The Formation of the Introduction to Tiantai Zhiyi’s Guanjing shu

Abstract

It is known that the Guan Wuliangshou jing shu 觀無量壽經疏 （T. 1750）, ascribed to Tiantai Zhiyi 天台智顗, was based heavily on the text of the Guan Wuliangshou jing yishu 觀無量壽經義疏 （T. 1749） by Jingyingsi Huiyuan 浄影寺慧遠. Notably, the synopsis of the Guanjing in this text is similar to that in Huiyuan’s. However, this paper argues that Tiantai’s analysis of the opening section of the sūtra （faqi xu 発起序）, while adopting Huiyuan’s expressions, is original to him. How the text analyzes the division of the introduction of the sūtra is an important factor in his interpretation of siwei 思惟 and zhengshou 正受. In conclusion, this paper clarifies the structure of Tiantai’s divisions, and points out that the interpretation of this section had significant influence on later scholars such as Lingzhi Yuanzhao 霊芝元照.