Panjiao

Panjiao (判教). An abbreviation of jiaoxiang panshi (教相判釋). The classification of the teachings according to theme, time period, etc.

In East Asian Buddhism, this classification of doctrines was usually done by scriptural commentators who, while seeking a way to accommodate the diversity of the Buddhist teachings into a single system, usually tended to valorize the teachings of their own school.

Teaching taxonomy was a major aspect of the textual studies of many 5–8th century monks from the scholarly schools of Chinese Buddhism, such as:

• Faxiang 法相
• Tiantai 天台
• Huayan 華嚴

Some of the more famous doctrinal classifiers were:

• Paramârtha 眞諦,
• Huiguan 慧觀,
• Jizang 吉藏,
• Huiyuan 慧遠,
• Liuqiu 劉虬,
• Fayun 法雲,
• Zigui 自軌,
• Zhiyi 智顗,
• Xuanzang 玄奘,
• Kuiji 窺基,
• Fazang 法藏, and
• Zongmi 宗密.

Examples of classification systems include:

• three turnings of the wheel (sānshí jiào 三時教),
• four teachings (sijiao 四教),
• five teaching periods (wushi 五時), and
• the five teachings (wujiao 五教)