A Hermeneutical Study of “Śamatha and Vipaśyanā Focused on the Combined Teachings” in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra

Abstract This article is an attempt to address the gap in contemporary scholarship related to a unique form of śamatha and vipaśyanā , which focuses on the combined teachings, contributing to the research on the relationship between religious practice and religious philosophy, particularly regarding Mahāyāna Buddhism. Based on textual study and philosophical analysis of ancient Buddhist literatures, this article states that within the text of the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra , “ śamatha and vipaśyanā focused on the combined teachings” is effective and feasible in realizing the ultimate reality. This article concludes that the essential practice involves combining all the teachings and meditating on their collective contribution to the realization of suchness. The relationship between it and the theory of suchness is delineated into three aspects. First, meditating on the reasons that all the teachings contribute to the realization is itself a practice of suchness. Second, the entirety of all the teachings corresponds to the universality of suchness. Third, it is also a method to practice the suchness of the teachings themselves. Lastly, through the initial application of attention, sustained attention, and resolution, it is feasible for ordinary persons to engage in this practice and eventually realize suchness.