維摩詰所說經 白話全本

Base text: Kumārajīva’s Yao-Qin translation, The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Upper Scroll, Chapter 01, “Buddha-Lands.” What follows renders the chapter passage by passage in its transmitted sequence; the bodhisattvas’ attributes, the fifty-two named bodhisattvas, the entire assembly, all thirty-six verse lines, the seventeen practices of a pure land, the twelve successive links, and the four classes of Dharma benefit are preserved item by item.

The Assembly in the Āmra Grove

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was dwelling in the Āmra Grove at Vaiśālī, together with eight thousand great bhikṣus. Also present in the Dharma assembly were thirty-two thousand bodhisattvas. Their virtues were as follows:

First, they were well known to the assembly and had fully accomplished the foundational practices of great wisdom.

Second, established by the awe-inspiring spiritual power of the buddhas, they guarded the city of the Buddha-Dharma and upheld the true Dharma.

Third, they could sound the fearless lion’s roar, and their renown was heard throughout the ten directions.

Fourth, although sentient beings had not asked them, they still took the initiative to befriend sentient beings and bring them peace and security.

Fifth, they could ensure that the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha continued to flourish without interruption.

Sixth, they had subdued the enmity of Māra and overcome the non-Buddhist paths. Pure in body and mind, they had forever left behind the coverings and entanglements.

Seventh, their minds constantly abided in unobstructed liberation.

Eighth, their right mindfulness, meditative concentration, dhāraṇī, and eloquence continued without interruption.

Ninth, they were fully endowed with the powers of giving, ethical discipline, patience, diligent effort, meditation, wisdom, and skillful means.

Tenth, they had reached the acceptance of non-attainment in which dharmas do not arise.

Eleventh, they could already accord with the true Dharma and turn the irreversible Dharma-wheel.

Twelfth, they skillfully understood the marks of all dharmas and also knew the differences among the faculties of sentient beings.

Thirteenth, they stood transcendent and fearless within the assembly, cultivating their own minds through merit and wisdom.

Fourteenth, they adorned their bodies with the excellent marks and characteristics and were supreme in physical form, yet had relinquished every worldly ornament.

Fifteenth, their lofty renown surpassed Mount Sumeru.

Sixteenth, their profound faith was firm like vajra.

Seventeenth, their treasury of Dharma shone everywhere and rained down ambrosia.

Eighteenth, amid the many sounds of language, what they taught was the most subtle and wondrous.

Nineteenth, they entered deeply into dependent origination, cut off wrong views and both extremes of grasping existence and grasping nonexistence, and retained no residual habits.

Twentieth, they taught the Dharma fearlessly, like a lion’s roar; the Dharma they proclaimed resounded like thunder, immeasurable and beyond all reckoning.

Twenty-first, they gathered many treasures of Dharma, like guides upon the great ocean, and comprehended the profound and wondrous meanings of all dharmas.

Twenty-second, they skillfully knew where sentient beings came from and where they were going, and also knew the directions in which their minds moved.

Twenty-third, they had drawn near the Buddha’s mastery of wisdom, without equal or peer, as well as the Buddha’s ten powers, four fearlessnesses, and eighteen qualities not shared with others.

Twenty-fourth, they closed every gate leading to the evil destinies, yet manifested various bodies throughout the five paths.

Twenty-fifth, like great kings of physicians, they skillfully treated the many illnesses of sentient beings, prescribing medicine according to each illness and causing sentient beings to take it and put it into practice.

Twenty-sixth, they had accomplished immeasurable merit and purified immeasurable buddha-lands.

Twenty-seventh, every sentient being who saw or heard them received benefit, and nothing they did ever came to nothing. They were fully endowed with all the virtues stated above.

These bodhisattvas were named in sequence:

(1) Bodhisattva Equal Contemplation; (2) Bodhisattva Unequal Contemplation; (3) Bodhisattva Contemplating Equality and Inequality; (4) Bodhisattva King of Mastery in Concentration; (5) Bodhisattva King of Mastery in Dharma; (6) Bodhisattva Dharma-Mark; (7) Bodhisattva Light-Mark; (8) Bodhisattva Adornment of Light; (9) Bodhisattva Great Adornment; (10) Bodhisattva Jewel Accumulation; (11) Bodhisattva Accumulation of Eloquence; (12) Bodhisattva Jewel-Hand; (13) Bodhisattva Jewel-Seal Hand; (14) Bodhisattva Ever-Raised Hand; (15) Bodhisattva Ever-Lowered Hand; (16) Bodhisattva Ever-Sorrowful; (17) Bodhisattva Root of Joy; (18) Bodhisattva King of Joy; (19) Bodhisattva Eloquent Voice; (20) Bodhisattva Treasury of Space; (21) Bodhisattva Holder of the Jewel Torch; (22) Bodhisattva Jewel-Courage; (23) Bodhisattva Jewel-Vision; (24) Bodhisattva Indra’s Net; (25) Bodhisattva Luminous Net; (26) Bodhisattva Objectless Contemplation; (27) Bodhisattva Accumulation of Wisdom; (28) Bodhisattva Jewel-Supreme; (29) Bodhisattva Deva-King; (30) Bodhisattva Destroyer of Māra; (31) Bodhisattva Lightning Virtue; (32) Bodhisattva King of Mastery; (33) Bodhisattva Adorned with the Mark of Merit; (34) Bodhisattva Lion’s Roar; (35) Bodhisattva Thunder-Voice; (36) Bodhisattva Sound of Mountains Striking One Another; (37) Bodhisattva Fragrant Elephant; (38) Bodhisattva White Fragrant Elephant; (39) Bodhisattva Ever Diligent; (40) Bodhisattva Never Resting; (41) Bodhisattva Wondrous Birth; (42) Bodhisattva Floral Adornment; (43) Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara; (44) Bodhisattva Attainment of Great Power; (45) Bodhisattva Brahmā’s Net; (46) Bodhisattva Jewel Staff; (47) Bodhisattva Unsurpassed; (48) Bodhisattva Adorner of Lands; (49) Bodhisattva Golden Topknot; (50) Bodhisattva Jeweled Topknot; (51) Bodhisattva Maitreya; and (52) Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, Prince of Dharma. Bodhisattvas such as these numbered thirty-two thousand in all.

There were also ten thousand Brahmā kings, Śikhin among them, who had come from other four-continent worlds to hear the Dharma from the Buddha. Twelve thousand lords of the devas likewise came from other four-continent worlds and took their seats in the assembly. All the other powerful devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, and mahoragas also came and sat in the assembly. The fourfold community of bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās likewise came to the Dharma gathering.

At that time, the Buddha taught the Dharma while immeasurable hundreds of thousands in the assembly reverently surrounded Him. Like King Sumeru rising above the ocean, He sat upon a lion throne adorned with many jewels, and His majestic virtue outshone the entire assembled multitude.

Five Hundred Jeweled Canopies Become One

At that time in the city of Vaiśālī was a householder’s son named Jewel Accumulation. He and five hundred householders’ sons each brought a canopy of the seven jewels before the Buddha. They bowed with their heads and faces at the Buddha’s feet, and each presented his jeweled canopy as an offering to the Buddha.

Through His spiritual power, the Buddha caused the many jeweled canopies to merge into a single canopy that covered the entire three-thousand-great-thousand world-system. The length, breadth, and shape of this world were all revealed within it. Mount Sumeru, Snow Mountain, Mount Mucilinda, Mount Mahāmucilinda, Fragrant Mountain, Jewel Mountain, Golden Mountain, Black Mountain, Iron-Enclosing Mountain, and Great Iron-Enclosing Mountain within the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system each appeared. The oceans, great rivers, streams, and springs, as well as the sun, moon, stars, palaces of the devas, palaces of the nāgas, and palaces of the honored spirits, all appeared within it. The buddhas of the ten directions and the Dharma those buddhas were teaching likewise appeared within the jeweled canopy.

The entire assembly saw the Buddha’s spiritual power and praised it as something never before experienced. Joining their palms, they bowed to the Buddha and gazed up at His honored countenance without looking away even for a moment. Jewel Accumulation, the householder’s son, then praised the Buddha in verse before Him. Each of the following thirty-six present-day units corresponds to one verse line in the canonical text, and the object praised in every line is the Buddha:

Line 1: “Your eyes are pure, long, and broad, like blue lotuses; Your mind is pure and has passed beyond every meditative concentration.”

Line 2: “Over long ages You have accumulated pure karma, and Your renown and virtue are beyond measure. You guide sentient beings by the path of quiescent cessation; therefore I bow my head to You.”

Line 3: “We have seen the Great Sage manifest through spiritual power, universally revealing immeasurable lands throughout the ten directions.”

Line 4: “The buddhas in those lands are teaching the Dharma; all of this can be seen and heard right here.”

Line 5: “The Dharma-King surpasses all sentient beings through the power of Dharma and constantly gives the wealth of Dharma to every sentient being.”

Line 6: “You skillfully distinguish the marks of all dharmas, yet remain peacefully unmoved within ultimate truth.”

Line 7: “You have attained mastery over all dharmas; therefore I bow my head to this Dharma-King.”

Line 8: “You teach that no dharma can definitively be called existent or nonexistent; all dharmas arise through causes and conditions.”

Line 9: “Within them there is no truly existent self, no truly existent maker, and no truly existent recipient; yet wholesome and unwholesome karma are never lost.”

Line 10: “At first, beneath the tree of awakening, You used Your power to subdue Māra’s hosts, realized ambrosia-like quiescent cessation, and accomplished the path of awakening.”

Line 11: “You no longer fall within mind, mentation, reception, or fabrication, yet You can overcome every non-Buddhist path.”

Line 12: “Within the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system, You turned the Dharma-wheel three times; this Dharma-wheel has always been pure.”

Line 13: “The attainment of the path by devas and humans bears witness to this; the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha then appeared in the world.”

Line 14: “Through this subtle and wondrous Dharma, You rescue all sentient beings. Once they receive it, they do not turn back and remain forever quiescent.”

Line 15: “You are the great king of physicians who frees beings from old age, illness, and death. I should honor this ocean of boundless merit.”

Line 16: “Neither slander nor praise can move You, just as Mount Sumeru cannot be moved. You bestow loving-kindness equally upon wholesome and unwholesome sentient beings.”

Line 17: “Your mental conduct is equal like space. Who could hear of this jewel among humans and fail to honor Him?”

Line 18: “Now I offer this small jeweled canopy to the World-Honored One; astonishingly, my three-thousand-great-thousand world-system appears within it.”

Line 19: “The palaces inhabited by devas and nāgas, as well as the gandharvas, yakṣas, and others, all appear within it.”

Line 20: “Everything in the world can be seen. The World-Honored One, complete in the ten powers, has compassion for us and manifests this transformation.”

Line 21: “The assembly sees this unprecedented event and praises the Buddha together. I now bow my head to the Supreme One of the three realms.”

Line 22: “The Great Sage, the Dharma-King, is the refuge of the entire assembly. No sentient being who contemplates the Buddha with a pure mind fails to rejoice.”

Line 23: “Every sentient being sees the World-Honored One directly before himself. This is an exclusive quality of the Buddha’s spiritual power.”

Line 24: “The Buddha proclaims the true Dharma in a single voice, and sentient beings each understand it according to their own kind.”

Line 25: “Each kind of sentient being thinks that the World-Honored One is using its own language. This is an exclusive quality of the Buddha’s spiritual power.”

Line 26: “The Buddha proclaims the true Dharma in a single voice, and sentient beings each hear according to what they themselves understand.”

Line 27: “Sentient beings everywhere can receive it, put it into practice, and gain the corresponding benefit. This is an exclusive quality of the Buddha’s spiritual power.”

Line 28: “The Buddha proclaims the true Dharma in a single voice; some who hear it become afraid, while others rejoice.”

Line 29: “Some who hear it develop disenchantment, while others cut off their doubts. This is an exclusive quality of the Buddha’s spiritual power.”

Line 30: “I bow my head to the greatly diligent Buddha who possesses the ten powers. I bow my head to the Buddha who has attained fearlessness.”

Line 31: “I bow my head to the Buddha who abides in the exclusive qualities. I bow my head to the great guide of all sentient beings.”

Line 32: “I bow my head to the Buddha who can cut through the many bonds. I bow my head to the Buddha who has reached the other shore.”

Line 33: “I bow my head to the Buddha who can free the entire world. I bow my head to the Buddha who has forever left the paths of birth and death.”

Line 34: “You completely know the marks of sentient beings’ coming and going and are skillful at attaining liberation in all dharmas.”

Line 35: “Like a lotus unstained by the world, You constantly and skillfully enter the practice of empty quiescence.”

Line 36: “You comprehend the marks of all dharmas without obstruction. I bow my head to the Buddha, unsupported like space.”

Jewel Accumulation Asks about the Practice of a Pure Land

After reciting the verses, Jewel Accumulation addressed the Buddha: “World-Honored One! These five hundred householders’ sons have all set their minds on unsurpassed perfect awakening. They wish to hear how a buddha-land can be purified. May the World-Honored One teach us the bodhisattva’s practice of purifying a buddha-land!”

The Buddha said, “Excellent, Jewel Accumulation! You are able to ask the Tathāgata on behalf of the bodhisattvas about the practice of a pure land. Listen carefully, listen carefully! Reflect well upon its meaning, and I will now explain it to you.”

Jewel Accumulation and the five hundred householders’ sons accepted the instruction and listened single-mindedly.

Sentient Beings Are the Bodhisattva’s Buddha-Land

The Buddha said, “Jewel Accumulation! Every kind of sentient being is the bodhisattva’s buddha-land. Why is this so?

“First, a bodhisattva chooses a buddha-land according to the sentient beings he intends to teach and transform.

“Second, a bodhisattva chooses a buddha-land according to the sentient beings he intends to discipline.

“Third, a bodhisattva chooses a buddha-land according to the kind of land in which sentient beings should enter the Buddha’s wisdom.

“Fourth, a bodhisattva chooses a buddha-land according to the kind of land in which sentient beings should produce bodhisattva roots of goodness.

“Why? A bodhisattva chooses a pure land entirely for the benefit of sentient beings. Suppose someone wishes to build a palace on open ground: he can build as he pleases, without obstruction. If he wishes to build it directly in empty space, he can never complete it. A bodhisattva is just the same. It is in order to bring sentient beings to accomplishment that he vows to choose a buddha-land. A vow to choose a buddha-land is not accomplished out of empty space.”

Seventeen Practices of a Pure Land

The Buddha continued, “Jewel Accumulation! You should know the following seventeen practices and the buddha-lands they bring to accomplishment:

1. A Straightforward Mind

“A truly straightforward and sincere mind is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings free of deceit and crookedness are born in His land.”

2. A Profound Mind

“A mind of profound practice is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings complete in merit are born in His land.”

3. The Mind of Awakening

“The mind that seeks unsurpassed awakening is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings whose aspiration is directed toward the Great Vehicle are born in His land.”

4. Giving

“Giving is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, all sentient beings capable of relinquishing and giving are born in His land.”

5. Ethical Discipline

“Ethical discipline is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who practice the ten wholesome paths and completely fulfill their vows are born in His land.”

6. Patience

“Patience is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who adorn their bodies with the thirty-two marks are born in His land.”

7. Diligent Effort

“Diligent effort is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who diligently cultivate every merit are born in His land.”

8. Meditation

“Meditation is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who gather in their thoughts and do not let them scatter are born in His land.”

9. Wisdom

“Wisdom is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who abide in right concentration are born in His land.”

10. The Four Immeasurable Minds

“The four immeasurable minds are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who accomplish the four immeasurables of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity are born in His land.”

11. The Four Means of Gathering

“The four means of gathering are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings gathered and embraced by liberation are born in His land.”

12. Skillful Means

“Skillful means are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who apply skillful means to all dharmas without obstruction are born in His land.”

13. The Thirty-Seven Factors of the Path

“The thirty-seven factors of the path are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, sentient beings who cultivate the four establishments of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of spiritual power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of awakening, and the Noble Eightfold Path are born in His land.”

14. The Mind of Dedication

“The mind that dedicates merit to awakening and sentient beings is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, the land He attains is complete in every merit.”

15. Teaching the Removal of the Eight Difficulties

“Teaching how to remove the eight difficulties is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, His land has neither the three evil destinies of hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals, nor the eight difficulties.”

16. Guarding One’s Own Ethical Conduct without Criticizing the Faults of Others

“Guarding one’s own ethical conduct without criticizing the failings of others is the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, even the name ‘violation of the precepts’ is absent from His land.”

17. The Ten Wholesome Actions

“The ten wholesome actions are the bodhisattva’s pure land. When the bodhisattva becomes a Buddha, the following ten kinds of sentient beings are born in His land: (1) those whose lives are not cut short by untimely death; (2) those who possess great wealth; (3) those who cultivate pure brahmacarya; (4) those whose words are true and sincere; (5) those who constantly use gentle speech; (6) those whose families are not separated and who skillfully reconcile disputes; (7) those whose speech invariably benefits others; (8) those free of envy; (9) those free of anger; and (10) those endowed with right view.”

From a Straightforward Mind to the Purification of Every Merit

The Buddha further said, “Jewel Accumulation! This sequence of practice unfolds as follows:

“First, as a bodhisattva’s mind becomes straightforward and sincere, actual practice is set in motion.

“Second, as actual practice is set in motion, a more profound mind is attained.

