Chinese Buddhism: Mahayana Buddhism

549-623 CE: Chi-tsang (Jizang), master of the San-lun (Sanlun) or emptiness school of Chinese Buddhism.

538-597 CE: Chih-i (Zhiyi), master of the T'ien-t'ai (Tiantai) school of Chinese Buddhism emphasizing that human nature is karmically evil. Lotus Sutra

643-712 CE: Fazang (Fa-ts'ang), master of the Huayan school emphasizing the web of interrelations and interpenetration.

A. Chi-tsang and the Emptiness School (San-lun): Based on the Wisdom Sutras 

   1. The "middle" as the intersection of form and emptiness, of distinctions and no distinctions, word and beyond words

   2. The Four Middles: Comparative Middle, Exhaustive Middle, Absolute Middle, and Creative Middle.

B. Chih-i and the T'ien-t'ai School: Based on The Lotus Sutra

Amitabha Buddha - Amitabha - infinite light

   1. Human Nature as Inherently Evil - Karmically Evil 

   2. Buddha Nature as Inherently Evil - Both Good and Evil; Neither Good Nor Evil.

   3. The Four Samadhis (Meditative Absorption) of Amitabha (Buddha of Infinite Light)

          * Sitting, Walking, Both Sitting and Walking, Neither Sitting nor Walking

C. Fazang and the Huayan (Hua-yen) School.

1. The Huayan school is based on the Flower Garland Sutra (Ch. Huayan, Skt. Avatamsaka).

Indra's Net

2. Four Levels of Realization

Phenomena (form) A exists

Principle (emptiness) A does not exist

Phenomena and Principle (form and emptiness) A both exists and doesn't exist

Phenomena and Phenomena (form and form) A neither exists nor doesn't exist

The fourth level of realization, the Interpenetration of Phenomena and Phenomena, is represented by the image of Indra's Net, a kind of cosmic fisherman's net in which there is a reflective jewel placed at each intersection of the web. Each jewel is said to reflect all other jewels, suggesting the interpenetration of all phenomena.