On the Meditation of Dharmadhātu [by Master Tu Shun]

Introduction The most original and important piece of work in the literature of Hwa Yen Philosophy is no doubt Tu Shun's Fa Chieh Kuan, On the Meditation of Dharmadhiitu. The germinal thoughts and characteristic approach of Hwa Yen Philosophy are clearly visible in this essay. The four famous masters subsequent to Tu Shun-Chih Yen, Fa Tsang, Ch' eng Kuan, and Tsung Mi-all gained their inspiration from this essay and wrote their works following the principles and arguments laid down therein. With regard to philosophy, this treatise is no doubt the most important piece of work of Hwa Yen Buddhism. The main theme is the development of a philosophy of the all-embracing Totality of Shih-shih Wu-ai. This is done by elaborating in sequence three philosophical observations. 1. Meditation on True Voidness. 2. Meditation on the Non-Obstruction of Li and Shih. 3. Meditation on the All-Embracing Totality. From the sequence and development of these three Meditations, we can clearly see that the foundation of Hwa Yen Philosophy is the Philosophy of Voidness rather than of Mind-Only as generally believed.