Meditation within the Tendai tradition functions as a central, integrative discipline through which doctrinal teachings are transformed into lived realization. Rather than standing apart from study or ritual, it interpenetrates them, serving as the practical means to awaken to the inherent Buddha‑nature said to be present in all beings. Through meditative practice, the teaching that each moment of consciousness contains all realms of existence is not merely understood conceptually but is directly experienced. In this way, meditation becomes the bridge between philosophical insight and the immediate recognition that samsara and nirvana are not ultimately separate.

The primary meditative framework in Tendai is shikan, “stopping and seeing,” which joins calming the mind with the cultivation of insight. The calming aspect steadies attention and softens coarse defilements, while the contemplative aspect examines phenomena as empty, provisionally existent, and expressive of a middle truth that transcends both extremes. This is not treated as abstract speculation; it is a disciplined way of looking that gradually reveals the true nature of reality. Various methods—such as śamatha‑vipaśyanā, visualization, Lotus Sutra contemplation, and nenbutsu recitation—are regarded as skillful means, adapted to differing capacities yet converging on the same realization.

Tendai also articulates structured modes of practice, such as the four types of samādhi—constantly sitting, constantly walking, half‑walking half‑sitting, and neither walking nor sitting—which extend meditative awareness into every posture and circumstance. In this vision, meditation is not confined to the meditation hall; it is meant to suffuse daily conduct so that each activity becomes a site of contemplation. Esoteric elements, including mantra and mandala practices, further enrich this meditative landscape, supporting both the purification of karmic obstacles and the cultivation of compassion grounded in a felt sense of interconnectedness.

Ultimately, the role of meditation in Tendai is to uncover what is already present rather than to manufacture something new. By integrating calm and insight, ritual and study, stillness and activity, Tendai meditation seeks to reveal the ever‑present Buddha‑nature and the non‑dual character of all phenomena. Through sustained engagement with these practices, the practitioner is guided toward a direct, experiential understanding that all things, just as they are, participate in the path of awakening.