大學哲學博士候選人=PhD student of Department of Philosophy, Central University
關鍵詞
五品弟子位=he five levels of practitioners; 六根清淨位=he level of six sense organs purified; 觀行即=he contemplation and practice stage of realisation; 相似即=he resemblance stage of realisation
This article is a continuation of my previous research on the Process and Attainment of Venerable Zhi-yi’s Practice of Concentration and Contemplation. The main focus of this article is to further study Venerable Zhi-yi’s journey of practice and attainment, and his ideas about concentration and contemplation in his later age. In the later Chen Dynasty, during the third year of Emperor Zhi-De’s reign (585 AD), Venerable Zhi-yi returned to Jin-ling. He was 48 years old at that time. He started teaching his meditative practices and established the Tian-tai School theories as well as the Yuan-dun meditative practice (direct contemplation on the truth). He passed away during the 17th year of Kai-huang’s reign of the Sui Dynasty (585AD) at the age of 60. The years between 585AD and 597AD are considered to be the old-age period of Venerable Zhi-yi. This article concentrates on the study of Venerable Zhi-yi’s attainment in meditative practice and his ideas about practice during this period. It is hoped that this article can help bring better understanding on the niqueness of Tian-tai practice of concentration and contemplation and facilitate further application of the Yuan-dun meditative methods and cultivation. The study focuses on two major areas during this last period of Venerable Zhi-yi’s life: 1. The Venerable’s journey of teaching and practice in Jiang-Huai area: Between the age of 48 and 57, Venerable Zhi-yi traveled and teach around Jiang Huai area. During these ten years, he completed his most important teachings of the Three Major Tian-tai Doctrines as well as writings about the meditative practice of concentration and contemplation. These teachings became the most important theories and meditative practices of Tian-tai. Venerable Zhi-yi also accomplished the ‘cultivation of six perfections’ in the practice of the ‘five levels of practitioners’. These five levels of practice are practices required for the attainment of the ‘contemplation and practice stage of realisation’. 2. Research on the practical content of the Yuan-dun meditative method with references to the last sayings and actions of Venerable Zhi-yi. Within this context, besides analyzing Venerable Zhi-yi’s theory of destination of rebirth, emphasis is also placed on examining the actual details of his attainment at the “fifth level of practitioners” and the relationship between this level of practices and “the level of six sense organs purified.” Basing on previous discussions, this research will especially highlight the implied thoughts of detachment within Venerable Zhi-yi’s teachings.
