Master Zhiyi's method of breaking demonic barriers
2025-03-13
Lecture by Master Jing Jie
When Master Zhiyi arrived at Tiantai, he did not build a temple immediately. Instead, he built a few thatched huts and chose to practice on his own. Before going to Mount Tiantai, he first went to Mount Folong, built a few thatched huts, practiced saddharma-pundarīka-samādhi (Lotus Sutra Repentance Method), and worshipped Buddha, walked, chanted sutras, practiced meditation, etc. with all his disciples.
One day when he was in samadhi, suddenly "a strong wind uprooted the trees, thunder shook the mountains, and all kinds of demons and ghosts appeared at the same time, in an extremely terrifying scene." This is when the great Dan is about to be completed, and demons are surrounding it. The Shurangama Sutra says that before a person can achieve great merit, he must first defeat the devil. Because when he wants to advance from one level of life to another, he must first break down the obstacles.
What method is used to break the demonic barrier? Peace of mind and emptiness.
In the thought of the Lotus Sutra, " one heart meditates three perceptions (śūnya, saṃyoga and neutrality absoluteness)" is very important. You should be at peace with your mind and be empty, rather than confronting external circumstances, otherwise you will fall into saṁvṛiti-satya (conventional view). The true ultimate truth is to not follow delusion, to realize that delusion is originally empty, and to know that the truth is inherent in oneself. You must know that all external realms are illusory. As long as you don't respond to them, they will disappear on their own.
Why does the external realm become so powerful? According to the Shurangama Sutra, it is you who give it power. You said this person hurt me so much. Wrong! The harm he causes you is because you give him strength and you cling to him. All external forces are defined by yourself, and you have the final say on whether they are important to you or not. If you take the energy back, be mindful of Tathātā, and don't follow delusions, it will be nothing. Therefore, according to the Tiantai teachings, we cannot redevelop our lives, but we can interpret our lives.
Life cannot be changed because of karma. Just because you practice the Lotus Sutra Samadhi does not mean you don't have to bear the karmic obstacles of your past.There is no such thing. But when faced with things, your approach may be different. In other words, there is no interaction between it and you. You did not destroy it, but the line of interaction with it was cut off by you. Your mind begins to turn inward, all six senses are restrained, and pure thoughts follow one after another.
Why were you hurt in the past? Because we reach out to the outside world, we connected with it. If the external environment wants to hurt you, there must be a process and a bridge. It has to wait for you to release your mind. In other words, karma must be combined with delusion to cause harm. For the external environment to hurt you, there needs to be a process and a bridge. It requires you to release your mind. In other words, karma must be combined with delusion to cause harm. When your mind is free of delusions, there is only karma, which cannot cause any harm because it has no way of being sensed. So, the demon had no choice but to disappear on its own. This is called a hard thief. Let's look at a soft thief.
When the māra-pāpman (devil king) saw that the hard thief could not harm the Master Zhiyi', he tried to touch him with his emotions. He changed into the appearance of his past parents and teachers and relied on him, hugged him, and cried, hoping to touch his emotions and destroy his meditation. Master Zhiyi "deeply contemplated Tathātā, realized the emptiness of nature, and achieved a state of tranquility and peace of mind, then the appearance of sorrow and suffering is eliminated."
He still maintained mindfulness of Tathātā, observing that "my nature is originally pure."
These are all false causes and conditions and false appearances. If you are not confused, grasped, or moved by them, they will disappear on their own. At this time, neither the strong nor the soft thieves can influence him.
When a person breaks through the demonic obstacles, it means that his sun is ready to rise. At this time, "the clouds clear and the sun appears, all scenes become clear, wonderful wisdom and deep meditation are present, and the heart is filled with the joy of Dharma." It is reasonable to infer that he should have attained dhyāna-maula.
His previous state of concentration only attained Upaya (beginning expedient method) of the Lotus Sutra, from the process of how he was able to scare away the demons, it can be seen that Master Zhiyi had formally attained the Lotus Sutra Samadhi at this time.
It is a practice of reciting the Lotus Sutra and practicing repentance for one's sins. It is an important ritual of Tiantai Sect. To perform this repentance method, one must first cleanse the place of practice and the body, then worship and invoke the Buddhas, repent the sins of the six senses, namely the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, walk the path, recite the Lotus Sutra, practice meditation, etc., for a period of twenty-one days.
