Zhiguan 止観 in the Chengshi lun 成実論 and its Extracanonical Commentaries

Abstract

The Chinese understanding of zhiguan 止観 adds a double meaning from śamatha and vipaśyanā and sthāna and upalakṣanā. At the same time, Chinese monks, in the process of organizing and interpreting Chinese translations of Buddhist texts, and through their unique understanding, have attempted to add new meanings to zhiguan again. Among these, the Chengshi lun may have provided the basic understanding of zhiguan in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, as it explains the interpretation of zhi and guan as corresponding to ding 定 and hui 慧, which is well known even today. The Dunhuang literature confirms that later Chinese monks inherited these ideas from the Chengshi lun and attempted to further organize and interpret zhiguan by combining them with more Mahāyāna-oriented doctrines, such as atyanta-śūnyatā, which was more prevalent at the time.