Chih-i affirms that the phenomenal entities do provisionally (dependently) exist; simultaneously empty and dependently arising, their interpenetrating existence is a positive phenomenon, a reality that while not independent of conceptual activity is not merely the groundless correlate of conceptual acts. Chih-i’s affirmation of phenomenal existence is intimated by the Lotus Sutra’s elaborate descriptions of the wonder of the Buddha realm. This realm of the Buddha, filled with gardens of jewel trees, magnificent towers and halls, incense and music, is not a pure land beyond this world but the realm of phenomenal existence itself seen in its truth. In contrast to the Prajn͂āpāramitā sūtras, which emphasize the illusory nature of the phenomenal realm, the Lotus Sutra celebrates its “true aspect” with a profusion of concrete images.
A Buddhist Kaleidoscope; Susan Mattis, Chih-i and the Subtle Dharma of the Lotus Sutra: Emptiness or Buddha-nature?, Page 256