Within the Tiantai tradition, practice is organized as an integrated path in which meditation, devotion, ethical conduct, and doctrinal reflection mutually support one another. At the heart of this path stands the discipline of *zhiguan*—“stopping and seeing”—which unites calming meditation (śamatha) with insight meditation (vipaśyanā). This meditative training is elaborated in systematic teachings such as the *Mohe Zhiguan*, where methods for cultivating wisdom and realizing emptiness are carefully articulated. Through this lens, contemplation is not merely a quieting of the mind but a way of seeing reality in terms of emptiness, conventional existence, and the middle way.

Alongside meditation, Tiantai places great weight on practices centered on the Lotus Sutra. Recitation, chanting, and study of this scripture are regarded as direct means of nurturing faith in universal Buddhahood and revealing inherent Buddha‑nature. Devotional activities such as honoring, copying, and expounding the Lotus Sutra function as concrete expressions of the conviction that this text embodies the most comprehensive revelation of the Buddha’s teaching. In this way, liturgical and contemplative engagement with the sutra becomes inseparable from the meditative quest for insight.

Another important strand of Tiantai practice is mindfulness of the Buddha, or *nianfo*. This includes reciting the name of a Buddha—often Amitābha or Śākyamuni—visualizing the Buddha, and contemplating the Buddha’s qualities. Within the Tiantai framework, such recitation is not treated as an isolated devotional act but as a form of samādhi that supports and deepens insight. It harmonizes naturally with the broader program of *zhiguan* and Lotus Sutra devotion, reinforcing the aspiration to realize Buddhahood for oneself and others.

Finally, Tiantai emphasizes that authentic practice cannot be separated from ethical discipline and the bodhisattva path. Observance of precepts and engagement in the perfections—such as generosity, patience, and wisdom—are understood as the lived expression of the insight that all beings possess Buddha‑nature. Doctrinal study, including the contemplation of the three truths and the systematic classification of teachings, is cultivated not as mere intellectualism but as a way of clarifying the view that guides meditation and conduct. In this integrated vision, every aspect of life becomes a field for realizing the unity of wisdom, compassion, and the universal potential for enlightenment.