“Third, as the profound mind is accomplished, one’s intention is disciplined.

“Fourth, as one’s intention is disciplined, one practices according to the Dharma that has been taught.

“Fifth, as one practices in accordance with the Dharma, one can dedicate the merit cultivated to awakening and sentient beings.

“Sixth, with dedication, one possesses skillful means.

“Seventh, when skillful means are complete, one can bring sentient beings to accomplishment.

“Eighth, as sentient beings are brought to accomplishment, the buddha-land becomes pure.

“Ninth, as the buddha-land becomes pure, the Dharma that is taught also becomes pure.

“Tenth, as the Dharma that is taught becomes pure, wisdom also becomes pure.

“Eleventh, as wisdom becomes pure, the bodhisattva’s own mind also becomes pure.

“Twelfth, as the bodhisattva’s mind becomes pure, every merit also becomes pure.

“Therefore, Jewel Accumulation, if a bodhisattva wishes to attain a pure buddha-land, he should first purify his own mind. As his own mind becomes pure, the buddha-land becomes pure.”

What Śāriputra Saw and What Brahmā King Conch-Crest Saw

At that time, through the Buddha’s spiritual power, a doubt arose in Śāriputra’s mind: “If the buddha-land becomes pure when the bodhisattva’s mind is pure, was the World-Honored One’s mind not pure in the past when He practiced the bodhisattva conduct? Why, then, is this buddha-land not pure now?”

Knowing the thought in Śāriputra’s mind, the Buddha asked him, “What do you think? Are the sun and moon impure merely because a blind person does not see them?”

Śāriputra answered, “No, World-Honored One! That is the blind person’s own fault, not the fault of the sun and moon.”

The Buddha said, “Śāriputra! Because of their own karmic wrongdoing, sentient beings cannot see the adornment and purity of the Tathāgata’s buddha-land. This is not the Tathāgata’s fault. Śāriputra! My land is pure; you simply do not see it now.”

At that time, Brahmā King Conch-Crest said to Śāriputra, “Please do not give rise to the thought that this buddha-land is impure. Why? I see Śākyamuni Buddha’s buddha-land as pure, like a palace in the Heaven of Mastery.”

Śāriputra said, “I see this land covered everywhere with hills, pits, thorns, gravel, soil, rocks, and mountains, and filled with impurity and evil.”

Brahmā King Conch-Crest said, “Good sir! Your mind has high and low and does not rely upon the Buddha’s wisdom in its contemplation; therefore you see this land as impure. Śāriputra! A bodhisattva is equal toward all sentient beings, has a pure and profound mind, and relies upon the Buddha’s wisdom; therefore he can see this buddha-land as pure.”

The Buddha Presses the Earth with His Toe, Revealing the Adorned and Pure Land

At that time, the Buddha pressed the earth with His toe. At that very moment, the three-thousand-great-thousand world-system was adorned with many hundreds of thousands of precious jewels, like the Immeasurable-Merit Jewel-Adorned Land of Buddha Jewel Adornment. The entire assembly praised this as something never before experienced, and every person saw himself seated upon a jeweled lotus.

The Buddha asked Śāriputra, “Now take a look: is this buddha-land adorned and pure?”

Śāriputra answered, “Yes, World-Honored One! I had never seen or heard of this before. Now the adornment and purity of the buddha-land have been fully revealed.”

The Buddha said to Śāriputra, “My buddha-land is always as pure as this. In order to liberate people of inferior faculties, I manifest this land filled with many evils and not pure. It is like the devas who eat together from a single jeweled vessel, while the color of the rice differs according to each one’s merit. Śāriputra! In the same way, when a person’s mind is pure, he can see the meritorious adornments of this land.”

Four Classes of Dharma Benefit

When the Buddha revealed the adornment and purity of this land, all five hundred householders’ sons led by Jewel Accumulation attained acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, and all eighty-four thousand people set their minds on unsurpassed perfect awakening.

The Buddha withdrew His spiritual power, and this world returned to its former appearance. Thirty-two thousand devas and humans seeking the śrāvaka vehicle saw that all conditioned dharmas are impermanent, left dust and defilement behind, and attained the pure Dharma-eye. Eight thousand bhikṣus neither received nor clung to any dharma; their outflows were exhausted, and their minds attained liberation.

Base text: Kumārajīva’s Yao-Qin translation, The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Upper Scroll, Chapter 02, “Skillful Means.” What follows renders the chapter’s four prose sections sentence by sentence; no item among its qualities, settings, bodily similes, or causes of the Buddha-body is omitted.

Vimalakīrti in the Great City of Vaiśālī

At that time, in the great city of Vaiśālī, there was an elder named Vimalakīrti.

In the past, he had already made offerings to immeasurable buddhas and deeply planted roots of goodness. He had attained acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. His eloquence was unobstructed; he could freely employ supernormal powers; and he had attained the various dhāraṇīs, through which he retained without loss the Dharma he had heard and realized. He had attained fearlessness and could subdue Māras and harassing adversaries. He had entered the profound Dharma-gates, was skilled in the perfection of wisdom, and had mastered the various skillful means. His great vows had been fulfilled. He understood the directions toward which the minds of sentient beings inclined and could discern whether each person’s faculties were sharp or dull.

He had long cultivated the Buddha-way, and his mind had become pure and mature. He was firmly established in the Great Vehicle. Whatever he did, he considered well. He abided in the Buddha’s dignified conduct, and his mind was as vast as the ocean. All buddhas praised him, and the Buddha’s disciples, Śakra, Brahmā, and the lords of the world all revered him.

To liberate people, he dwelt in the city of Vaiśālī through skillful means.

Gathering Six Kinds of Sentient Beings through Six Kinds of Practice

Vimalakīrti possessed immeasurable wealth, and with his resources he aided and gathered in the poor. Keeping his own ethical discipline pure, he gathered in those who violated the precepts. Taming his conduct through patience, he gathered in those prone to anger. With great diligent effort, he gathered in the indolent. Abiding one-pointedly in the stillness of meditation, he gathered in those whose minds were distracted. With decisive and unwavering wisdom, he gathered in those without wisdom.

He did not keep any of these virtues for himself alone. Giving, ethical discipline, patience, diligent effort, meditation, and wisdom each became a skillful means for guiding sentient beings.

Living a Household Life without Being Bound by It

Although Vimalakīrti was a white-robed layman, he upheld the pure discipline of renunciant practitioners. Although he lived at home, he was not attached to the three realms of desire, form, and formlessness. He manifested having a wife, yet constantly cultivated the pure, desire-free life of brahmacarya. He appeared to have a household retinue, yet inwardly always delighted in freedom from attachment.

Although he wore precious ornaments, what truly adorned him were his marks and excellences. Although he ate ordinary food, what he savored inwardly was the joy born of meditation.

When he went to places of games and gambling, he used the occasion to guide people. He also studied and encountered the teachings of the various non-Buddhist paths, yet his faith in the true Dharma was not thereby impaired. Although he understood the many writings of the world, what he continually delighted in remained the Buddha-Dharma. Everyone who saw him honored him, and among all recipients of offerings he was the most revered. He upheld the true Dharma and thereby gathered in both old and young.

He engaged in every kind of livelihood and managed each one successfully. Even when he gained worldly profit, he did not become delighted by or attached to it.

Every Place in the City Becomes a Place for Benefiting Sentient Beings

Vimalakīrti walked through the crossroads where roads from the four directions met, benefiting the sentient beings who came and went. When he entered places where public affairs and laws were administered, he protected everyone. When he entered halls of discussion and debate, he guided the people toward the Great Vehicle. When he entered schools, he drew out and awakened children who were beginning to learn.

He entered brothels and showed those within the faults of desire. He entered wine shops and helped those within establish their resolve.

When among elders, he became the one most revered by the elders and taught them the supreme Dharma. When among householders, he became the one most revered by the householders and cut off their attachment to wealth. When among the kṣatriya royal class, he became the one most revered by the kṣatriyas and taught them patience. When among brahmins, he became the one most revered by the brahmins and removed their pride.

When among ministers, he became the one most revered by the ministers and taught them to act according to the true Dharma. When among princes, he became the one most revered by the princes and showed them loyalty and filial devotion. When among palace officials—that is, the officials who managed affairs within the palace—he became the one most revered by the palace officials and guided and corrected the conduct of the palace women. When among ordinary people, he became the one most revered by ordinary people and enabled them to arouse the strength to cultivate merit.

When among the Brahmā gods, he became the one most revered by the Brahmā gods and taught them supreme wisdom. When among the Śakra gods, he became the one most revered by the Śakra gods and showed them that the pleasures of the five desires ultimately are impermanent. When among the world-protecting heavenly kings, he became the one most revered by the world-protecting heavenly kings and taught them to protect all sentient beings.

In this way, the elder Vimalakīrti benefited sentient beings through immeasurable skillful means.

Through Skillful Means, He Manifests Illness

Vimalakīrti then employed skillful means once more and manifested illness in his own body. Because he was ill, kings, ministers, elders, householders, brahmins, princes, and the remaining officials and attendants—countless thousands of people—came to inquire about his illness.

For every person who came to inquire about his illness, Vimalakīrti used the illness of his own body to teach the Dharma extensively. He said:

“Good sirs! This body is impermanent. It is not strong, has no dependable power, and possesses no firm and indestructible nature. It will soon decay and cannot be trusted. It is suffering, it is affliction, and it is a gathering place for the many diseases.

“Good sirs! A person with wisdom does not regard a body such as this as an eternally reliable refuge.

Ten Similes for the Body

“This body is like a mass of foam—that is, a clump of foam upon water—so loose that it cannot be grasped in the hand. It is also like a bubble, which cannot remain for long.

“It is like a shimmering mirage in sunlight, which seems to be water but in fact arises from thirst and craving. It is also like a plantain tree: when its layers are peeled away one by one, no solid core can be found within.

“It is like something manifested through illusion, arising from inverted apprehension. It is also like what is seen in a dream, an image beheld through false discrimination.

“It is like a shadow, appearing in dependence on karma and conditions. It is also like an echo, which appears only in dependence on sound and various conditions.

“It is like a drifting cloud, changing and vanishing in a moment. It is also like lightning, changing in every thought-moment and never remaining still.”

The Body of the Four Great Elements Has No Master

Vimalakīrti continued:

“This body has no master; the sūtra compares it to the earth. This body has no autonomous self; the sūtra compares it to fire. This body has no fixed and unchanging lifespan; the sūtra compares it to wind. This body has no fixed and unchanging person; the sūtra compares it to water.

“This body is not real; it merely takes the four great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind as a temporary home. Its nature is empty, apart from any real self and apart from everything taken to belong to a self.

“This body has no awareness of its own, like grass, trees, tiles, and stones. It has no independent maker; it merely turns under the force of the wind.

“This body is impure and filled with all kinds of filth. It is false and unreal. Even if it is temporarily tended through bathing, clothing, and food, in the end it must still wear away and perish.

“This body is a calamity, afflicted by one hundred and one diseases. It is like an abandoned, dry well, oppressed by old age. Its lifespan has no fixed term, yet it must finally die.

“This body is also like venomous snakes, like hostile bandits, and like an empty village without a master. It is merely compounded by the five aggregates, the eighteen elements, and the twelve sense-fields. The five aggregates are the five collections of form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. The eighteen elements are the six faculties, six objects, and six consciousnesses. The twelve sense-fields are the six faculties and six objects. Only when these conditions come together does a whole temporarily appear under the name ‘body.’”

Not Stopping at Revulsion, but Turning toward Seeking the Buddha-Body

Vimalakīrti further said:

“Good sirs! You should indeed see the faults of a body such as this and become weary of it. You should delight in seeking the Buddha-body. Why? Because the Buddha-body is precisely the dharma-body.

“The Buddha-body is born of immeasurable merit and wisdom. It is born of ethical discipline, meditation, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation. It is born of the four vast minds of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.

“The Buddha-body is born of giving, ethical discipline, patience, gentleness, diligent effort, meditation, liberation, samādhi, great learning, wisdom, and all these practices of perfection.

“The Buddha-body is born of skillful means and of the six superknowledges. It is born of the three knowledges: the divine eye, recollection of past lives, and the exhaustion of the taints. It is born of the thirty-seven factors conducive to the path and of calm and insight.

“The Buddha-body is born of the Buddha’s ten powers, four kinds of fearlessness, and eighteen unique qualities. It is born of abandoning every unwholesome dharma and gathering every wholesome dharma. It is born of truth and also of heedfulness.

“The body of the Tathāgata is born of immeasurable pure dharmas such as these.

“Good sirs! If you wish to attain the Buddha-body and also to eliminate the illnesses of all sentient beings, you should arouse the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening—the mind that realizes unsurpassed, complete, and perfect awakening.”

Countless Thousands Arouse the Mind of Unsurpassed Awakening

In this way, the elder Vimalakīrti taught the Dharma to every person who came to inquire about his illness in accordance with what that person could receive, causing countless thousands of people to arouse the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening.

This chapter begins with Vimalakīrti dwelling in the city in order to liberate people, unfolds through his manifestation of illness in order to liberate people, and concludes with everyone arousing the mind of awakening together. City life, bodily illness, and the vow to attain buddhahood are not cut into three unrelated matters in this chapter. All become skillful means for benefiting sentient beings.

At that time, the elder Vimalakīrti lay ill in bed and thought to himself, “As I lie sick in bed, can it be that the World-Honored One, in his great loving-kindness and compassion, does not think of me with pity?”

The Buddha knew his thought and in turn instructed his great disciples to go to Vimalakīrti’s residence and inquire about his illness. Yet every disciple he named recounted to the Buddha a former encounter with Vimalakīrti and explained why he could not undertake the task.

1. Śāriputra: Sitting beneath a Tree Is Not Necessarily Meditative Sitting

The Buddha first told Śāriputra, “Go to Vimalakīrti and inquire about his illness.”

Śāriputra answered the Buddha, “World-Honored One, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness. Why? I remember once sitting quietly beneath a tree in a forest. Vimalakīrti came to me and said:

“Śāriputra, meditative sitting is not necessarily a matter of assuming this seated posture. Meditative sitting means not manifesting body or mind within the three realms; this is meditative sitting. It means not rising from the absorption of cessation, yet manifesting all the dignified postures of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down; this is meditative sitting. It means not abandoning the dharmas of the path, yet manifesting the affairs of ordinary people; this is meditative sitting. It means that the mind abides neither within nor without; this is meditative sitting. It means remaining unmoved amid the various views while cultivating the thirty-seven factors of the path; this is meditative sitting. It means entering nirvāṇa without cutting off the afflictions; this is meditative sitting. One who can sit in this way sits as approved by the Buddha.”

“World-Honored One, when I heard these words, I could only remain silent and had nothing further to say in reply. Therefore, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness.”

2. Mahāmaudgalyāyana: The Mark of Dharma Cannot Be Spoken, Yet Dharma Must Still Be Taught in Accord with Dharma

The Buddha told Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “Go to Vimalakīrti and inquire about his illness.”

Maudgalyāyana answered the Buddha, “World-Honored One, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness. Why? I remember once entering the great city of Vaiśālī and teaching the Dharma to lay householders in one of its lanes. Vimalakīrti came to me and said:

“Mahāmaudgalyāyana, when teaching the Dharma to white-robed householders, you should not teach as you have just done. One who teaches the Dharma should teach in accord with the true mark of Dharma.

“Within Dharma there is no sentient being, because Dharma is removed from the defilement of sentient being. Within Dharma there is no self, because Dharma is removed from the defilement of self. Within Dharma there is no fixed lifespan, because Dharma is removed from birth and death. Within Dharma there is no person, because the prior and later limits have been cut off.

“Dharma is constantly quiescent, because all marks have ceased. Dharma is apart from every mark, because it has no object that can be taken as a condition. Dharma has no name, because the path of language has been cut off. Dharma cannot be spoken, because it is apart from initial and sustained thought. Dharma has no form, being like space. Dharma has no conceptual proliferation, because it is ultimately empty.

“Dharma has nothing belonging to self, because it is removed from grasping at what is mine. Dharma has no discrimination, because it is removed from all consciousness. Dharma has nothing comparable to it, because it is not established in dependence upon relativity. Dharma does not belong to a cause and is not within conditions. Dharma is identical with Dharma-nature and pervades all dharmas. Dharma accords with suchness, yet there is no object with which it accords. Dharma abides in the limit of reality, and the various extreme views cannot shake it. Dharma itself is unmoving, because it does not depend upon form, sound, scent, taste, touch, or dharmas, the six objects. Dharma neither goes nor comes, because it has never been fixed in a single place.

“Dharma accords with emptiness, follows signlessness, and corresponds to wishlessness. Dharma is removed from beautiful and ugly. Dharma neither increases nor decreases. Dharma neither arises nor ceases. Dharma has nowhere to return. Dharma surpasses the six faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Dharma is neither high nor low. Dharma constantly abides without moving. Dharma is removed from every activity of observation.

“Mahāmaudgalyāyana, since the mark of Dharma is like this, how can it be spoken? One who teaches the Dharma has no dharma to speak and no dharma to show. One who hears the Dharma has no sound to hear and no dharma to attain. It is like an illusory person teaching the Dharma to another illusory person. When teaching the Dharma, one should first establish an intention like this.

