Zhizhe

At the age of 7, Zhizhe could memorize a chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Tonsured at the age of 18 with the Dharma name Zhiyi, he became Huisi’s disciple at 23 years of age. He later went to Jinling to propagate Chan teachings at Waguan Temple. From the age of 38, he stayed at Tiantaishan. He then returned to Jinling at the request of Emperor Houzhu of the Chen Dynasty to teach the Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra and Benevolent King Sutra in the palace. When Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was still a prince, he invited Zhizhe, who was then 54 years old to transmit the Bodhisattva Precepts at Yangzhou. The prince bestowed upon him the name Zhizhe, which means the “wise one.” He interpreted the sutras in terms of Five Periods and Eight Doctrines, and promoted the two-fold practice of cessation and contemplation. He gave equal importance to theory and practice, reconciling the overemphasis on meditation in the north and scholasticism in the south. His teachings formed the distinctiveness of the Tiantai School.