The Practice of Meditative Cessation and Observation (<i>zhiguan</i> 止観) in China’s Northern and Southern Dynasties Period

Abstract

The most famous practice of meditative cessation and observation in East Asia was the Tiantai system called zhiguan 止観, established by Tiantai Zhiyi 天台智顗 (538–597). Moreover, the type of zhiguan taught in the section on the aspect of practice and the attitude of faith within the Dasheng qi xin lun 大乗起信論 (Awakening of Mahāyāna Faith), which in recently years has been shown to have been produced in northern China, was important since it greatly influenced the later Buddhist world. It is thought that the reception and proliferation of zhiguan in the Northern and Southern Dynasties period occurred with the background of this meditative practice.