In the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha revealed his true intentions. The teachings of the previous forty years used skillful means for śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas in accordance with their capacities. However, the Trace Gate of the Lotus Sūtra tells us that only the One Vehicle leads people to the true teaching for awakening. The Original Gate of the Lotus Sūtra teaches that the duration of the Buddha’s life is eternal.

For those who could not listen to the Lotus Sūtra, the Nirvāṇa Sūtra was expounded to them so they could “awaken to the Lotus.” It was taught to extend awakening to those who had been left out during the exposition of the Lotus Sūtra. Hence, it is also called the teaching of “gleaning.”

1. THE FIRST PERIOD: THE FLOWER GARLAND SUTRA

This is the twenty-one day period following Śākyamuni’s enlightenment, during which he verified his awakening. Beneath the Bodhi Tree, the Buddha manifested as Vairocana and taught the Flower Garland Sūtra to the Bodhisattvas of the Dharma-body who had practiced sufficiently in their previous lives. Although Universal Worthy Bodhisattva and Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva understood his teaching, those with inferior capacities did not.

2. THE SECOND PERIOD: THE DEER PARK TEACHINGS

After he became certain of his awakening, Śākyamuni left the Bodhi tree and went to Deer Park in modern day Benares. There he taught the Hinayāna teaching to five monks, or bhikṣu, including Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya. Over the next twelve years, he taught the Agama sūtras to the people according to their capacities: the four noble truths to the śrāvakas, the twelve-fold chain of dependent origination to the pratyekabuddhas, and the six perfections to the bodhisattvas. Although he taught at locations other than Deer Park, this period is called the Deer Park period, as that is where he first began preaching the Agama sūtras.

3. THE THIRD PERIOD: THE EXPANDED TEACHINGS

The Period of Expanded Teaching lasted eight years. In Sino-Japanese this period is called “Hōdō.” Hō, means wide, and in this period the teachings of both Mahāyāna and Hinayāna were taught, so the teachings were widened or expanded. Dō, or tō, means equal. The teachings of Hinayāna and Mahāyāna were taught to people equally, according to their capacities. Only the Mahāyāna teaching was taught during the first period and only the Hinayāna teaching during the second period, but this third period links Hinayāna and Mahāyāna, so this teaching is also called the “common” teaching. By comparing Hinayāna and Mahāyāna, people found the Mahāyāna teaching within the Hinayāna teaching, and people therefore learned Mahāyāna Buddhism. Sūtras expounded in this period included the Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Questions of Brahma Excellent Thought Sūtra, Entering Laṇkā Sūtra, Supreme Golden Light Sūtra, and the Lion’s Roar of Queen Śrimālā Sūtra.

4. THE FOURTH PERIOD: THE WISDOM TEACHINGS

This period lasted twenty-two years. Here Śākyamuni expounded the Perfection of Wisdom and its doctrines. According to the Perfection of Wisdom teaching, there is no way to awakening other than Mahāyāna teaching, which is based on the concept of emptiness.

5. THE FIFTH PERIOD: THE LOTUS AND NIRVANA SUTRAS

This period comprises the last eight years of Śākyamuni’s teaching. He taught the Lotus Sūtra for eight years, followed by the Nirvāṇa Sūtra. There are varying ideas of how long the Nirvāṇa Sūtra was preached. According to the Preaching Travels Sūtra and the Hinayāna Nirvāṇa Sūtra it was three months just before Śākyamuni’s passing. Based on the contents of the Mahāyāna Nirvāṇa Sūtra it was one day and one night.

The following brief account of Grand Master Tiāntái’s life comes from Another Biography of the Great Master Zhizhe at Mount Tiāntái Guoqingsi. Great Master Tiāntái was given the posthumous name of Zhiyi. His parents named him Dean, with the family name of Chen. His father’s name was Chen Qizu, and his mother came from the Xu family. He lost his parents when he was seventeen years old, during the turbulent end of the Liang Dynasty. Soon after, he entered the Buddhist monastic life under Fazu at Guoyuansi temple and was awarded the complete monastic precepts from Precept Master Huikuang (543-613 CE). In 560 CE, Zhiyi visited Huisi (515-589 CE) on Mount Dasu, and under him studied the Lotus Sūtra. As a result of intense practice, he was said to have attained awakening through this phrase of the “Medicine King Chapter” of the Lotus Sūtra: “The Buddhas of those worlds praised him, saying simultaneously, ‘Excellent, excellent, good man! All you did was a true endeavor. You made an offering to us according to the true Dharma.’ ” Huisi certified his awakening.

With the recommendation of Huisi, Zhiyi left Mount Dasu, went to Jinling and stayed at Waguansi temple where he lectured to both clergy and laity over a period of eight years on the Title of the Lotus Sūtra, the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, and the Source of the Meditation Gate. However, because of an anti-Buddhist movement by the Northern Zhou dynasty, Zhiyi retired to Mount Tiāntái in 575 CE at the age of 39. He undertook dhūta practice at the Flower Peak of the mountain, and lectured at Xiuchansi Temple. In 585 CE, at the age of 48, Zhiyi returned to Jinling, the capital of the Chen dynasty, at the request of the last emperor and governors of that dynasty.

In 587 CE, he gave lectures on the Lotus Sūtra, which were later compiled as The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra. To avoid the bloodshed caused by the conquest of the Chen dynasty by the Sui dynasty, Zhiyi stayed at Mount Lu and in the town of Changsha. In 591 CE, Prince Guang, later known as Yangdi, invited him to Yangzhou. He granted bodhisattva precepts to the prince, who gave him the honorific name Zhizhe.

Zhiyi established Yuquansi Temple in Jingzhou. He expounded The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra in 593 CE and The Great Calming and Contemplation in 594 CE. He returned to Mount Tiāntái in 595 CE. Two years later, in 597 CE, while he was on the way to see Prince Guang, he became sick and died at the age of 60.