The Lotus Sūtra and the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra were both said to have the flavor of ghee （in other words, the most refined taste in the metaphor of different flavors of milk products） in the Tiantai school. However, because they are two independent sūtras, Tiantai naturally had different understandings of their respective teachings. These differences were explained in several ways. One of Zhiyi’s views of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra was captured in a pair of terms. The first of these explained that the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra was preached after the Lotus Sūtra to explain the four teachings again （zhuishuo 追説） for those who had not understood the Lotus Sūtra. The other function of the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra was to eliminate all of the lesser teachings so that only the perfect teaching remains. Thus, the former term means that the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra preaches four teachings—tripiṭaka, pervasive, separate, and perfect teachings —again, while the latter term means that it extinguishes differentiation of the four teachings.
In addition, the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra is defined as “the teaching that gleans the field after the harvest （捃拾教）,” which means that the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra was preached for those people who failed to hear the Lotus Sūtra so that they might be saved.
Further, the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra is defined as “the teaching that supports the precepts and speaks of the eternal （扶律談常）,” which means that it details the precepts of the tripiṭaka teaching and discusses the eternity of the Buddha.
This paper considers the precise meanings of these concepts and their development.