“At the same time, one should understand that the faculties of sentient beings can be sharp or dull. One should be skilled in unobstructed knowing and seeing. With great compassion one should praise the Great Vehicle. One should remember and repay the Buddha’s kindness, ensuring that the Three Jewels remain unbroken. Only after fulfilling these things should one teach the Dharma to others.”

“When Vimalakīrti taught this Dharma, eight hundred householders aroused the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening. I do not possess such eloquence, and therefore I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness.”

3. Mahākāśyapa: If Almsround Is Grounded in Equality, One Cannot Choose Only Poor Neighborhoods

The Buddha told Mahākāśyapa, “Go to Vimalakīrti and inquire about his illness.”

Mahākāśyapa answered the Buddha, “World-Honored One, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness. Why? I remember once going for alms in a poor neighborhood. Vimalakīrti came to me and said:

“Mahākāśyapa, although you have a compassionate heart, your compassion is not universal and equal. You pass by wealthy households and seek alms only from poor households. Kāśyapa, you should abide in the Dharma of equality and go from door to door for alms in sequence.

“For the sake of not making food the aim, you should go for alms. For the sake of breaking the mark of food compounded through the convergence of conditions, you should take a morsel of food. For the sake of not abiding in reception, you should receive food given by others. When entering a settlement, regard it as an empty settlement. When seeing forms, be like a blind person and do not turn with form. When hearing sounds, regard them as echoes. When smelling scents, regard them as passing with the wind. When tasting flavors, give rise to no discrimination. When receiving the various contacts, do so as wisdom directly realizes. Know that all dharmas are like illusory appearances: they have no fixed nature of their own and no fixed nature coming from another. Originally there was no real burning, and now there is nothing to extinguish.

“Kāśyapa, if you can enter the eight liberations without abandoning the eight wrong practices, enter the true Dharma through the marks of wrongness, and with a single portion of food give to all and make offerings to all buddhas and all worthies and sages, only then may you eat. One who eats in this way cannot be said to possess afflictions or to have left afflictions behind; cannot be said to be entering absorption or to have risen from absorption; cannot be said to abide in the world or to abide in nirvāṇa.

“The giver of food does not thereby establish great merit or small merit, nor is any increase or decrease established. This is true entry into the Buddha’s path, without relying on the śrāvaka vehicle. Kāśyapa, if you can receive food in this way, you will not consume another’s offering in vain.”

“World-Honored One, when I heard these words, I experienced what I had never experienced before and immediately developed profound reverence for all bodhisattvas. I also thought: This man bears the name of a lay householder, yet his eloquence and wisdom can be like this. Who, upon hearing these words, would fail to arouse the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening? From that time onward, I no longer encouraged people to cultivate only the conduct of a śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha. Therefore, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness.”

4. Subhūti: Before a Bowl Full of Rice, Equality of Food and Equality of Dharmas Illuminate Each Other

The Buddha told Subhūti, “Go to Vimalakīrti and inquire about his illness.”

Subhūti answered the Buddha, “World-Honored One, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness. Why? I remember once entering Vimalakīrti’s house for alms. He took my bowl and filled it with rice, then said to me:

“Subhūti, if you can be equal toward food, you are also equal toward all dharmas; if you can be equal toward all dharmas, you are also equal toward food. Only one who goes for alms in this way may take the food.

“Subhūti, if you can refrain from cutting off greed, anger, and delusion, yet not dwell together with greed, anger, and delusion; refrain from destroying this body, yet accord with the one mark; refrain from extinguishing ignorance and craving, yet give rise to understanding and liberation; attain liberation through the marks of the five heinous acts, yet establish neither one who has been liberated nor one who is bound; neither see the Four Truths nor fail to see the truths; be neither one who has attained the fruit nor one who has not attained the fruit; be neither an ordinary person nor one who has left the dharmas of ordinary people behind; be neither a sage nor a non-sage; and, though accomplishing all dharmas, remain apart from all marks of dharmas—only then may you take the food.

“Subhūti, if you can neither see the Buddha nor hear the Dharma, and regard the six non-Buddhist teachers—Pūraṇa Kāśyapa, Maskarin Gośālīputra, Sañjaya Vairaṭīputra, Ajita Keśakambala, Kakuda Kātyāyana, and Nirgrantha Jñātiputra—as your own teachers, leave home under them, and follow them wherever they fall—only then may you take the food.

“Subhūti, if you can enter the various wrong views without reaching the far shore; dwell amid the eight difficult states without attaining a state free of difficulty; become equal to the afflictions and leave the pure dharmas behind; and let all sentient beings attain the absorption of non-contention that you have attained, then those who give to you will not be called people who plant in a field of merit, while those who make offerings to you will instead fall into the three evil paths. You will join hands with the hosts of Māra and become a companion of the afflictive defilements. You will be equal and without difference from the hosts of Māra and all defilements. You will harbor enmity toward all sentient beings, slander the buddhas, destroy the true Dharma, fail to enter the company of the assembly, and in the end never enter cessation. If you can be like this, only then may you take the food.”

“World-Honored One, upon hearing these words, I became utterly bewildered. I did not understand what he was saying and did not know how to answer, so I put down my bowl and tried to leave his house.

“Vimalakīrti said to me: Subhūti, pick up your bowl and do not be afraid. Consider this: if a person conjured by the Tathāgata were questioned with the things just said, would that conjured person be afraid?

“I answered: No.

“Vimalakīrti then said: All dharmas have the marks of an illusion, so you should not be afraid now. Why? All speech likewise does not depart from the marks of an illusion. The wise are free of fear because they do not cling to written words. Why? The nature of written words is originally separate and there is no real written word. This is liberation, and the mark of liberation is also all dharmas.”

“When Vimalakīrti taught this Dharma, two hundred devas attained purity of the Dharma-eye. I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness.”

5. Pūrṇa: First Contemplate the Faculties, Then Teach the Dharma

The Buddha told Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra, “Go to Vimalakīrti and inquire about his illness.”

Pūrṇa answered the Buddha, “World-Honored One, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness. Why? I remember once teaching the Dharma to some newly trained bhikṣus beneath a tree in the Great Forest. Vimalakīrti came to me and said:

“Pūrṇa, first enter absorption and contemplate these people’s minds; only then should you teach them the Dharma. Do not place impure food in a jeweled vessel. You should know what these bhikṣus have in mind; do not mistake beryl for ordinary crystal. Since you cannot know the source of sentient beings’ faculties, do not use the Lesser Vehicle Dharma to inspire them.

“They originally had no wound, so do not injure them. They wish to travel the great road, so do not point them toward a small path. Do not pour the great ocean into the hollow of an ox’s hoof. Do not regard sunlight as equal to a firefly’s glow.

“Pūrṇa, these bhikṣus aroused the mind of the Great Vehicle long ago, but forgot that intention along the way. How can you now teach them with the Lesser Vehicle Dharma? I see the wisdom of the Lesser Vehicle as minute and shallow, like that of a blind person, unable to discern whether the faculties of all sentient beings are ultimately sharp or dull.”

“At that time, Vimalakīrti immediately entered an absorption that caused these bhikṣus to know their own experiences in former lives. They had planted many roots of virtue in the presence of five hundred buddhas and dedicated the merit to unsurpassed perfect awakening. They suddenly understood, recovered the mind they had originally aroused, and all bowed their heads to Vimalakīrti’s feet. Vimalakīrti then taught them the Dharma, and the sūtra records that they became irreversible from unsurpassed perfect awakening.

“I reflected that a śrāvaka who cannot discern people’s faculties should not teach them the Dharma. Therefore, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness.”

6. Mahākātyāyana: The Five Meanings Cannot Be Taught with a Mind of Arising and Cessation

The Buddha told Mahākātyāyana, “Go to Vimalakīrti and inquire about his illness.”

Mahākātyāyana answered the Buddha, “World-Honored One, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness. Why? I remember that once, after the Buddha had briefly taught the essentials of the Dharma to the bhikṣus, I elaborated their meanings in detail, speaking in sequence of the meaning of impermanence, the meaning of suffering, the meaning of emptiness, the meaning of no-self, and the meaning of quiescent cessation. Vimalakīrti came to me and said:

“Kātyāyana, do not explain the Dharma of the true mark through mental activity that arises and ceases. The meaning of impermanence is that all dharmas ultimately neither arise nor cease. The meaning of suffering is penetrating the five aggregates subject to grasping as originally empty and quiescent, with no dharma arising. The meaning of emptiness is that all dharmas ultimately have no possession. The meaning of no-self is making no dual division between self and no-self. The meaning of quiescent cessation is that dharmas originally had no real burning and now have nothing to extinguish.”

“When this Dharma was taught, those bhikṣus’ minds were liberated. I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness.”

7. Aniruddha: Is the Seeing of the Divine Eye Fabricated or Unfabricated?

The Buddha told Aniruddha, “Go to Vimalakīrti and inquire about his illness.”

Aniruddha answered the Buddha, “World-Honored One, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness. Why? I remember once walking in meditation at a certain place. At that time a Brahmā king named Majestic Purity came with ten thousand Brahmā devas. Radiating pure light, they approached me and bowed their heads in homage. Brahmā king Majestic Purity asked me: How extensive is the range seen by Aniruddha’s divine eye?

“I answered: Good sir, I see the billion-world universe within Śākyamuni Buddha’s buddha-land as clearly as one sees an āmalaka fruit in the palm of one’s hand.

“Vimalakīrti then came and said to me: Aniruddha, is what the divine eye sees a fabricated mark or an unfabricated mark? If it is a fabricated mark, it is the same as the five superknowledges of the non-Buddhists. If it is an unfabricated mark, it is unconditioned and should not have a separate act of seeing.

“World-Honored One, I remained silent at that time. When the Brahmā devas heard these words, they experienced what they had never experienced before. They bowed to Vimalakīrti and asked him: Who in the world has attained the true divine eye?

“Vimalakīrti answered: There is one. The Buddha, the World-Honored One, has attained the true divine eye. Constantly abiding in absorption, he completely sees all buddha-lands without seeing through two marks.

“At that time, Brahmā king Majestic Purity and five hundred members of his retinue of Brahmā devas all aroused the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening. After bowing at Vimalakīrti’s feet, they suddenly ceased to appear. I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness.”

8. Upāli: Do Not Press Still More Guilt upon the Minds of Those Who Repent

The Buddha told Upāli, “Go to Vimalakīrti and inquire about his illness.”

Upāli answered the Buddha, “World-Honored One, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness. Why? I remember that once two bhikṣus violated the precepts. Ashamed at heart, they did not dare ask the Buddha. They came to me and said: Upāli, we have violated the precepts and feel deeply ashamed. We do not dare ask the Buddha. Please dispel our doubt and remorse so that we may be freed from this offense.

“I then explained the matter to them according to the disciplinary code. Vimalakīrti came and said to me:

“Upāli, do not add still more weight to the offenses of these two bhikṣus. Eliminate them directly; do not disturb their minds. Why? The nature of an offense is not within, not without, and not in between. Just as the Buddha has said: because the mind is defiled, sentient beings are defiled; because the mind is pure, sentient beings are pure.

“The mind, too, is not within, not without, and not in between. As it is with the mind, so it is with the defilement of offense, and so it is with all dharmas: none goes beyond suchness. Upāli, when the mark of mind is liberated, is there still any defilement within it?

“I answered: No.

“Vimalakīrti said: It is likewise with the minds of all sentient beings, whose marks are originally undefiled. Upāli, false conception is defilement and the absence of false conception is purity; inversion is defilement and the absence of inversion is purity; grasping at a self is defilement and not grasping at a self is purity.

“Upāli, all dharmas arise and cease without pause and cannot abide. They are like illusions and like flashes of lightning. No dharma waits upon another, and none remains even for a single thought-moment. All dharmas are seen by false seeing; they are like dreams, mirages, the moon in water, and images in a mirror, all arising from false conception. One who knows this is called an observer of the disciplinary code. One who knows this is called skilled in understanding the disciplinary code.”

“After hearing this, the two bhikṣus said: What supreme wisdom! Upāli cannot reach this. Though Upāli stands foremost among observers of the disciplinary code, he cannot speak such words.

“I answered them: Apart from the Tathāgata, no śrāvaka or bodhisattva can interrupt Vimalakīrti’s joyful eloquence in teaching the Dharma. His wisdom is lucid and penetrating, precisely as you have heard.

“At that time, all the doubt and remorse of the two bhikṣus was dispelled, and they aroused the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening. They vowed: May all sentient beings attain such eloquence. I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness.”

9. Rāhula: Leaving Home Is Not a Calculable Benefit

The Buddha told Rāhula, “Go to Vimalakīrti and inquire about his illness.”

Rāhula answered the Buddha, “World-Honored One, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness. Why? I remember once that some sons of elders from the city of Vaiśālī came before me and bowed their heads in homage. They asked me: Rāhula, you are the Buddha’s son. You relinquished the position of a wheel-turning king and left home to cultivate the path. What benefit does leaving home ultimately have?

“I explained to them, in accord with the true Dharma, the meritorious benefits of leaving home. Vimalakīrti then came and said to me:

“Rāhula, leaving home should not be described as possessing merit or benefit. Why? To have no benefit and no merit is to leave home. It is conditioned dharmas that can be said to possess benefit and merit. Leaving home is an unconditioned dharma, and within the unconditioned there is neither benefit nor merit.

“Rāhula, what is called leaving home has no place over there, no place over here, and no middle between them. It is removed from the sixty-two views and rests in nirvāṇa. It is received by the wise and is the domain in which sages practice. It subdues all Māras and crosses beyond the five paths. It purifies the five eyes, attains the five powers, and establishes the five faculties.

“What is called leaving home does not harm others and is removed from the various mixed evils. It subdues non-Buddhist paths and surpasses provisional names. It emerges from the mud and is without attachment. It has nothing belonging to self and nothing received. It is free of disturbance, cherishes Dharma-joy within, protects the intentions of others, accords with meditation, and is removed from every fault. One who can be like this has truly left home.”

“Vimalakīrti then said to those sons of elders: You should all leave home together within the true Dharma. Why? It is difficult to encounter a buddha dwelling in the world.

“The sons of elders answered: Layman, we have heard the Buddha say that if one’s parents do not permit it, one cannot leave home.

“Vimalakīrti said: That is so. Then arouse the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening. This is leaving home; this is full ordination.

“At that time, all thirty-two sons of elders aroused the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening. I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness.”

10. Ānanda: The Dharma-Body Has No Illness, Yet This Dharma Is Still Manifested in the World of Five Degenerations

The Buddha told Ānanda, “Go to Vimalakīrti and inquire about his illness.”

Ānanda answered the Buddha, “World-Honored One, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness. Why? I remember once that the World-Honored One was slightly unwell and required cow’s milk. I took my bowl and stood outside the gate of a great brahmin’s house.

“Vimalakīrti then came and asked me: Ānanda, why are you standing here early in the morning with your bowl?

“I answered: Layman, the World-Honored One is slightly unwell and requires cow’s milk, so I have come here.

“Vimalakīrti said: Stop, stop! Ānanda, do not speak this way. The Tathāgata’s body is an adamantine body. All evils have been cut off and all wholesome qualities have universally gathered within it. How could there be illness? How could there be suffering? Ānanda, leave quietly. Do not slander the Tathāgata or let others hear such coarse words. Do not let the devas of great majesty, or the bodhisattvas who have come here from pure lands in other directions, hear this statement.

“Ānanda, a wheel-turning king, on the strength of only a small amount of merit, can still be free of illness. How much more must this be true of the Tathāgata, in whom immeasurable merit has universally gathered and who surpasses all? Go, Ānanda. Do not make us bear this shame.

“If the non-Buddhists and brahmin renunciants hear this statement, they will think: What sort of teacher is this? He cannot even cure his own illness, yet he can cure all who are ill? You should leave secretly and quickly. Do not let anyone hear.

“Ānanda, you should know that the bodies of all tathāgatas are precisely the dharma-body, not bodies born of sensual thought. The Buddha is the World-Honored One and surpasses the three realms. The Buddha’s body has no outflows of affliction, and all outflows have been exhausted. The Buddha’s body is unconditioned and does not fall within any enumeration of conditioned things. How could a body like this have illness? How could it have suffering?”

“World-Honored One, I was truly ashamed at that time. Could I, though I attended closely upon the Buddha, somehow have heard the Buddha’s words incorrectly? Just then a voice came from the sky, saying:

“Ānanda, it is as the layman says. Nevertheless, the Buddha appears in the evil world of the five degenerations and manifests the practice of this Dharma in order to liberate sentient beings. Go, Ānanda. Fetch the cow’s milk and do not be ashamed.”

“World-Honored One, such are Vimalakīrti’s wisdom and eloquence. Therefore, I am not capable of going to inquire about his illness.”

The Five Hundred Great Disciples All Say They Are Unable

In this way, five hundred great disciples each explained to the Buddha the circumstances of a former encounter with Vimalakīrti, recounted the words Vimalakīrti had spoken at that time, and said that he was not capable of going to inquire about his illness.

Base text: Kumārajīva’s Yao-Qin translation, The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Upper Scroll, Chapter 04, “The Bodhisattvas.” What follows renders the chapter sentence by sentence through its twelve prose passages; all twenty-five statements on awakening, thirty-two statements on the place of awakening, thirty-two forms of Dharma-delight, and thirty-two forms of Dharma-giving are fully unfolded, with none omitted.

