Tendai training hinges on a handful of texts often summed up as the “Four Sutras and One Treatise,” yet its curriculum branches out generously into other Mahāyāna and esoteric works.

Core Sutras (Shishikyō)
• Myōhō Renge-kyō (Lotus Sūtra): The undisputed centerpiece, teaching the One Vehicle (ekayāna) and Buddha-nature in every being.
• Hokkekyō (Avataṃsaka Sūtra): A cosmic panorama of interpenetrating worlds, illustrating how all phenomena reflect one another—truly the “bread and butter” of Tendai’s interconnected view.
• Yuiitsu-myōgō-renge-kyō (Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra): Emphasizes the permanence of Buddha-nature beneath the illusion of impermanence.
• Zenchisoku-nyorai-kyō (Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra): Highlights nondual wisdom in a layman’s guise, underscoring compassion’s equal footing with monastic practice.

One Treatise
• Mohe Zhiguan (Great Calming and Contemplation) by Zhiyi: A systematic guide to śamatha-vipaśyanā meditation, weaving together theoretical insight and hands-on methods.

Beyond these pillars, Tendai students also delve into:

Prajñāpāramitā Literature
• The 600,000-line Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra and its shorter siblings (Heart, Diamond Sūtras), tracing the perfection of wisdom that undergirds the Lotus.

Esoteric Texts (Taimitsu)
• Mahāvairocana Abhisambodhi Tantra and Vajrasekhara Sūtra: Introducing mantra, mudrā, and mandala practice—an integral “secret” branch that blossomed in Japan by the late 9th century.

Supplementary Commentaries
• Zhiyi’s additional works (Beishi lun, Niangu tongjiao) and Japanese masters’ annotations. These writings carry the torch from Chinese Tiantai to local soil, ensuring that theory never drifts too far from daily devotion.

Recent scholarship, such as presentations at the 2025 Tendai International Symposium in Kyoto, has spotlighted how these texts still inform socially engaged Buddhism—particularly the Vimalakirti Sūtra’s call to lay leadership and the Lotus Sutra’s message of universal dignity. In Tendai circles today, recitation and study remain two sides of the same coin: wisdom in the head, compassion in the heart.