I have found two different ways of doing this and I am seeking commentary on the fine nuance. Suppose there is a Hamiltonian $$ H=\frac{1}{2}\int\!d^3x \left[ \pi^2+(\nabla\varphi)^{\!2}+m^2\varphi^2 \right] ~~. \tag{1}$$ Hamilton's equations are $$ \dot\pi=-\dfrac{\delta H}{\delta \varphi} \qquad\text{and}\qquad \dot\varphi=\dfrac{\delta H}{\delta \pi}~~. \tag{2} $$ It follows that $$ \dot \varphi=\int\!d^3x\,\pi~~, \tag{3}$$ but I have a question about how to compute $\dot\pi$. If I trivially take the derivative with respect to $\varphi$ as $$\frac{\delta}{\delta\varphi}\equiv\frac{\partial}{\partial\varphi},\tag{4}$$ skipping over the gradient term, I get the wrong answer $\dot\pi=\int d^4x\, m^2\varphi$. I have found two different ways to get the correct answer. The first is to use the identity $$ (\nabla\varphi)^2=\nabla(\varphi\nabla\varphi)-\varphi\nabla^2\varphi ~~,\tag{5}$$ to rewrite the Hamiltonian as $$ H=\frac{1}{2}\int\!d^3x \left[ \pi^2+\nabla(\varphi\nabla\varphi)-\varphi\nabla^2\varphi +m^2\varphi^2 \right] ~~.\tag{6}$$ Now when I take the partial with respect to $\varphi$ I get the correct answer $$ \dot \pi=\int\!d^3x\, \left[\nabla^2\varphi-m^2\varphi\right]~~. \tag{7} $$ Mainly my question is this: What rule is it that dictates that $\frac{\delta}{\delta\varphi}$ has to hit the $\nabla\varphi$ term? Something about the linearity of the operators, I am sure, but I am not certain exactly what my reasoning is. I found another way to compute the correct answer and that is also what my question is about because ***the other method suggests the derivative does not have to hit that term***. I saw something on the internet that says Hamilton's equations for fields use the "functional derivative" $$ \dfrac{\delta}{\delta \varphi} \equiv\dfrac{\partial}{\partial \varphi}-\nabla\dfrac{\partial}{\partial (\nabla \varphi)} ~~.\tag{8}$$ I can apply this to the original Hamiltonian as \begin{align} \dot\pi=-\dfrac{\delta}{\delta \varphi} H&=-\left(\dfrac{\partial}{\partial \varphi}-\nabla\dfrac{\partial}{\partial (\nabla \varphi)} \right)\frac{1}{2}\int\!d^3x \left[ \pi^2+(\nabla\varphi)^{\!2}+m^2\varphi^2 \right]\\ &=-\int\!d^3x \,m^2\varphi+\int\!d^3x\, \nabla\nabla\varphi\\ &=\int\!d^3x\,\nabla^2\varphi-m^2\varphi\tag{9} \end{align} Once I have to correct $\dot\varphi,\dot\pi$, I can easily proceed to derive the KG equations of motion. I am seeking input regarding the relative merits and uses of these two procedures for computing $\dot\pi$. Initially, I got the wrong answer because I thought $\frac{\delta}{\delta\varphi}(\nabla\varphi)=0$ and I want to better understand why I was wrong.