four peaceful practices ［四安楽行］ ( shi-anraku-gyō): Also, four easy practices, four comfortable practices, or four peaceful ways of practice. The practices for bodhisattvas in the evil age after Shakyamuni Buddha’s death, set forth in the “Peaceful Practices” (fourteenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra. While the descriptions of these practices in the sutra text are lengthy, T’ien-t’ai (538–597) categorized these as the four peaceful practices. They are (1) the peaceful practice of the body, which means to avoid temptations and meditate in a quiet and secluded place; (2) the peaceful practice of the mouth, or to teach the Lotus Sutra without despising or speaking of the faults of other people or scriptures; (3) the peaceful practice of the mind, or to discard a mind of jealousy or contention toward other sutras or those who embrace them; and (4) the peaceful practice of vows, which means to vow to save all people through great compassion. The “Encouraging Devotion” (thirteenth) chapter, which precedes “Peaceful Practices,” sets forth a more difficult bodhisattva practice in which bodhisattvas are required to endure all hardships and persecutions, propagating the sutra without begrudging their bodies and lives. When contrasted with this kind of practice, T’ien-t’ai viewed the four peaceful practices set forth in the “Peaceful Practices” chapter as passive and less difficult, and therefore as disciplines for bodhisattvas still in the early stages of practice.