Maitreya: On Which Life Does the Prophecy of One More Birth Ultimately Depend?

At that time, the Buddha told Bodhisattva Maitreya, “Go to Vimalakīrti’s residence and inquire about his illness.”

Maitreya said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! I am not equal to the task of going there to inquire about his illness. Why?” He recalled that once, while he was teaching the practices of the stage of non-retrogression to the king of the Tuṣita devas and his retinue, Vimalakīrti came and said to him:

“Maitreya! The World-Honored One has prophesied that, after one more birth, good sir, you will attain unsurpassed perfect awakening. On which life, then, does your reception of this prophecy ultimately depend? Is it a past life, a future life, or the present life? If it is a past life, that past life has already ceased. If it is a future life, that future life has not yet arrived. If it is the present life, the present life does not remain even for an instant. As the Buddha has said: ‘Bhikṣu! In this very instant you are at once being born, growing old, and ceasing.’”

“If you are said to receive the prophecy through non-arising, non-arising is the correct position. Yet within the correct position there is neither a prophecy that can be received nor unsurpassed perfect awakening that can be attained. How, then, can Maitreya be said to receive the prophecy of one more birth? Is the prophecy received from the arising of suchness, or from the cessation of suchness? If it is received from the arising of suchness, suchness has never arisen. If it is received from the cessation of suchness, suchness has never ceased.”

“All sentient beings are equally suchness; all dharmas are equally suchness; all sages and worthies are equally suchness; even Maitreya is equally suchness. If Maitreya can receive a prophecy, all sentient beings should also receive prophecies. Why? Suchness is nondual and admits of no difference between one and another. If Maitreya can attain unsurpassed perfect awakening, all sentient beings should also attain it. Why? All sentient beings are, here and now, the mark of awakening. If Maitreya can attain cessation, all sentient beings should also attain cessation. Why? The buddhas know that all sentient beings are ultimately quiescent and, here and now, bear the mark of nirvāṇa; they do not need to undergo some further cessation.”

“Therefore, Maitreya, do not use this teaching to entice these devas into clinging to an awakening mind and a prophecy as something attainable. In truth, there is no real person who gives rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening, and no real person who retreats from that mind. You should lead these devas to relinquish discriminating views of awakening. Why? Awakening cannot be obtained through the body, nor can it be obtained through the mind.”

“Quiescent cessation is awakening, because all marks have ceased. Non-contemplation is awakening, because the conditions on which contemplation depends have been left behind. Non-activity—that is, not fabricating activity—is awakening, because there is no recollection. Severance is awakening, because all views are relinquished. Detachment is awakening, because all deluded conceptions are left behind. Obstruction is awakening, because it bars all wishes. Non-entry is awakening, because there is no craving attachment. Accordance is awakening, because it accords with suchness. Abiding is awakening, because it abides in Dharma-nature. Arrival is awakening, because it arrives at the limit of reality.”

“Nonduality is awakening, because the division between the mind faculty and dharmas as its objects has been left behind. Equality is awakening, because it is equal to space. The unconditioned is awakening, because it has no arising, abiding, or cessation. Knowing is awakening, because it understands the thoughts and conduct of sentient beings. Non-convergence is awakening, because the sense-spheres do not converge with one another. Non-combination is awakening, because the habituations of the afflictions have been left behind. Placelessness is awakening, because it has no form or shape. Provisional naming is awakening, because names are empty. Being like a transformation—that is, like an illusion—is awakening, because there is neither taking nor relinquishing.”

“Non-confusion—that is, freedom from distraction—is awakening, because it is constantly quiescent of itself. Excellent quiescence is awakening, because its nature is pure. Non-grasping is awakening, because it has left clinging to conditions behind. Non-difference is awakening, because all dharmas are equal. Incomparability is awakening, because nothing can serve as its simile. Subtlety is awakening, because all dharmas are difficult to know.”

Maitreya finally said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! When Vimalakīrti taught this Dharma, two hundred devas attained acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. Therefore, I am not equal to the task of going there to inquire about his illness.”

Radiant Adornment: If He Came from the Place of Awakening, Where Did He Come From?

The Buddha then told the youth Radiant Adornment, “Go to Vimalakīrti’s residence and inquire about his illness.”

Radiant Adornment said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! I am not equal to the task of going there to inquire about his illness. Why?” He recalled that once, as he was leaving the great city of Vaiśālī, Vimalakīrti happened to be entering the city. He paid homage to Vimalakīrti and asked, “Where have you come from, layman?”

Vimalakīrti answered Radiant Adornment, “I have come from the place of awakening.”

Radiant Adornment asked again, “What place is the place of awakening?”

He answered, “A sincere and upright mind is the place of awakening, because it is without falsity. Initiating practice—that is, putting practice into action—is the place of awakening, because it accomplishes what should be done. A profound mind is the place of awakening, because it increases merit. The mind of awakening is the place of awakening, because it is without error.”

“Giving is the place of awakening, because it expects no reward. Ethical discipline is the place of awakening, because it brings one’s vows to fulfillment. Patience is the place of awakening, because the mind has no obstruction toward any sentient being. Diligent effort is the place of awakening, because it is neither lax nor retrogressing. Meditation is the place of awakening, because the mind is regulated and pliant. Wisdom is the place of awakening, because it directly sees all dharmas as they are.”

“Loving-kindness is the place of awakening, because it treats sentient beings equally. Compassion is the place of awakening, because it endures the weariness and hardship of rescuing sentient beings. Sympathetic joy is the place of awakening, because it takes joyful delight in the Dharma. Equanimity is the place of awakening, because hatred and attachment have both been severed. Supernormal powers are the place of awakening, because the six supernormal powers are accomplished. Liberation is the place of awakening, because it can turn away from and relinquish bondage. Skillful means is the place of awakening, because it teaches and transforms sentient beings. The four means of gathering are the place of awakening, because they gather in sentient beings.”

“Learning widely is the place of awakening, because one practices in accord with what one has heard. Subduing the mind—that is, bringing one’s own mind under discipline—is the place of awakening, because it correctly contemplates all dharmas. The thirty-seven factors of the path are the place of awakening, because they leave conditioned dharmas behind. Truth is the place of awakening, because it does not deceive the world. Dependent origination is the place of awakening, because the sequence from ignorance through aging and death is inexhaustible. The afflictions—that is, all afflictions—are the place of awakening, because they are known as they truly are. Sentient beings are the place of awakening, because one knows there is no real self among them. All dharmas are the place of awakening, because one knows that all dharmas are empty.”

“Subduing Māra is the place of awakening, because one is not shaken. The three realms are the place of awakening, because there is nowhere toward which to proceed. The lion’s roar is the place of awakening, because it is without fear. The powers, fearlessnesses, and exclusive qualities—that is, the Buddha’s powers, fearlessnesses, and exclusive qualities—are the place of awakening, because they are free of every fault. The three knowledges are the place of awakening, because no obstruction remains. Knowing all dharmas in a single thought is the place of awakening, because omniscience is accomplished.”

“Good man! If a bodhisattva teaches and transforms sentient beings in accordance with the teachings of all the perfections, then in every action, every lifting of a foot and every placing of a foot, he should know that he has come from the place of awakening and abides in the Buddha-Dharma.”

Radiant Adornment finally said to the Buddha, “When this Dharma was taught, five hundred devas and humans all gave rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening. Therefore, I am not equal to the task of going there to inquire about his illness.”

World-Upholder: From the Pleasures of the Five Desires to Delight in the Dharma

The Buddha then told Bodhisattva World-Upholder, “Go to Vimalakīrti’s residence and inquire about his illness.”

World-Upholder said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! I am not equal to the task of going there to inquire about his illness. Why?” He recalled that once, while he was dwelling in a quiet chamber, the king Māra Pāpīyān came with twelve thousand goddesses. Assuming the appearance of Śakra, they played music, plucked strings, and sang as they approached World-Upholder. Māra and his retinue bowed their heads at World-Upholder’s feet, stood respectfully with palms joined, and remained to one side.

World-Upholder thought the visitor was Śakra and said to him, “Welcome, Kauśika! Although you possess merit, you should not indulge yourself. Contemplate the impermanence of the five desires—forms, sounds, scents, tastes, and touch—so as to seek roots of goodness, and cultivate what is steadfast with respect to body, life, and wealth.”

The visitor then said to World-Upholder, “Good sir! Please accept these twelve thousand goddesses. They can sweep and serve for you.”

World-Upholder answered, “Kauśika! Do not tempt me, a śramaṇa and disciple of Śākyamuni Buddha, with something contrary to the Dharma. This is not something fit for me to accept.”

Before World-Upholder had finished speaking, Vimalakīrti came and said to him, “This is not Śakra. It is Māra, who has deliberately come to trouble you.” He immediately said to Māra, “You may give these women to me, because I am fit to accept them.”

Māra was instantly frightened and thought, “Does Vimalakīrti intend to harm me?” He tried to conceal his form and leave, but could not become invisible. Even after exhausting all his supernatural powers, he still could not depart. Then a voice sounded in the air: “Pāpīyān! Give these women to him, and only then will you be able to leave.” Afraid, Māra reluctantly handed the goddesses over to Vimalakīrti.

Vimalakīrti then said to the goddesses, “Māra has given you to me. You should now all give rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening.” He taught the Buddha-Dharma in ways suited to what each needed and caused them to give rise to the mind that seeks the path. He then said, “Since you have given rise to the mind that seeks the path, you have delight in the Dharma with which to gladden yourselves. You should no longer delight in the pleasures of the five desires.”

The goddesses asked, “What is delight in the Dharma?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “Delight in constantly trusting the Buddha; delight in wishing to hear the Dharma; delight in making offerings to the Saṅgha; delight in leaving the five desires behind; delight in contemplating the five aggregates as hostile thieves; delight in contemplating the four elements as venomous snakes; and delight in contemplating the internal sense-spheres as an empty village without inhabitants.”

“Delight in guarding the mind that seeks the path; delight in benefiting sentient beings; delight in reverently serving and making offerings to teachers; delight in extensively practicing giving; delight in firmly maintaining pure ethical discipline; delight in patience and gentleness; delight in diligently gathering roots of goodness; delight in meditation without mental distraction; and delight in bright wisdom free of defilement.”

“Delight in making the awakening mind vast; delight in subduing the many Māras; delight in severing all afflictions; delight in purifying buddha-lands; delight in accomplishing the marks and excellent characteristics; delight in cultivating every merit; delight in adorning the place of awakening; and delight in hearing the profound Buddha-Dharma without fear.”

“Delight in cultivating the three gates of liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—and do not delight in what is untimely. Delight in drawing near to fellow students; delight in remaining free of anger and obstruction while among those whose learning differs from your own; delight in watching over bad spiritual friends with care; delight in drawing near to good spiritual friends; delight in inward joy and purity; and delight in cultivating the immeasurable factors of the path. This is the bodhisattva’s delight in the Dharma.”

At this time, Pāpīyān said to the goddesses, “I wish to return with you to the heavenly palace.”

The goddesses answered, “You have already given us to this layman. We now have delight in the Dharma and love it greatly; we no longer delight in the pleasures of the five desires.”

Māra then said to Vimalakīrti, “Might the layman now relinquish these women? One who can give everything he owns to others is a bodhisattva.”

Vimalakīrti said, “I have already relinquished them! Take them away now, and may all sentient beings bring their aspirations for the Buddha-Dharma to fulfillment.”

The goddesses then asked Vimalakīrti, “How should we abide in Māra’s palace?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “Sisters! There is a Dharma-gate called the Inexhaustible Lamp. You should learn it. The Inexhaustible Lamp is like using one lamp to light hundreds of thousands of lamps: every dark place becomes bright, yet the original light never comes to an end. Sisters! So it is here. One bodhisattva guides hundreds of thousands of sentient beings, causing them to give rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening, yet the bodhisattva’s own mind that seeks the path is not extinguished. Moreover, in accordance with the Dharma the bodhisattva teaches, the bodhisattva instead increases all wholesome dharmas. This is called the Inexhaustible Lamp.”

“Although you dwell in Māra’s palace, through this Dharma-gate of the Inexhaustible Lamp you can cause innumerable male and female devas to give rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening. In this way you repay the Buddha’s kindness and greatly benefit all sentient beings.”

The goddesses then bowed their heads at Vimalakīrti’s feet, followed Māra back to the heavenly palace, and suddenly vanished from sight. World-Upholder finally said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! Vimalakīrti possesses such sovereign supernatural power, wisdom, and eloquence. Therefore, I am not equal to the task of going there to inquire about his illness.”

Excellent Virtue: How Can Dharma-Giving Make Offerings to All Sentient Beings at Once?

The Buddha then told Excellent Virtue, a householder’s son, “Go to Vimalakīrti’s residence and inquire about his illness.”

Excellent Virtue said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! I am not equal to the task of going there to inquire about his illness. Why?” He recalled that once, in his father’s house, he held a great giving assembly to make offerings to all śramaṇas, brahmins, followers of other paths, the poor, people of low status, orphans, solitary people without children to care for them, and beggars. It was scheduled to continue for seven days.

When the seventh day had come to an end, Vimalakīrti arrived at the assembly and said to Excellent Virtue, “Householder’s son! A great giving assembly should not be established only as you have established this one. You should hold an assembly of Dharma-giving. Why hold merely this assembly for giving material things?”

Excellent Virtue asked, “Layman! What is an assembly of Dharma-giving?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “An assembly of Dharma-giving has neither before nor after. It makes offerings to all sentient beings in a single moment. This is called an assembly of Dharma-giving.”

Excellent Virtue asked again, “What does that mean?”

He answered, “Directed toward unsurpassed awakening, give rise to loving-kindness. To rescue sentient beings, give rise to great compassion. To uphold the true Dharma, give rise to sympathetic joy. To gather wisdom, practice equanimity.”

“To subdue stinginess and craving, give rise to the perfection of giving. To teach and transform those who violate ethical discipline, give rise to the perfection of ethical discipline. Based on the Dharma of no-self, give rise to the perfection of patience. Based on leaving behind the marks of body and mind, give rise to the perfection of diligent effort. Based on the mark of awakening, give rise to the perfection of meditation. Based on omniscience, give rise to the perfection of prajñā.”

“To teach and transform sentient beings, give rise to the contemplation of emptiness. Without abandoning conditioned dharmas, give rise to the contemplation of signlessness. By manifesting birth, give rise to the contemplation of wishlessness. To uphold the true Dharma, give rise to the power of skillful means. To liberate sentient beings, give rise to the four means of gathering. By reverently serving everyone, give rise to the Dharma that removes pride.”

“With respect to body, life, and wealth, give rise to the three steadfast things. Within the six recollections, give rise to the Dharma of recollection. Within the six forms of harmonious respect, give rise to an upright mind. By correctly practicing wholesome dharmas, give rise to pure livelihood. With inward purity and joy, give rise to drawing near to the worthy and the noble. By not hating bad people, give rise to subduing one’s own mind.”

“Based on the Dharma of going forth, give rise to a profound mind. By practicing according to what has been taught, give rise to wide learning. Based on the Dharma of non-contention, give rise to dwelling in a secluded place. To proceed toward the Buddha’s wisdom, give rise to seated meditation. To untie the bonds of sentient beings, give rise to the stages of cultivation.”

“To perfect the marks and excellent characteristics and purify buddha-lands, give rise to the karma of merit. By knowing the thoughts of all sentient beings and teaching the Dharma according to their needs, give rise to the karma of knowledge. By knowing that all dharmas are neither taken nor relinquished and entering the gate of the one mark, give rise to the karma of wisdom. By severing all afflictions, all obstructions, and all unwholesome dharmas, give rise to every wholesome karma. To attain every wisdom and every wholesome dharma, give rise to all dharmas that assist the Buddha’s path.”

“Good man! This is an assembly of Dharma-giving. If a bodhisattva abides in this assembly of Dharma-giving, he is a great donor and a field of merit for the entire world.”

When Vimalakīrti taught this Dharma, two hundred among the brahmins all gave rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening. Excellent Virtue’s mind was purified. Praising this as unprecedented, he bowed his head at Vimalakīrti’s feet and immediately removed a jeweled necklace worth more than one hundred thousand and offered it to him; Vimalakīrti would not accept it.

Excellent Virtue said, “Layman! Please accept it, and then give it to whomever you wish.”

Only then did Vimalakīrti accept the jeweled necklace and divide it into two parts: one part he gave to a beggar of the lowest status in the assembly; the other he offered to Tathāgata Hard-to-Overcome. Everyone present saw Tathāgata Hard-to-Overcome in the Land of Radiance. They also saw the jeweled necklace above the Buddha transform into a four-pillared jeweled terrace, splendidly adorned on all four sides, with none of its sides obstructing another.

After displaying this miraculous transformation, Vimalakīrti said, “If a donor gives with an equal mind to a beggar of the lowest status just as one would face the Tathāgata as a field of merit, without discrimination, equal in great compassion, and seeking no reward, this is called the complete fulfillment of Dharma-giving.”

Excellent Virtue finally said to the Buddha, “When the beggar of the lowest status in the city saw this supernatural transformation and heard the Dharma taught by Vimalakīrti, he too gave rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening. Therefore, I am not equal to the task of going there to inquire about his illness.”

