本研究以聖嚴法師《大乘止觀法門之研究》一書為題材，做為理解聖嚴法師天台思想脈絡的切入點。聖嚴法師寫作此書之因緣背景特殊，本文將予以探析。《大乘止觀法門》相傳為南北朝陳代慧思所著，針對慧思的代表性研究，最早有法國學者Paul Magnin、日本的菅野博史教授和美國的Daniel Stevenson。近來國內的王晴薇教授也有許多研究成果。總體來看，對於慧思有較多研究，對於《大乘止觀法門》的研究則少得多。從這個角度來看，聖嚴法師選擇《大乘止觀法門》為論文主題是個特別的切入點。本文不著墨於《大乘止觀法門》之內容，而將《大乘止觀法門》放置於當代學術脈絡當中考察，論文分為兩個區塊，一為聖嚴法師選擇這個經典的理由、時空背景，和日本學界的異同處。第二部分為《大乘止觀法門》展現的禪觀思想，以及聖嚴法師如何表述它，並且梳理他研究《大乘止觀法門》的方法。

This paper analyzes Master Sheng Yen’s first book, the Dasheng zhiguan famen yanjiu, and his encounter with the Japanese academia. This is a study of an important medieval Tiantai scripture attributed to Master Huisi (515-577). Huisi’s authorship, however, had been a topic for question, and Sheng Yen treats this issue carefully in his book. Master Sheng Yen deals with this work from two aspects: the historical question on the authorship; and the doctrinal position. This approach combines the Japanese and western scholarship, and is a result of his diligent study in Tokyo. It is particularly noteworthy to mention that when young Sheng Yen was reading for his MA degree and chose this scripture for his topic, he encountered only opposition and no encouragement from his Japanese advisors for the potential difficulty. And yet he decided to carry on working on this particular scripture. Through this book, one may grasp the foundation of Master Sheng Yen’s Tiantai thought. His academic learning did not stop after finishing his thesis; rather, it was the starting point and provides insights to the trajectory of his Buddhist learning. In this paper, I will discuss his approach to Tiantai Buddhism in general, to Huisi in particular, the background of his thesis writing, and the influence of the Japanese scholarship.