A Mahayana Buddhist sutra centered on Vimalakirti, a wealthy lay householder whose wisdom and command of emptiness teaching surpass those of the Buddha's own monastic disciples and bodhisattvas who visit him as he lies feigning illness. Its central image, Vimalakirti's "thundering silence" when asked to define non-duality directly, after every other figure has offered a verbal answer, became a touchstone for East Asian Buddhist, especially Chan and Zen, teaching on the limits of language. The text was highly influential in China as a scriptural warrant for serious lay Buddhist practice outside the monastery.
Facts
Origins
Era of Compositionthe Vimalakirti Nirdesa was likely composed in approximately 100 CE 1 Era of CompositionScholars generally date composition to around the second century CE in India; Kumarajiva completed the standard Chinese translation in 406 CE. 2 LanguageComposed in Sanskrit; the Sanskrit original was long lost and the text was known chiefly through Kumarajiva's early fifth century Chinese translation until a Sanskrit manuscript resurfaced at the Potala Palace in 1999. Text
Literary Form Structure
Structure14 chapters structured as a series of dialogues in which the layman Vimalakirti instructs bodhisattvas and disciples, culminating in his wordless response on the teaching of nonduality. 2 Status
Canonical Status Status TodayLiving tradition, practised today 2 Vimalakirti Sutra
Filter Results1 entry
Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source The Vimalakirti Sutra (Burton Watson)Burton Watson
In Language
Originates in Language
Source The Vimalakirti Sutra (Burton Watson)Burton Watson
Sources
1. Vimalakirti Sutra (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia: Vimalakirti Sutra, lead section
Translator Burton Watson argues that the Vimalakirti Nirdesa was likely composed in approximately 100 CE.
Lead section
Translator Burton Watson argues that the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa was likely composed in approximately 100 CE.
- In Group: Mahayana Buddhist Sutras
View the Source2. The Vimalakirti Sutra (Burton Watson)
Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 1997Originates in Language: Classical Chinese, Stored language property on this entity, cited to this source: classical-chinese
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