The Remaining Bodhisattvas Likewise Declare Themselves Unequal to the Task

Just like these four bodhisattvas, the remaining bodhisattvas each related before the Buddha the circumstances of a past encounter with Vimalakīrti, praised the Dharma he had taught, and all said that they were not equal to the task of going there to inquire about his illness.

The Buddha Instructs Mañjuśrī to Inquire about the Illness

At that time, the Buddha told Mañjuśrī, “Go to Vimalakīrti and inquire about his illness.”

Mañjuśrī said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! It is very difficult to exchange words with that eminent man. He has profoundly comprehended the true mark, is skilled in teaching the essentials of the Buddha-Dharma, has eloquence that flows without obstruction, and possesses unobstructed wisdom. He understands all the rules of bodhisattva practice and can enter every secret treasury of the buddhas. He can subdue the many Māras, freely employ spiritual powers, and has thoroughly mastered both wisdom and skillful means. Even so, I shall accept the Buddha's sacred command and go inquire about his illness.”

The bodhisattvas, great disciples, Śakra, Brahmā, and the Four Heavenly Kings in the assembly all thought, “Now that the two great beings Mañjuśrī and Vimalakīrti will converse together, they will surely teach the wondrous Dharma!” At once, eight thousand bodhisattvas, five hundred śrāvakas, and a hundred thousand heavenly beings all wished to follow them.

Mañjuśrī then entered the great city of Vaiśālī together with the bodhisattvas, the assembly of great disciples, and the heavenly beings, surrounded by their reverence.

An Empty Room, One Bed, and the Meeting of Host and Guest

At this time, the elder Vimalakīrti thought, “Mañjuśrī is now coming with the great assembly!” He immediately used his spiritual power to empty the room completely, removing everything in it and dismissing all the attendants. He left only one bed and lay upon it in illness.

After Mañjuśrī entered his residence, he saw that the room was empty, with nothing at all in it, and that Vimalakīrti alone lay upon one bed. Vimalakīrti then said, “Welcome, Mañjuśrī! You come with no mark of coming and see with no mark of seeing.”

Mañjuśrī said, “It is just so, layman! If one has already come, one will not come again; if one has already gone, one will not go again. Why? What is called coming has no place from which it can be said to come; what is called going likewise has no place to which it can be said to go; and as for what is seen, it cannot again be seen as some visible thing.

“Let us set this matter aside for the moment. Layman, is your illness bearable? Has treatment brought some relief, without the illness continuing to worsen? The World-Honored One is deeply concerned and sends you immeasurable greetings. Layman, from what cause did this illness arise? How long has it been present? And how can it be removed?”

Because Sentient Beings Are Ill, the Bodhisattva Is Ill

Vimalakīrti said, “My illness arises from delusion and craving for existence. Because all sentient beings are ill, I too am ill. If the illnesses of all sentient beings are removed, my illness will also be removed. Why? For the sake of sentient beings, a bodhisattva enters saṃsāra. Where there is saṃsāra, there is illness. If sentient beings can leave illness behind, the bodhisattva will no longer be ill.

“It is like an elder who has only one child. When the child falls ill, the parents fall ill as well; if the child's illness is cured, the parents are cured as well. A bodhisattva is the same: he cherishes all sentient beings as he would cherish his own child. When sentient beings are ill, the bodhisattva is ill; when the illnesses of sentient beings are cured, the bodhisattva's illness is cured as well.

“You also asked, ‘From what cause did this illness arise?’ A bodhisattva's illness arises from great compassion.”

From the Empty Room to the Activities of Sentient Beings' Minds

Mañjuśrī asked, “Layman, why is this room empty and without attendants?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “All buddha-lands are likewise entirely empty.”

Mañjuśrī asked again, “By virtue of what are they empty?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “They are empty by emptiness.”

He asked again, “Since they are originally empty, why use emptiness to empty them?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “Because emptiness is without discrimination, they are empty.”

He asked again, “Can emptiness be discriminated?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “Discrimination itself is also empty.”

He asked again, “Then where should emptiness be sought?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “It should be sought within the sixty-two views.”

He asked again, “Where, then, should the sixty-two views be sought?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “They should be sought within the liberation of the buddhas.”

He asked again, “Where, then, should the liberation of the buddhas be sought?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “It should be sought within all the various activities of mind of sentient beings.

“You also asked why there are no attendants. All the many Māras and all the followers of other paths are my attendants. Why? The many Māras delight in saṃsāra, yet the bodhisattva does not abandon saṃsāra. Followers of other paths delight in the various views, yet the bodhisattva remains unmoved among those views.”

The Illness Has No Form and Is Not Any One of the Four Elements

Mañjuśrī asked, “What is the form of the layman's illness?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “My illness has no form and cannot be seen.”

He asked again, “Is this illness conjoined with the body or conjoined with the mind?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “It is not conjoined with the body, because the mark of the body is originally separate; nor is it conjoined with the mind, because the mind is like an illusion.”

He asked again, “Among the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, which element is ill?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “This illness is not the earth element, yet neither is it apart from the earth element. The same should be said of the water, fire, and wind elements. The illnesses of sentient beings arise from the four elements. Because sentient beings are ill, I too am ill.”

How to Comfort a Sick Bodhisattva

At this time, Mañjuśrī asked Vimalakīrti, “How should a bodhisattva comfort and counsel a sick bodhisattva?”

Vimalakīrti said:

“First, explain that this body is impermanent, but do not tell him to detest and abandon the body.

“Second, explain that this body is suffering, but do not tell him to covet the happiness of nirvāṇa for himself.

“Third, explain that this body has no governing self, while still saying that sentient beings should be taught.

“Fourth, explain that this body is empty and quiescent, but do not say that one should proceed toward ultimate quiescent cessation.

“Fifth, say that one should repent of wrongdoings committed in the past, but do not say that wrongdoing enters into the past.

“Sixth, through the illness one undergoes oneself, have compassion for the illnesses undergone by other sentient beings.

“Seventh, recognize the many kinds of suffering one has undergone over countless past eons, and constantly think of benefiting all sentient beings.

“Eighth, recollect the merit one has cultivated, attend to a pure way of life, do not give rise to sorrow or affliction, and constantly arouse diligent effort.

“Ninth, take it upon oneself to be a king of physicians who cures the various illnesses of all sentient beings.

“A bodhisattva should comfort and counsel a sick bodhisattva in this way, causing him to give rise to joy.”

A Sick Bodhisattva Begins by Asking Who Undergoes the Illness

Mañjuśrī asked, “Layman, how should a sick bodhisattva discipline his own mind?”

Vimalakīrti said, “A sick bodhisattva should think in this way: This present illness of mine arises entirely from false discrimination, inversion, and the various afflictions of past lives. No real and unchanging dharma exists here, so who is it that undergoes this illness? Why is this said? Because the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind come together, the provisional name ‘body’ is borrowed. There is no ruler among the four elements, and there is no self within this body. The arising of this illness is itself entirely due to attachment to a self; therefore, one should no longer give rise to attachment to self.

“After knowing the root of the illness, one should remove the conception of self and the conception that sentient beings truly exist. One should then give rise only to contemplation of dharmas and think in this way: It is only the coming together of many dharmas that constitutes this body. When it arises, only dharmas arise; when it ceases, only dharmas cease. These dharmas do not know one another. When they arise, they do not say, ‘I arise’; when they cease, they do not say, ‘I cease.’

“To remove attachment to dharmas, this sick bodhisattva should further think: This conception that takes dharmas to be truly existent is itself also inverted. Inversion is a grave illness; I should leave it behind.

“What is called leaving it behind? Leaving self and what belongs to self.

“How does one leave self and what belongs to self? By leaving the two relative dharmas.

“How does one leave the two relative dharmas? By no longer thinking in terms of inner and outer and by letting all dharmas proceed in equality.

“What is called equality? Self and nirvāṇa are equal. Why? Self and nirvāṇa are both empty.

“By virtue of what are they empty? They are said to be empty only because of names. Neither of these two dharmas has a fixed and unchanging own-nature. Reaching this equality, there is no other illness; only the illness of attachment to emptiness remains, and attachment to emptiness is likewise empty.

“Therefore, a sick bodhisattva does not grasp what is received, yet still undergoes the various feelings. Before the Buddha-Dharma is completely fulfilled, he does not extinguish feelings in order to seek realization.”

From One's Own Suffering to the Suffering of Sentient Beings in the Evil Destinies

Vimalakīrti continued, “If the body is suffering, one should recollect sentient beings in the evil destinies and arouse great compassion. Since I seek to discipline myself, I should also discipline all sentient beings. Remove only the illness, but do not remove the dharmas. Teach sentient beings in order to cut off the root of illness.

“What is called the root of illness? It is engagement with objects. Whenever there is engagement with objects, it becomes the root of illness.

“What is the object of that engagement? The three realms.

“How does one cut off engagement with objects? Cut it off through non-attainment. If there is non-attainment, there is no engagement with objects.

“What is called non-attainment? Leaving the two views behind.

“Which two views? The inner view and the outer view. Leaving these two views is non-attainment.

“Mañjuśrī! This is the way a sick bodhisattva disciplines his own mind. It is done to cut off the suffering of aging, illness, and death; this is precisely the bodhisattva's awakening. If he does not do this, none of his self-cultivation possesses wisdom or brings benefit. Just as only one who defeats an enemy can be called a warrior, so one who can remove aging, illness, and death for both oneself and sentient beings can be called a bodhisattva.”

Great Compassion Must Not Be Entangled with Affectionate Views

Vimalakīrti said, “That sick bodhisattva should further think: Just as this illness of mine is not real and is not established as existent, the illnesses of sentient beings are likewise not real and are not established as existent.

“While making this contemplation, if he gives rise toward sentient beings to great compassion entangled with affectionate views, he should abandon it. Why? A bodhisattva should cut off afflictions that are like adventitious dust and give rise to great compassion. Compassion born from affectionate views causes weariness with saṃsāra. If he can leave behind great compassion entangled with affectionate views, there will be no weariness. Wherever he is born, he will not be covered by affectionate views.

“Only when his own birth is not bound can he teach the Dharma to sentient beings and release them from bondage. As the Buddha said: For one who is still bound to release the bonds of others is impossible; for one who is not bound to release the bonds of others is possible. Therefore, a bodhisattva should not give rise to bondage.”

What Is Bondage, and What Is Liberation?

Vimalakīrti said, “What is called bondage? What is called liberation? Craving the flavor of meditation is a bodhisattva's bondage; taking birth through skillful means is a bodhisattva's liberation.

“Furthermore, wisdom without skillful means is bondage; wisdom endowed with skillful means is liberation. Skillful means without wisdom is bondage; skillful means endowed with wisdom is liberation.

“What is bondage produced by wisdom without skillful means? A bodhisattva adorns buddha-lands and brings sentient beings to maturity with a mind bearing craving and attachment to views, while merely disciplining himself within the dharmas of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. This is bondage produced by wisdom without skillful means.

“What is liberation produced by wisdom endowed with skillful means? A bodhisattva does not adorn buddha-lands and bring sentient beings to maturity with a mind bearing craving and attachment to views. He disciplines himself within the dharmas of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, yet does not become weary or averse. This is liberation produced by wisdom endowed with skillful means.

“What is bondage produced by skillful means without wisdom? A bodhisattva abides within desire, anger, wrong views, and the various other afflictions while planting the various roots of virtue. This is bondage produced by skillful means without wisdom.

“What is liberation produced by skillful means endowed with wisdom? A bodhisattva leaves desire, anger, wrong views, and the various other afflictions behind, plants the various roots of virtue, and dedicates these roots of virtue to unsurpassed perfect awakening. This is liberation produced by skillful means endowed with wisdom.

“Mañjuśrī! That sick bodhisattva should contemplate all dharmas in this way.”

Wisdom and Skillful Means Illuminate Bodily Illness Together

Vimalakīrti continued, “Furthermore, contemplating this body as impermanent, suffering, empty, and without a governing self is called wisdom. Although the body is ill, always benefiting all sentient beings within saṃsāra without becoming weary is called skillful means.

“Furthermore, contemplating that the body is not apart from illness and that illness is not apart from the body, and that this illness and this body are neither newly existent nor formerly existent, is called wisdom. Even though the body is ill, not seeking eternal quiescent cessation is called skillful means.”

Abiding Neither in Discipline nor in Non-Discipline

Vimalakīrti said, “Mañjuśrī! A sick bodhisattva should discipline his mind in this way, yet abide neither in discipline nor in a mind that is not disciplined. Why? To abide in an undisciplined mind is the practice of fools; to abide in a disciplined mind is the practice of śrāvakas. A bodhisattva therefore should not remain on either side, discipline or non-discipline.”

Vimalakīrti then explained, item by item, what constitutes the conduct of the bodhisattva:

1. Leaving behind the two relative dharmas of discipline and non-discipline: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
2. Remaining in saṃsāra while one's conduct is undefiled; abiding in nirvāṇa without passing into eternal cessation: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
3. Practicing neither as an ordinary person nor as a sage: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
4. Practicing neither defilement nor purity: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
5. Although already transcending the conduct of Māra, still manifesting the subjugation of the many Māras: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
6. Seeking omniscience without seeking realization at an untimely moment: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
7. Although contemplating that all dharmas do not arise, not entering a fixed right position: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
8. Although contemplating the arising of the twelve links of dependent origination, still entering among the various wrong views: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
9. Although gathering in all sentient beings, not giving rise to attachment to sentient beings: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
10. Although delighting in seclusion, not taking the extinction of body and mind as one's reliance: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
11. Although practicing within the three realms, not destroying the Dharma-nature: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
12. Although practicing emptiness, still planting the various roots of virtue: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
13. Although practicing signlessness, still liberating sentient beings: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
14. Although practicing wishlessness, still manifesting the reception of a body: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
15. Although practicing non-activation, still arousing every wholesome practice: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
16. Although practicing the six perfections of giving, ethical discipline, patience, diligent effort, meditation, and wisdom, fully knowing the minds and various mental factors of sentient beings: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
17. Although practicing the six higher knowledges of the divine eye, divine ear, knowing others' minds, recollecting past lives, spiritual power, and exhaustion of the outflows, not making the exhaustion of all outflows one's own endpoint: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
18. Although practicing the four immeasurables of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, not craving birth in the Brahmā world: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
19. Although practicing meditation, liberations, and samādhis, not taking birth in accordance with the meditation attained: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
20. Although practicing the four establishments of mindfulness by contemplating body, feeling, mind, and dharmas, not forever abandoning body, feeling, mind, and dharmas: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
21. Although practicing the four right efforts—abandoning arisen evil, preventing unarisen evil from arising, arousing unarisen good, and increasing arisen good—not abandoning diligent effort of body and mind: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
22. Although practicing the four bases of spiritual power—aspiration, diligent effort, mind, and contemplation—attaining mastery in spiritual powers: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
23. Although practicing the five faculties of trust, diligent effort, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom, distinguishing whether the capacities of individual sentient beings are sharp or dull: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
24. Although practicing the five powers of trust, diligent effort, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom, still delighting in seeking the ten powers of a buddha: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
25. Although practicing the seven factors of awakening—mindfulness, investigation of dharmas, diligent effort, joy, pliancy, concentration, and equanimity—still discerning and knowing a buddha's wisdom: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
26. Although practicing the Noble Eightfold Path of right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration, still delighting in practicing the immeasurable Buddha-Way: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
27. Although practicing calm and insight as the two dharmas supporting the path, not ultimately falling into quiescent cessation: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
28. Although practicing the non-arising and non-ceasing of all dharmas, still adorning one's body with the various marks and excellent characteristics: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
29. Although manifesting the dignified conduct of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, not abandoning the Buddha-Dharma: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
30. Although conforming to the mark of the ultimate purity of all dharmas, still manifesting for sentient beings forms suited to their needs: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
31. Although contemplating the buddha-lands as eternally quiescent and like space, still manifesting the various pure buddha-lands: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.
32. Although attaining the Buddha's Way, turning the Dharma wheel, and entering nirvāṇa, still not abandoning the bodhisattva path: this is the conduct of the bodhisattva.

Eight Thousand Sons of the Gods Arouse the Mind of Awakening

While these words were being spoken, eight thousand sons of the gods in the assembly led by Mañjuśrī all aroused the mind that seeks unsurpassed perfect awakening.

Base text: Kumārajīva's translation of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Middle Scroll, Chapter 06 “Inconceivability.” What follows renders the prose dialogue of this chapter in sequence; the things relinquished in seeking the Dharma, the displays of inconceivability, and the great beggar's demands are all retained item by item.

Śāriputra First Thinks of Seats, but Vimalakīrti Asks What He Came to Seek

At that time, Śāriputra saw that Vimalakīrti's room contained neither bed nor seat, and he thought to himself, “Where will all these bodhisattvas and the Buddha's great disciples sit?”

Vimalakīrti knew his thought and said to him, “Good sir, have you come for the Dharma, or have you come looking for beds and seats?”

Śāriputra replied, “I have come for the Dharma, not for beds and seats.”

Vimalakīrti said, “Śāriputra! One who truly seeks the Dharma does not covet even body or life; how much less would such a person covet the beds and seats that support the body at rest?

“One who truly seeks the Dharma does not seek to obtain something from the five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness; does not seek to obtain something from the eighteen elements or twelve entrances; and still less seeks to obtain something within the desire realm, form realm, or formless realm.

