'profound meaning.' A style of Buddhist commentary， referring chiefly to the Tiantai method of explication which was to proceed from a general explanation of the content and meaning of the various great sutras to a discussion of the deeper meaning. The method was: （1） shiming 释名 explanation of terms; （2） bianti 辨体 definition of the substance; （3） mingzong 明宗 clarifying the principles; （4） lunyong 论用 discussing their application; and （5） panjiao 判教 classifying the doctrine.