Root teaching

root teaching; 根本法輪; (Jpn kompon-horin)

(1) One component of the "thrice turned wheel of the Law," a division of Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings into three categories set forth by Chi-tsang (549-623), a systematizer of the doctrines of the Three Treatises school in China (Sanlun).

See thrice turned wheel of the Law. (

2) A term that Fa-tsang (643-712), the third patriarch of the Flower Garland school in China (Hua-yen), applied to the Flower Garland Sutra.

In contrast to the root teaching, he called the Lotus and other sutras branch teachings to express his conviction that the Flower Garland Sutra was superior to the other sutras.

root teaching; teaching that directly reveals the Buddha's enlightenment to bodhisattvas without employing expedient means.