As the ultimate purpose of Tiantai Zhiyi’s The Great Calming and Contemplation is mastery of the cosmic reality of three thousand worlds in one occasion of experience, in it he develops various theories of practice and gives instructions about the various kinds of human conduct that go with these theories.

The term “calming contemplation” (zhiguan) is based on a compound of the Sanskrit śamatha (meditative calm) and vipaśana (contemplation). It indicates being rooted in the cosmic reality of eternity and infinity, not being upset by the changes and ups and downs of life, broadly observing the world from the perspective of such eternity and infinity, and having unattached wisdom. It is understood to be both meditation and wisdom, as the two terms together express such things as tranquility and illumination or clarity and serenity. Appropriate judgments and actions will follow from such a state.

The term mohe is a phonetic translation of mahā, meaning “great.” The worldview and life view of The Great Calming and Contemplation is on an extremely large scale. It teaches a theory of practice for all kinds of situations, so it is appropriate that it is modified by the term “great.” We encounter many kinds of situations and obstacles in the journey through life. The Great Calming and Contemplation anticipates such situations, teaches ways of dealing with them one by one, and devises means of helping. It deals with problems of love and passion and of sin and evil, indicates what is appropriate for food and clothing, and teaches what to do about disease. We might say that it is a book of counseling that deals with all the kinds of distress and suffering experienced in life.