“Śāriputra! One who truly seeks the Dharma does not seek while clinging to a buddha, does not seek while clinging to the Dharma, and does not seek while clinging to the community. One who truly seeks the Dharma does not seek by treating seeing suffering as an attainable goal, does not seek by treating the cutting off of its origination as an attainable goal, and does not seek with an acquisitive mind that would fabricate the realization of cessation or the cultivation of the path.

“Why is this? The Dharma itself is free from conceptual proliferation. If one says inwardly, ‘I must see suffering, cut off its origination, realize cessation, and cultivate the path,’ one has already fallen into conceptual proliferation and is not truly seeking the Dharma.

“Śāriputra! The Dharma is called quiescence; if one pursues arising and ceasing within it, one is seeking arising and ceasing, not seeking the Dharma. The Dharma is called unstained; if one's mind is stained by attachment to the Dharma, even by attachment to nirvāṇa, that is still attachment and is not seeking the Dharma. The Dharma has no place of movement or activity; if one asserts that one is proceeding upon the Dharma, one has established a separate place of practice and is not seeking the Dharma. The Dharma has nothing to grasp or discard; if one applies grasping and discarding to the Dharma, that is still grasping and discarding and is not seeking the Dharma.

“The Dharma has no fixed location; if one clings to some location, one is attached to a place and is not seeking the Dharma. The Dharma is called signless; if one follows signs in order to recognize and grasp, one is seeking a sign and is not seeking the Dharma. The Dharma cannot be abided in; if one abides in the Dharma, one has made an abiding in Dharma and is not seeking the Dharma.

“The Dharma cannot be made into an object that can be seen, heard, sensed, or known; if one proceeds through seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing, one is merely moving within seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing and is not seeking the Dharma. The Dharma is called the unconditioned; if one proceeds through conditioned fabrication, one is seeking the conditioned and is not seeking the Dharma.

“Therefore, Śāriputra, one who truly seeks the Dharma should seek nothing in any dharma.”

As Vimalakīrti spoke these words, five hundred sons of the gods attained purity of the Dharma eye among all dharmas.

Mañjuśrī Names the Lofty Thrones in an Eastern Buddha-Land

Then Vimalakīrti asked Mañjuśrī, “Good sir, you have traveled through immeasurable thousands, tens of thousands, millions, and asaṃkhyeyas of buddha-lands. Which buddha-land has lion thrones that are finest, supremely wondrous, and perfect in merit?”

Mañjuśrī replied, “Layman, east of here, beyond lands as numerous as the sands of thirty-six Ganges Rivers, is a world named Sumeru-Sign. Its buddha is named Sumeru-Lamp-King, and he is still dwelling in the world now. That buddha's body is eighty-four thousand yojanas tall, and his lion throne is also eighty-four thousand yojanas high; its adornment is foremost.”

Vimalakīrti then manifested the power of spiritual mastery. Buddha Sumeru-Lamp-King immediately sent thirty-two thousand lion thrones, each lofty, broad, adorned, and pure, into Vimalakīrti's room. The bodhisattvas, the Buddha's great disciples, Śakra, Brahmā, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the rest of the assembly had never before seen seats like these.

Vimalakīrti's room appeared broad and expansive, containing all thirty-two thousand lion thrones without any obstruction between them. The city of Vaiśālī, the whole of Jambudvīpa, and the four-continent world likewise did not become narrow or constricted; the assembly still saw everything just as before.

Vimalakīrti said to Mañjuśrī, “Please take a lion throne and sit down together with the honored bodhisattvas. Each of you should make your bodily form correspond to the dimensions of these thrones.”

The bodhisattvas who had attained spiritual mastery immediately transformed their bodies to a height of forty-two thousand yojanas and sat upon the lion thrones. The bodhisattvas who had newly aroused the aspiration for awakening and the Buddha's great disciples, however, were all unable to mount them.

Vimalakīrti then said to Śāriputra, “Please take a lion throne.”

Śāriputra replied, “Layman, these seats are so high and large that I cannot mount them.”

Vimalakīrti said, “Śāriputra! First pay homage to the Tathāgata Sumeru-Lamp-King; then you will be able to sit upon one.”

The newly inspired bodhisattvas and the Buddha's great disciples then paid homage to the Tathāgata Sumeru-Lamp-King, and only then were they able to sit upon the lion thrones.

Śāriputra exclaimed in praise, “Layman, this has never happened before! Such a small room can contain seats so lofty and vast without obstructing the city of Vaiśālī in the slightest. Nor have the villages and towns of Jambudvīpa, or the palaces of the gods, dragon kings, ghosts, and spirits throughout the four-continent world, become narrow or constricted.”

Sumeru Enters a Mustard Seed, the Four Seas Enter a Pore

Vimalakīrti said, “Śāriputra! The buddhas and bodhisattvas have a liberation called inconceivable. If a bodhisattva abides in this liberation, he can place lofty and vast Mount Sumeru inside a mustard seed. The mustard seed does not grow larger, Mount Sumeru does not grow smaller, and Sumeru, king of mountains, remains in its original form just as before. The Four Heavenly Kings and the gods of Trāyastriṃśa who dwell upon Mount Sumeru do not know that they have entered a mustard seed; only those who should be liberated through this display see Mount Sumeru enter the mustard seed. This is called abiding in the Dharma-gate of inconceivable liberation.

“The bodhisattva can also place the waters of the four great seas inside a single pore. The fish, soft-shelled turtles, giant turtles, alligators, and other aquatic creatures in those seas are not disturbed, and the original forms of the four great seas remain unchanged. The dragons, ghosts, spirits, and asuras in the seas do not know that they have entered a pore, and the sentient beings in this world are likewise not disturbed.

“Śāriputra! A bodhisattva who abides in inconceivable liberation can also cut out a three-thousand-great-thousand world, set it in his right palm like a potter's wheel, and cast it beyond worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. The sentient beings within it do not know where they have gone. The bodhisattva then puts that world back in its original place without causing anyone within it to feel that there has been a going or a return, and the world's original form remains just as before.

“Some sentient beings delight in dwelling in the world for a long time and can be liberated only in that way. For them, the bodhisattva extends seven days into one kalpa, causing those sentient beings to feel that a kalpa has passed. Other sentient beings do not delight in dwelling in the world for a long time and can be liberated only in that way. For them, the bodhisattva contracts one kalpa into seven days, causing those sentient beings to feel that only seven days have passed.

“A bodhisattva who abides in inconceivable liberation can gather all the adornments of every buddha-land and manifest them together within a single land, displaying them to sentient beings.

“The bodhisattva can also place the sentient beings of one buddha-land upon his right palm, fly throughout the ten directions, and show them everything, while their original place remains unmoved.

“Śāriputra! The bodhisattva can cause all the implements with which sentient beings throughout the ten directions make offerings to the buddhas to be seen within a single pore. He can also cause all the suns, moons, and constellations in the lands of the ten directions to be universally seen within a single pore.

“The bodhisattva can draw all the winds of the worlds in the ten directions into his mouth without any injury to his own body or any breaking of the trees outside. When the worlds in the ten directions are consumed by fire at the end of a kalpa, the bodhisattva can take all those fires into his belly; the fires continue to burn just as before, yet they do him no harm.

“The bodhisattva can also descend past buddha-worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, take up one buddha-land, raise it upward, and carry it beyond immeasurable worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. This is like lifting a jujube leaf on the tip of a needle, without disturbing any sentient being within it.

“Śāriputra! A bodhisattva who abides in inconceivable liberation can use spiritual mastery to manifest the bodily form of a buddha, or the bodily form of a pratyekabuddha, or the bodily form of a śrāvaka, or the bodily form of Śakra, or the bodily form of a Brahmā king, or the bodily form of a lord of the world, or the bodily form of a wheel-turning king.

“The bodhisattva can also transform every sound in the worlds of the ten directions—whether superior, middling, or inferior—into the voice of a buddha. This voice expounds impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self, and also expounds the various dharmas taught by the buddhas of the ten directions, enabling everyone to hear them throughout.

“Śāriputra, I have now given only a brief account of the power of the bodhisattvas' inconceivable liberation. Were I to explain it extensively, even an entire kalpa would not suffice.”

Mahākāśyapa Hears This and Laments for the Śrāvakas

After Mahākāśyapa heard the Dharma-gate of the bodhisattvas' inconceivable liberation, he praised it as something never before seen. He said to Śāriputra, “Suppose someone displays many colors and forms before a blind person; that blind person still cannot see them. All śrāvakas who hear this Dharma-gate of inconceivable liberation but cannot understand it are just like this.

“What wise person could hear this Dharma-gate and fail to arouse the aspiration for unsurpassed perfect awakening? Why have we permanently severed this root and become like spoiled seeds within the Great Vehicle? All śrāvakas who hear the Dharma-gate of inconceivable liberation should raise their voices and weep so loudly that the three-thousand-great-thousand world trembles, while all bodhisattvas should rejoice and celebrate greatly, reverently receiving this Dharma-gate upon the crowns of their heads.

“If a bodhisattva accepts in faith and understands the Dharma-gate of inconceivable liberation, no host of Māras can do anything to him.”

As Mahākāśyapa spoke these words, thirty-two thousand sons of the gods all aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed perfect awakening.

Māra Kings, Great Beggars, and the Gate of Wisdom and Skillful Means

Then Vimalakīrti said to Mahākāśyapa, “Good sir, among the immeasurable asaṃkhyeyas of worlds in the ten directions, many of those who manifest as kings Māra are actually bodhisattvas abiding in inconceivable liberation. They manifest as kings Māra in order to teach and transform sentient beings through the power of skillful means.

“Kāśyapa! Among the immeasurable bodhisattvas throughout the ten directions, someone may come demanding their hands, feet, ears, and noses; demanding their heads, eyes, marrow, and brains; demanding their blood, flesh, skin, and bones; demanding their villages and towns; demanding their wives, sons, daughters, male servants, and female servants; demanding their elephants, horses, and carriages; demanding their gold, silver, and beryl; demanding their giant clamshells and agate; demanding their coral and amber; demanding their pearls and conch shells; or demanding their clothing, drink, and food.

“Many who make such demands are also bodhisattvas abiding in inconceivable liberation. They employ the power of skillful means to come and test a bodhisattva, so that the bodhisattva's resolve will become firm.

“Why is this? Bodhisattvas abiding in inconceivable liberation possess the power of awe-inspiring virtue, and therefore can manifest acts of pressure and show sentient beings these difficult deeds. Ordinary persons are inferior in power and lack such strength; they cannot pressure bodhisattvas in this way. Just as the force of a dragon-elephant's trampling is more than a donkey can bear,

“this is called the gate of wisdom and skillful means of bodhisattvas who abide in inconceivable liberation.”

Base text: Kumārajīva's Yao-Qin translation, The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Middle Scroll, Chapter 07, “Contemplating Sentient Beings.” What follows renders the chapter's seventy-four segments in sequence; none of the thirty similes, thirty practices of loving-kindness, twelve questions and answers, three vehicles, eight unprecedented events, or six virtues at the chapter's end is omitted.

How Should a Bodhisattva Contemplate Sentient Beings?

At that time, Mañjuśrī asked Vimalakīrti, “How should a bodhisattva contemplate sentient beings?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “A bodhisattva should contemplate sentient beings as an illusionist regards the people he has conjured.” He then gave thirty similes in sequence:

1. Like an illusionist regarding a person he has conjured: a human form appears, yet no fixed and real person can be apprehended.
2. Like a wise person seeing the moon's reflection in water: the reflection can be seen, yet no real moon can be taken from the water.
3. Like a person seeing his own face in a mirror: the image appears distinctly, yet it is not another real face dwelling inside the mirror.
4. Like a mirage seen in the heat: from afar it seems that something is there, yet on approaching one finds no apprehensible substance.
5. Like an echo produced by a shout: the sound appears in response to the call, yet one cannot cling to a separate speaker within it.
6. Like clouds in the sky: they take shape when conditions gather, yet cannot remain fixed and unchanging.
7. Like foam gathered upon water: many bubbles of foam temporarily collect, yet no solid core lies within.
8. Like a bubble on the water's surface: it arises according to conditions and disperses in an instant.
9. Like searching inside a plantain trunk for solid, non-hollow heartwood: layer after layer is peeled away, but no graspable solid core can be found.
10. Like requiring lightning to remain for a long time: the flash appears, yet cannot endure.
11. Like looking for a fifth great element apart from earth, water, fire, and wind.
12. Like looking for a sixth aggregate apart from form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness.
13. Like establishing a seventh faculty beyond the fixed number already given.
14. Like establishing a thirteenth entrance beyond the twelve entrances.
15. Like establishing a nineteenth element beyond the eighteen elements.
16. Like seeking an apprehensible form within the formless realm.
17. Like scorched grain producing a new sprout.
18. Like a person who has entered the fruit of stream-entry still possessing the view of a body.
19. Like a non-returner entering a womb and taking birth again.
20. Like an arhat still possessing the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion.
21. Like a bodhisattva who has attained acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas still giving rise to greed and anger and violating the precepts.
22. Like the Buddha still possessing habitual residues of affliction.
23. Like a blind person able to see visible forms.
24. Like a person who has entered the absorption of cessation still breathing out and breathing in.
25. Like tracks left in the sky by a bird in flight.
26. Like a sterile woman able to bear a child.
27. Like a conjured person genuinely giving rise to afflictions.
28. Like the scenes of a dream remaining as present reality after one has awakened.
29. Like someone who has passed into cessation receiving another body.
30. Like a fire arising without any cause or basis.

After each group, Vimalakīrti returned to the same answer: a bodhisattva should contemplate sentient beings in just this way. This does not say that there are no sentient beings before us who can be taught and transformed; it says that sentient beings cannot be grasped as fixed, unchanging, independently real selves.

If Sentient Beings Are Contemplated as Illusory, How Can Loving-Kindness Still Be Practised?

Mañjuśrī then asked, “If a bodhisattva contemplates in this way, how should he practise loving-kindness?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “After contemplating in this way, the bodhisattva should still form the thought: I should expound this Dharma to sentient beings. This is true loving-kindness.” He then unfolded the practices of loving-kindness one by one:

1. True loving-kindness: although knowing that sentient beings cannot be grasped as real entities, one still explains this Dharma to them and does not stop at an empty idea.
2. Quiescent loving-kindness: one practises loving-kindness without separately producing a graspable mark of loving-kindness, because originally nothing arises.
3. Non-burning loving-kindness: one practises loving-kindness without the burning distress of afflictions.
4. Equal loving-kindness: one is equal toward the past, present, and future and does not discriminate in favor according to time.
5. Non-contentious loving-kindness: one does not give rise to a grasping that contends with the marks of dharmas, because nothing arises.
6. Nondual loving-kindness: one does not grasp the inner practitioner of loving-kindness and the outer object as two entities and then speak of joining them.
7. Indestructible loving-kindness: the mark of loving-kindness has reached ultimate exhaustion, and there is nothing that can destroy it.
8. Firm loving-kindness: the mind is not destroyed, and the loving-kindness practised remains firm and indestructible.
9. Pure loving-kindness: one knows that the intrinsic nature of all dharmas is pure.
10. Boundless loving-kindness: like space, it has no boundary and is not confined to any one place.
11. Arhat loving-kindness: it can destroy the bonds of affliction as one destroys harmful thieves.
12. Bodhisattva loving-kindness: its practice brings sentient beings peace and security.
13. Tathāgata loving-kindness: it accords with the mark of suchness.
14. Buddha loving-kindness: one awakens oneself and also awakens sentient beings.
15. Spontaneous loving-kindness: it is attained without dependence upon an external fabricated cause.
16. Awakening loving-kindness: it is practised within the equal, single flavor.
17. Unequaled loving-kindness: because all attachments of craving are cut off, it cannot be compared with a loving-kindness that possesses craving.
18. Great compassion loving-kindness: it guides sentient beings by means of the Great Vehicle.
19. Untiring loving-kindness: one contemplates emptiness and non-self and does not grow weary from facing saṃsāra for a long time.
20. Dharma-giving loving-kindness: one gives the Dharma without reservation or reluctance.
21. Precept-keeping loving-kindness: one keeps the precepts oneself and also teaches and transforms those who violate them.
22. Patient loving-kindness: one protects both the other and oneself, preventing angry harm from injuring either.
23. Diligent loving-kindness: one willingly bears the burden of sentient beings and does not retreat because it is heavy.
24. Meditative loving-kindness: one enters meditative concentration without craving its flavor.
25. Wisdom loving-kindness: one knows what should be done at what time and does not miss the appropriate occasion.
26. Skillful means loving-kindness: one makes various manifestations according to what is suitable for sentient beings.
27. Undisguised loving-kindness: the mind is upright and pure, without crooked concealment.
28. Profound-mind loving-kindness: one enters deeply into practice without mixing in other defiled conduct.
29. Non-deceptive loving-kindness: one does not deceive sentient beings, and one's practice is not false.
30. Peace-and-happiness loving-kindness: it enables sentient beings to attain the bliss of the Buddha.

Vimalakīrti said, “Such is the bodhisattva's loving-kindness.”

Mañjuśrī then asked, “What is called compassion?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “The bodhisattva wishes to share with all sentient beings every merit he cultivates and produces.”

Mañjuśrī asked, “What is called sympathetic joy?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “Having benefited sentient beings, one rejoices inwardly and has no regret.”

Mañjuśrī asked, “What is called equanimity?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “For every blessing and wholesome protection one creates, one expects no repayment from sentient beings and anticipates no future result.”

