The Hōmon taikō 法門大綱 or The Great Net of the Dharma Gate, often regarded as a Daruma-shu 達磨宗 text, has recently become the focus of a new research interest. My paper examines the following aspects. (1) The philosophical backbone of the Hōmon taikō relies on the Buddha-nature doctrine as advocated by Zongmi 宗密 (actually quoting from his work). It also emphasizes sudden realization claiming that the sublime awareness 妙覺 is attained all at once as opposed to gradual stages taught, for instance, by the Lotus Sutra. (2) The oneness samadhi 一行三昧 is one of the central practices in the Hōmon taikō. The oneness samadhi first appears in the Wenshushili bore jing 文殊師利般若經 where seated meditation and chanting the name of a Buddha are regarded as essential ways to enter into samadhi. In the Hōmon taikō, however, the oneness samadhi is understood through Zongmi's interpretation of seated meditation which, in turn, is related to the profound samadhi of the Dasheng qixin lun 大乗起信論, while the practice of chanting the name of a Buddha goes back to the Tiantai classic Mohezhiguan 摩訶止觀. (3) Finally, I compare the Hōmon taikō to the Jō tōshōkaku ron 成等正覺論 and the Kensho jobutsu ron 見性成佛論 in terms of structure and citation as well as Zen doctrines. My investigation shows that the Hōmon taikō has very little in common with these two texts. Moreover, there is no mention of the Daruma-shu in neither the Homon taiko nor the Kenshō jōbutsu ron. My conclusion, therefore, is that these texts cannot be considered part of the Daruma-shu corpus.
