equal in principle but superior in practice ［理同事勝］ ( ridō-jishō): An interpretation applied in Esoteric Buddhism to the Mahāvairochana Sutra, a primary esoteric sutra. It was formulated by Shan-wu-wei ( Shubhakarasimha, 637–735) in China and espoused in Japan by Jikaku (794–864), who established the foundation of Tendai Esotericism. This statement is an assertion that the Mahāvairochana Sutra is equal to the Lotus Sutra in terms of principle and is superior to it in terms of practice. According to this interpretation, both the Mahāvairochana Sutra and the Lotus Sutra reveal the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life, and therefore these two sutras are equal in terms of principle; however, because the Mahāvairochana Sutra contains descriptions of mudras (hand gestures) and mantras (mystic formulas), Tendai Esotericism argued that it is superior to the Lotus Sutra in terms of practice.