From Fear of Saṃsāra, Tracing Back All the Way to Non-Abiding

Mañjuśrī then asked, “Saṃsāra inspires fear. On what should a bodhisattva rely?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “While within the fear of saṃsāra, a bodhisattva should rely on the power of the Tathāgata's merit.”

Mañjuśrī asked, “If a bodhisattva wishes to rely on the power of the Tathāgata's merit, in what should he abide?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “He should abide in liberating all sentient beings.”

Mañjuśrī asked, “To liberate sentient beings, what should he remove?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “He should remove the afflictions of sentient beings.”

Mañjuśrī asked, “To remove afflictions, what should he practise?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “He should practise right mindfulness.”

Mañjuśrī asked, “How should he practise right mindfulness?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “He should practise non-arising and non-ceasing.”

Mañjuśrī pressed further, “What dharma should not arise? What dharma should not cease?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “He should cause unwholesome dharmas not to arise and wholesome dharmas not to cease.”

Mañjuśrī asked, “What is the root of the wholesome and unwholesome?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “The body is their root.”

Mañjuśrī asked, “What is the root of the body?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “Craving and desire are its root.”

Mañjuśrī asked, “What is the root of craving and desire?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “False discrimination is its root.”

Mañjuśrī asked, “What is the root of false discrimination?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “Inverted perception is its root.”

Mañjuśrī asked, “What is the root of inverted perception?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “Non-abiding is its root.”

Mañjuśrī finally asked, “What, in turn, is the root of non-abiding?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “Non-abiding has no further root. Mañjuśrī! It is precisely from this root of non-abiding that all dharmas are established.”

Why Do Heavenly Flowers Fall from the Bodhisattvas but Cling to the Disciples?

At that time, there was a goddess in Vimalakīrti's room. Seeing the honored ones present listening to the Dharma being taught, she manifested her body and scattered heavenly flowers over the bodhisattvas and great disciples. The flowers that fell upon the bodhisattvas immediately dropped away; those that fell upon the great disciples clung and did not fall. All the disciples used spiritual powers to try to remove the flowers, but still could not make them leave their bodies.

The goddess asked Śāriputra, “Why are you trying to remove the flowers?”

Śāriputra replied, “These flowers do not accord with the Dharma for renunciants, so I am removing them.”

The goddess said, “Do not say that these flowers fail to accord with the Dharma. Why? The flowers themselves make no discrimination; good sir, it is you who have given rise to discriminating thought. If one has gone forth in the Buddha-Dharma yet still discriminates inwardly, that is what fails to accord with the Dharma; if there is no discrimination, that accords with the Dharma. Look at the bodhisattvas: the flowers do not cling to them precisely because they have cut off all discriminating thoughts.”

She continued, “It is like a person in fear, who gives nonhuman beings an opening through which to enter. Because the great disciples fear saṃsāra, the five objects of desire—visible form, sound, scent, taste, and touch—can take advantage of an opening and disturb them. For one who has left fear behind, visible form, sound, scent, taste, and touch can do nothing. While the residual habits of the bonds of affliction have not been exhausted, the flowers cling to the body; once those residual habits are exhausted, the flowers no longer cling.”

If Liberation Cannot Be Spoken, Why Does the Goddess Forbid Leaving Words Behind?

Śāriputra asked, “How long have you dwelt in this room?”

The goddess replied, “I have dwelt in this room for as long as the elder's liberation.”

Śāriputra asked, “Then have you dwelt here for a long time?”

The goddess asked in return, “What duration, long or short, can be spoken of concerning the elder's liberation?”

Śāriputra remained silent and did not answer. The goddess then asked, “You are an elder advanced in years and possessing great wisdom. Why do you remain silent?”

Śāriputra replied, “Liberation is originally beyond all speech, so here I do not know what to say.”

The goddess said, “Speech and written words are all marks of liberation. Why? Liberation is neither within, nor without, nor between within and without; written words are likewise neither within, nor without, nor between the two. Therefore, Śāriputra, one cannot leave written words behind and separately expound a liberation. Why? All dharmas are originally marks of liberation.”

Śāriputra asked, “Is liberation no longer understood as leaving behind sexual desire, anger, and delusion?”

The goddess replied, “For people with overweening pride, the Buddha says that leaving sexual desire, anger, and delusion behind is liberation. For those without overweening pride, the Buddha says that the very nature of sexual desire, anger, and delusion is liberation.” This statement preserves the condition concerning overweening pride; it does not tell people to follow sexual desire, anger, and delusion.

Śāriputra praised her: “Excellent! Excellent! Goddess, what have you attained? What have you realized? How do you possess such eloquence?”

The goddess replied, “I have no attainment and no realization, and therefore can speak with such eloquence. Why? If one believes oneself to have an attainment and a realization, one has overweening pride within the Buddha-Dharma.”

The Question of the Three Vehicles and Eight Rare Events in Vimalakīrti's Room

Śāriputra asked the goddess, “Among the three vehicles of śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and the Great Vehicle, which vehicle do you ultimately aspire to?”

The goddess replied, “In order to teach and transform sentient beings through the śrāvaka Dharma, I am a śrāvaka; in order to teach and transform sentient beings through the Dharma of conditions, I am a pratyekabuddha; in order to teach and transform sentient beings through the Dharma of great compassion, I am the Great Vehicle.”

She continued, “Suppose someone enters a grove of champak flowers. He smells only the fragrance of champak flowers and no longer smells any other fragrance. Those who enter this room likewise smell only the fragrance of the Buddha's merit and do not delight in smelling the fragrance of the merit of śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas. Śakra, Brahmā, the Four Heavenly Kings, gods, dragons, ghosts, and spirits enter this room and hear this honored one expound the true Dharma. They all delight in the fragrance of the Buddha's merit, arouse the aspiration to seek buddhahood, and then depart.”

The goddess further said, “I have dwelt in this room for twelve years and have never heard a teaching concerned only with the śrāvaka Dharma or the pratyekabuddha Dharma. I have heard only the great loving-kindness and great compassion of bodhisattvas and the inconceivable Dharma of the buddhas. Śāriputra, this room constantly manifests eight unprecedented and exceedingly rare events:”

1. Golden light constantly shines within the room, with no difference between day and night; its brightness depends neither on sunlight nor moonlight.
2. Those who enter this room are not disturbed or harmed by defilements and afflictions.
3. Śakra, Brahmā, the Four Heavenly Kings, and bodhisattvas from other regions constantly come to assemble without interruption.
4. The six perfections and the Dharma of nonretrogression are constantly taught within the room.
5. The finest music of gods and humans constantly plays within the room, and the strings of the instruments produce immeasurable Dharma sounds that teach and transform sentient beings.
6. The room contains four great treasuries filled with every kind of jewel, which support the poor and relieve those in want; whoever comes to seek may draw upon treasures that are never exhausted.
7. Buddha Śākyamuni, Buddha Amitābha, Akṣobhya Buddha, Jewel-Virtue, Jewel-Flame, Jewel-Moon, Jewel-Adornment, Hard-to-Conquer, Lion's Roar Accomplishing Every Benefit, and the immeasurable buddhas of the ten directions all come into the room whenever this honored one recollects them. They extensively expound the secret and essential treasury of the buddhas' Dharma and depart after teaching it.
8. All the adorned palaces of the gods and all the pure lands of the buddhas appear within this room.

The goddess asked, “This room constantly manifests eight events never before seen and exceedingly rare. Who could see these inconceivable events and still delight only in the śrāvaka Dharma?”

If the Mark of Woman Cannot Be Apprehended, What Is There to Transform?

Śāriputra asked, “Why do you not transform your female body?”

The goddess replied, “Throughout these twelve years, I have continually sought a fixed and real mark of woman but have never been able to apprehend it. Since the mark of woman cannot be apprehended, what would I transform? Suppose an illusionist conjured an illusory woman. If someone asked her why she did not transform her female body, would the question be correctly posed?”

Śāriputra replied, “No. A conjured appearance has no fixed intrinsic nature, so what could be transformed?”

The goddess said, “All dharmas are likewise without fixed and unchanging marks. Why, then, do you still ask why I do not transform my female body?”

At that moment, the goddess employed spiritual power, making Śāriputra appear like the goddess while she appeared like Śāriputra. She asked Śāriputra, “Why do you not transform your female body?”

Appearing in the form of the goddess, Śāriputra replied, “I now do not know how I was transformed and came to appear in a female body.”

The goddess said, “Śāriputra, if you can transform away this present female body, then all women should likewise be able to transform. Just as Śāriputra was originally not a woman yet now appears in a female body, so all women likewise appear in female bodies but are not fixed and real female selves. Therefore, the Buddha says that all dharmas are neither male nor female.”

The goddess immediately withdrew her spiritual power, and Śāriputra recovered his original bodily form. The goddess asked, “Where is the visible form of the female body you had just now?”

Śāriputra replied, “That visible form of the female body cannot be said to be located somewhere, nor can it be said to be utterly absent.”

The goddess said, “All dharmas are likewise neither located nor not located. Neither located nor not located—this is what the Buddha teaches.”

No Death or Birth, Awakening in the Three Times, and Non-Attainment

Śāriputra asked the goddess, “When your life here ends, where will you be born?”

The goddess replied, “I will be born in the same way and place as a person conjured by the Buddha.”

Śāriputra said, “A person manifested by the Buddha undergoes no real death or birth.”

The goddess replied, “Sentient beings are likewise: no fixed self truly dies, and no fixed self is truly born.”

Śāriputra then asked, “How much longer will it be before you attain unsurpassed perfect awakening?”

The goddess replied, “I will accomplish unsurpassed perfect awakening when Śāriputra returns to being an ordinary person.”

Śāriputra said, “There is no possibility of my returning to being an ordinary person.”

The goddess said, “There is likewise no possibility of my obtaining an apprehensible unsurpassed perfect awakening. Why? Awakening has no fixed place of abiding, and therefore there is no person who can make awakening into an attainment.”

Śāriputra asked, “Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges have attained, now attain, and will attain unsurpassed perfect awakening in the present, past, and future. What do you say to this?”

The goddess replied, “It is only in dependence on the words and numbers commonly used in the world that past, present, and future are spoken of. It does not mean that awakening itself truly possesses a past, present, and future.”

The goddess asked Śāriputra in return, “Have you attained the path of an arhat?”

Śāriputra replied, “Precisely because there is no attainment, it is provisionally called attainment.”

The goddess said, “The buddhas and bodhisattvas are likewise: precisely because there is non-attainment, they are said to have realized attainment.”

Vimalakīrti Explains the Goddess's Virtues

At that time, Vimalakīrti said to Śāriputra, “This goddess has already made offerings to 9.2 billion buddhas. She can freely exercise the spiritual powers of bodhisattvas, and all the vows she has made are fulfilled. She has attained acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas and abides in nonretrogression. Through the power of her past vows, she can manifest different bodily forms according to her intent and teach and transform sentient beings.”

The chapter does not measure the goddess's virtues by her outward female appearance. Vimalakīrti explains them one by one through six items—offerings, spiritual powers, fulfillment of vows, acceptance of non-arising, nonretrogression, and manifestation through past vows—showing why she can debate with Śāriputra in the room, manifest bodily forms at will, and teach and transform sentient beings.

Base text: Kumārajīva’s Yao-Qin translation, The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Middle Scroll, Chapter 08, “The Way of the Buddha.” What follows renders the questions, answers, and verses of this chapter passage by passage in their transmitted sequence. None of the thirty-one instances of traveling contrary ways, the eleven kinds of seeds of the Tathāgata, the three similes, or the forty-two verses is omitted. Each verse remains translated in two verse lines.

Mañjuśrī Asks: How Does a Bodhisattva Comprehend the Way of the Buddha?

At that time, Mañjuśrī asked Vimalakīrti, “How does a bodhisattva comprehend the Way of the Buddha?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “If a bodhisattva can travel the ways ordinarily regarded as contrary to the Way of the Buddha, this is called comprehending the Way of the Buddha.”

Mañjuśrī asked again, “How does a bodhisattva travel contrary ways?”

Vimalakīrti did not treat a “contrary way” as a path in which one may become attached at will. He explained item by item: although a bodhisattva manifests amid evil destinies, afflictions, worldly life, and the states of the two vehicles, his mind and conduct are not constrained by their wrongdoing, defilement, attachment, pride, wrong views, or desire for cessation.

Thirty-One Instances of Traveling Contrary Ways

1. The Five Heinous Acts

Although the bodhisattva manifests traveling where the five heinous acts are committed, his mind has no anger or resentment.

2. Hell

Although the bodhisattva goes into hell, he has none of the defilements of wrongdoing that bring the painful results of hell.

3. Animals

Although the bodhisattva goes among animals, he has none of the faults of ignorance, pride, and the like.

4. Hungry Ghosts

Although the bodhisattva goes among hungry ghosts, he possesses complete merit and is not defiled by the karma of stinginess and deprivation.

5. The Paths of the Form and Formless Realms

Although the bodhisattva travels the paths of the form and formless realms, he does not regard birth there as the ultimate, supreme destination.

6. Greed

Although the bodhisattva manifests acting from greed, inwardly he remains apart from every attachment.

7. Anger

Although the bodhisattva manifests anger, he bears neither resentment nor obstruction toward any sentient being.

8. Delusion

Although the bodhisattva manifests delusion, he disciplines his own mind through wisdom.

9. Stinginess

Although the bodhisattva manifests stinginess, he can relinquish everything within and without, begrudging not even body or life.

10. Violating the Precepts

Although the bodhisattva manifests violating the precepts, in reality he abides in pure ethical discipline. Even when facing minor wrongdoing, he remains deeply vigilant and fearful.

11. Anger While Constantly Practicing Loving-Kindness and Patience

Although the bodhisattva again manifests anger, inwardly he constantly maintains loving-kindness and patience.

12. Indolence

Although the bodhisattva manifests indolence, in reality he diligently cultivates every kind of merit and never stops wholesome conduct.

13. A Scattered Mind

Although the bodhisattva manifests a scattered mind, he constantly recollects meditative concentration and never loses the direction of concentration.

14. Delusion While Comprehending Worldly and Transmundane Wisdom

Although the bodhisattva again manifests delusion, he comprehends both worldly and transmundane wisdom.

15. Flattery and Falsity

Although the bodhisattva manifests flattery and falsity, in reality he employs skillful means, and his conduct always accords with the meanings of the various sūtras.

16. Pride While Serving as a Bridge

Although the bodhisattva manifests pride, toward sentient beings he is like a bridge, allowing people to pass over him and willingly bearing everyone from a low position.

17. Various Afflictions

Although the bodhisattva manifests various afflictions, inwardly his mind is constantly pure and is not defiled by them.

18. Entering Māra’s Domain

Although the bodhisattva manifests entering Māra’s domain, he follows the Buddha’s wisdom and does not follow another teaching.

19. A Śrāvaka

Although the bodhisattva manifests entering the path of a śrāvaka, he can teach sentient beings Dharma they have never heard.

20. A Pratyekabuddha

Although the bodhisattva manifests entering the path of a pratyekabuddha, he perfects great compassion and continues to teach and transform sentient beings.

21. Poverty

Although the bodhisattva manifests living in poverty, he has a hand that can produce every treasure, and his merit can never be exhausted.

22. Physical Impairment

Although the bodhisattva manifests physical impairment, he possesses the various excellent marks and adorns himself with them.

23. Low Social Status

Although the bodhisattva manifests birth in a lowly place, he is born into the Buddha’s lineage and possesses every merit.

24. Weakness and Ugliness

Although the bodhisattva manifests a weak body and ugly appearance, he obtains a body firm and upright like that of the mighty deity Nārāyaṇa and becomes one whom all sentient beings gladly behold.

25. Aging and Illness

Although the bodhisattva manifests aging and illness, he has forever severed the root of illness and has also transcended the fear of death.

26. Necessities of Life

Although the bodhisattva manifests possessing the necessities of life, he constantly contemplates the impermanence of everything and truly has no attachment to those necessities.

27. Wives, Concubines, and Attendants

Although the bodhisattva manifests having wives, concubines, and attendants, inwardly he remains constantly apart from the mud of the five desires and is not defiled by their pleasures.

28. Slowness of Speech

Although the bodhisattva manifests being slow of speech and ineloquent, he has perfected eloquence and can retain everything he has heard and said without loss.

29. A Dangerous Crossing

Although the bodhisattva manifests entering an erroneous and dangerous crossing, he uses the correct crossing and road to deliver all sentient beings.

30. Entering Every Kind of Path

Although the bodhisattva manifests entering every kind of worldly path, his purpose is to sever the conditions that keep sentient beings bound to those paths.

31. Manifesting Nirvāṇa

Although the bodhisattva manifests entering nirvāṇa, he still does not cut off his practice and vow to teach sentient beings within saṃsāra.

Vimalakīrti finally told Mañjuśrī, “A bodhisattva who can travel contrary ways in this manner is called one who comprehends the Way of the Buddha.”

Mañjuśrī Answers: What Are the Seeds of the Tathāgata?

Vimalakīrti then turned the question back to Mañjuśrī: “Which dharmas are seeds of the Tathāgata?”

Mañjuśrī answered in order:

1. Having this body is a seed of the Tathāgata.
2. Ignorance and craving for life in the three realms are seeds of the Tathāgata.
3. Greed, anger, and delusion are seeds of the Tathāgata.
4. The four inversions are seeds of the Tathāgata.
5. The five hindrances that cover the mind are seeds of the Tathāgata.
6. The six entrances are seeds of the Tathāgata.
7. The seven stations in which the consciousness of sentient beings abides are seeds of the Tathāgata.
8. The eight wrong dharmas opposed to the right path are seeds of the Tathāgata.
9. The nine sources of vexation arising toward oneself, friends, and enemies across the past, present, and future are seeds of the Tathāgata.
10. The ten unwholesome paths of action created through body, speech, and mind are seeds of the Tathāgata.
11. In summary, the sixty-two kinds of mistaken views and all afflictions are all seeds of buddhahood.

Vimalakīrti pressed him: “Why do you say this?”

Three Similes: Lotus, Seed, and Precious Jewel

Mañjuśrī answered, “If someone sees the unconditioned and thereby enters the fixed stage already realized, he cannot again give rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening.

“For example, lotuses cannot grow on dry high ground; they grow only in low, damp mud. Likewise, those who see the unconditioned and enter the fixed stage can never again give rise to the Dharma of buddhahood, while sentient beings in the mud of afflictions can give rise to the Buddha-Dharma.

“Again, a seed planted in space can never grow; only when planted in soil with manure can it be nourished and flourish. Likewise, one who enters the fixed stage of the unconditioned no longer gives rise to the Buddha-Dharma. Even if a person’s view of self towers as high as Mount Sumeru, that person can still give rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening and cause the Buddha-Dharma to arise within the mind.

“Therefore, you should know that all afflictions are seeds of the Tathāgata. Again, if a person does not enter deeply into the great sea, he cannot obtain a priceless precious jewel. Likewise, without entering the great sea of afflictions, one cannot obtain the treasure of omniscience.”

The three similes each have their own point: the lotus must arise from mud, the seed must grow in soil, and the precious jewel can be obtained only by entering deeply into the sea. The sūtra does not say that mud is the lotus, soil is the fruit, or seawater is the jewel. It says that giving rise to the mind, growing, and retrieving treasure cannot be separated from the actual conditions of affliction and saṃsāra in which sentient beings are found.

Mahākāśyapa’s Lament: Śrāvakas Are Like People Whose Faculties Are Ruined

At that time Mahākāśyapa exclaimed in praise, “Excellent! Excellent! Mañjuśrī, you have explained this principle so freely and well. It is truly as you say: sentient beings amid the afflictions of sensory disturbance are precisely seeds of the Tathāgata.

“We are now no longer able to give rise to the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening. Even people who commit the five heinous acts can still give rise to the mind and cause the Buddha-Dharma to arise, yet we can never again give rise to such a mind.

“It is like a person whose faculties have been ruined and can no longer function in the presence of the five desires. In the same way, śrāvakas whose bonds of affliction have been severed no longer increase within the Dharma of buddhahood and never again form the aspiration to seek the unsurpassed Way.

“Therefore, Mañjuśrī, ordinary people can still respond to and repay the Buddha-Dharma, but śrāvakas cannot. Why? When ordinary people hear the Buddha-Dharma, they can give rise to the mind of the unsurpassed Way and keep the transmission of the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha—the Three Jewels—unbroken. Even if śrāvakas spend their whole lives hearing the Buddha-Dharma and the Buddha’s powers, fearlessnesses, and other virtues, they can never give rise to the mind of the unsurpassed Way.”

This passage is Mahākāśyapa’s own declaration in this chapter. The Vernacular conveys his lament according to his actual words; it does not expand them into an unchanging universal judgment about all scriptures and every śrāvaka.

Universally Manifested Form-Body Asks: Where Are Vimalakīrti’s Family and Resources?

At that time, there was in the Dharma assembly a bodhisattva named Universally Manifested Form-Body. He asked Vimalakīrti, “Layman! Who are your father, mother, wife, children, relatives, dependents, officials, people, and friends? Where are your servants, attendants, elephants, horses, and carriages?”

Vimalakīrti answered in forty-two verses. Each verse below remains rendered in its original two verse lines.

The Forty-Two Verses, Rendered One by One

Verse 1

• The perfection of wisdom is the bodhisattva’s mother, and skillful means is his father.
• There is not a single guide of sentient beings who is not born from wisdom and skillful means.

Verse 2

• He takes joy in the Buddha-Dharma as his wife and compassion as his daughter.
• A wholesome and sincere mind is his son, and ultimate emptiness and quiescence are his dwelling.

Verse 3

• Sentient beings troubled by sensory disturbance are all his disciples and are transformed according to the bodhisattva’s intention.
• The factors of the path to awakening are his spiritual friends, through whom he perfects right awakening.

Verse 4

• The various perfections are companions traveling with him, and the four means of gathering are his female entertainers.
• The words of the Buddha-Dharma are sung and chanted; reciting the Dharma’s meaning is his music.

Verse 5

• Retention that holds the Buddha-Dharma without forgetting is his garden, and uncontaminated dharmas are its trees.
• The factors of awakening are its pure and wondrous flowers, and liberation and wisdom the fruit borne by the garden.

Verse 6

• The eight liberations are his bathing pool, and meditative concentration is the limpid water that fills it.
• The pool is spread with flowers of the seven purities, and those without the defilement of afflictions bathe within it.

Verse 7

• The five superknowledges are like fleet elephants and horses, and the Great Vehicle is the carriage that bears sentient beings.
• With a unified and disciplined mind he drives this carriage and travels the broad road of the eightfold right path.

Verse 8

• The major marks dignify his countenance, and the subsidiary excellences adorn his form.
• Conscience and shame are his finest garments, and a profound mind seeking the Dharma is the flower garland upon his head.

Verse 9

• The bodhisattva is rich in the seven kinds of Dharma wealth—trust, ethical discipline, learning, relinquishment, wisdom, conscience, and shame—and increases that wealth by teaching sentient beings.
• He genuinely practices according to the Dharma he teaches and dedicates every merit to the unsurpassed Way; this is the greatest benefit.

Verse 10

• The four meditations are his seat and bed for sitting and lying down, and this security arises from pure right livelihood.
• Broad learning increases wisdom, and the sound of Dharma becomes the sound that awakens him from concentration.

Verse 11

• The Buddha-Dharma, like ambrosia, is his food, and the flavor of liberation is the drink that relieves the thirst of craving.
• With a pure mind he washes away the defilement of afflictions, and the merit of ethical discipline is the fine fragrance applied to his body.

Verse 12

• The bodhisattva destroys the thieves of affliction; vigorous and courageous in diligent effort, he is surpassed by none.
• He subdues the four māras and raises the banner of victory at the place of awakening.

Verse 13

• Although the bodhisattva knows that no dharma has real arising or cessation, for the sake of sentient beings he still manifests birth.
• He manifests throughout every land like the sun shining down, with no place unable to behold its light.

Verse 14

• The bodhisattva makes offerings to immeasurable billions of tathāgatas in the ten directions, omitting no direction.
• He gives rise to no discriminating conception between the buddhas and himself.

Verse 15

• Although the bodhisattva knows the nature of every buddha-land and all its sentient beings to be empty and quiescent,
• he still constantly cultivates pure buddha-lands and teaches and transforms all sentient beings.

Verse 16

• The bodily forms, voices, and modes of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down of every kind of sentient being differ from one another.
• A bodhisattva complete in fearlessness and powers can manifest all those forms, voices, and modes of deportment at the same moment.

Verse 17

• The bodhisattva understands every work of Māra, yet can also manifest the outward appearance of acting in accord with Māra.
• Through the wisdom of skillful means, he can manifest these things freely as he wishes.

Verse 18

• The bodhisattva sometimes manifests aging, illness, and death, thereby bringing various sentient beings to fulfillment and transforming them.
• He clearly knows aging, illness, and death to be like illusions and therefore comprehends every manifestation without obstruction.

Verse 19

• The bodhisattva sometimes manifests the end of a world-age, when heaven and earth burn fiercely in a great fire.
• Through this manifestation he illuminates and breaks the notion of permanence in those attached to the world’s permanence, causing them to know that everything is impermanent.

Verse 20

• Countless billions of sentient beings invite the bodhisattva at the same time, hoping he will come to their homes.
• The bodhisattva can reach every household simultaneously, teach and transform them, and turn them toward the Way of the Buddha.

Verse 21

• The bodhisattva can manifest mastery of worldly scriptures, forbidden spells, and every craft and art.
• He manifests all these things in order to benefit and bring ease to every kind of sentient being.

Verse 22

• Among the world’s various ways of seeking the path, the bodhisattva can manifest going forth to practice in each.
• He thereby dispels the practitioners’ delusions, while he himself does not fall into those wrong views.

Verse 23

• The bodhisattva sometimes manifests as a sun deity, moon deity, Brahmā, or ruler of a world.
• At other times he manifests as earth, flowing water, wind, or fire, bringing benefit according to the needs of sentient beings.

Verse 24

• When severe epidemic disease arises during a world-age, the bodhisattva manifests as various medicinal herbs that can cure illness.
• When people take these herbs, their illnesses are removed and the various poisons in their bodies are neutralized.

Verse 25

• When famine arises during a world-age, the bodhisattva manifests his own body as food and drink.
• He first relieves sentient beings’ hunger and thirst and afterward guides them with the Buddha-Dharma.

Verse 26

• When a calamity of weapons arises during a world-age, the bodhisattva gives rise to compassion for suffering sentient beings.
• He teaches and transforms the sentient beings who are fighting, establishing them in a state where they no longer contend.

Verse 27

• If there is a great battle formation, he causes the two sides to stand with equal strength; the bodhisattva manifests might, subdues them, and brings peace.
• The bodhisattva manifests might, subdues the will to fight, and causes both sides to reconcile and become secure.

Verse 28

• In every land, wherever there is a hell in which beings suffer,
• the bodhisattva always goes there himself and exerts himself to relieve the suffering of the sentient beings within it.

Verse 29

• In every land, wherever animals devour and harm one another,
• the bodhisattva manifests birth among them and brings those sentient beings every kind of benefit.

Verse 30

• The bodhisattva manifests enjoying the five desires of forms, sounds, scents, tastes, and touches, while at the same time manifesting the practice of meditation.
• This confuses and disorders Māra’s mind, leaving him no opening through which to obstruct the bodhisattva.

Verse 31

• For a lotus to grow amid blazing flames may be called exceedingly rare.
• For the bodhisattva to practice meditation while situated among objects of desire is equally rare.

Verse 32

• The bodhisattva sometimes manifests as a courtesan, drawing in those who delight in beauty; first he attracts them with the hook of desire and afterward causes them to enter the Buddha’s wisdom.
• He first follows the other person’s desire and draws that person near, then causes that person to enter the Buddha’s wisdom.

Verse 33

• The bodhisattva sometimes becomes a leader of a town and sometimes a guide who leads a caravan.
• He can also manifest as a state preceptor or minister, using those identities to assist and benefit sentient beings.

Verse 34

• For all who are poor and deprived, the bodhisattva manifests as an inexhaustible treasury.
• Through material relief and guidance, he urges sentient beings to give rise to the mind of unsurpassed awakening.

Verse 35

• For those who are inwardly proud and arrogant, the bodhisattva manifests as a champion of great strength.
• He subdues their pride and arrogance and establishes them in the unsurpassed Way of the Buddha.

Verse 36

• For sentient beings whose hearts are fearful, the bodhisattva walks before them and consoles their minds.
• He first bestows safety and fearlessness, then causes sentient beings to give rise to the mind that seeks the Way.

Verse 37

• The bodhisattva sometimes manifests freedom from sexual desire and becomes a seer possessing the five superknowledges.
• He guides every kind of sentient being and causes them to abide in ethical discipline, patience, and loving-kindness.

Verse 38

• Seeing someone who needs service and support, the bodhisattva manifests as that person’s attendant.
• He first delights and satisfies that person’s mind, then guides him to give rise to the mind that seeks the Way.

Verse 39

• The bodhisattva follows the individual needs of sentient beings, enabling them thereby to enter the Way of the Buddha.
• Through the power of skillful means, he supplies in full everything sentient beings require.

Verse 40

• In this way, the bodhisattva’s ways are immeasurable, and the fields of his conduct have no boundary.
• The bodhisattva’s wisdom has no boundary, and through it he delivers incalculable sentient beings.

Verse 41

• Even if all buddhas continued teaching throughout immeasurable billions of kalpas,
• the buddhas’ praise of this bodhisattva’s merit still could not reach its end.

Verse 42

• Who could hear such a Dharma and still not give rise to the mind of unsurpassed awakening?
• Only those who are incapable, darkened by delusion, and without wisdom do not give rise to the mind.

The forty-two verses end here. Universally Manifested Form-Body asked about Vimalakīrti’s worldly family, servants, and carriages. Vimalakīrti first answered with wisdom, skillful means, joy in Dharma, compassion, the factors of the path, the perfections, retention, meditative concentration, ethical discipline, and wisdom; he then unfolded the entire household and its resources into the bodhisattva’s manifestations amid lands, disasters, evil destinies, objects of desire, and the needs of sentient beings. The final two verses introduce no new identity, but praise these virtues as inexhaustible and urge those who hear to give rise to the mind of awakening.

Base text: Kumārajīva’s Yao-Qin translation, The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Middle Scroll, Chapter 09, “Entering the Dharma-Gate of Nonduality.” What follows renders the chapter passage by passage in its transmitted sequence; not one of the thirty-one bodhisattvas is omitted.

Vimalakīrti Invites the Bodhisattvas to Speak of Their Entry

At that time, Vimalakīrti said to the bodhisattvas present, “Good sirs! How does a bodhisattva enter the dharma-gate of nonduality? Let each of you speak according to what you delight in and have entered.”

Vimalakīrti did not begin by giving “nonduality” a single, uniform definition. Instead, he had each bodhisattva begin with a pair of dharmas that he had contemplated. The thirty-one bodhisattvas then answered in sequence.

Thirty-One Bodhisattvas Each Speak of Nonduality

1. Bodhisattva Mastery in Dharma: Arising and Cessation

Bodhisattva Mastery in Dharma said, “To regard arising and cessation as two mutually opposed things is duality. In truth, all dharmas have never genuinely arisen; therefore, there is now no genuinely arisen dharma that can cease. Personally realizing and abiding in this principle of non-arising brings acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. This is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

2. Bodhisattva Guardian of Virtue: Self and What Belongs to Self

Bodhisattva Guardian of Virtue said, “To separate the self from everything belonging to the self is duality. Only because one first clings to a self does one then establish ‘this is mine’ and ‘that belongs to me.’ If there is no real self, there is also nothing real that belongs to a self. This is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

3. Bodhisattva Unblinking: Receiving and Not Receiving

Bodhisattva Unblinking said, “To establish receiving and not receiving as two sides is duality. If one receives none of the dharmas, that dharma cannot be apprehended. Precisely because it cannot be apprehended, there is nothing to take or reject, nothing to do or undertake. This is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

4. Bodhisattva Crown of Virtue: Defilement and Purity

Bodhisattva Crown of Virtue said, “To regard defilement and purity as two opposed realities is duality. If one sees the true nature of defilement itself, one does not establish, apart from defilement, a separate mark of purity that can be grasped, but accords with the mark of quiescent cessation. This is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

5. Bodhisattva Excellent Constellation: Stirring and Thought

Bodhisattva Excellent Constellation said, “To divide the mind’s stirring from its thought is duality. If the mind does not stir, there is no thought that reaches out and grasps. Without such thought, discrimination no longer arises. To comprehend this is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

6. Bodhisattva Excellent Eye: One Mark and Signlessness

Bodhisattva Excellent Eye said, “To oppose one mark to signlessness is duality. If one knows that the one mark is originally signless, yet does not cling even to signlessness, one can enter equality. This is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

7. Bodhisattva Wondrous Arm: The Bodhisattva Mind and the Śrāvaka Mind

Bodhisattva Wondrous Arm said, “To fix the bodhisattva mind and the śrāvaka mind as two real kinds of mind is duality. If one contemplates the marks of mind as empty, like an illusion, no fixed bodhisattva mind can be found, nor can any fixed śrāvaka mind be found. This is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

8. Bodhisattva Puṣya: Wholesome and Unwholesome

Bodhisattva Puṣya said, “To grasp the wholesome and the unwholesome as two opposing realities is duality. If the mind does not raise up a fixed mark of wholesome or unwholesome, but can enter the limit of signlessness and comprehend its principle, this is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

9. Bodhisattva Lion: Wrongdoing and Merit

Bodhisattva Lion said, “To regard wrongdoing and merit as two fixed and unchanging realities is duality. If one thoroughly sees the true nature of wrongdoing, one knows that, in true nature, it is not a second reality apart from merit. Resolutely comprehending this one mark with wisdom keen and firm as vajra, there is neither real bondage nor some other real liberation. This is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

10. Bodhisattva Lion-Mind: Contaminated and Uncontaminated

Bodhisattva Lion-Mind said, “To divide the contaminated and the uncontaminated into two graspable realities is duality. If one sees the equality of dharmas, one no longer gives rise to conceptions of contaminated and uncontaminated. One neither clings to marks nor abides in signlessness. This is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

11. Bodhisattva Pure Understanding: Conditioned and Unconditioned

Bodhisattva Pure Understanding said, “To oppose the conditioned and the unconditioned is duality. If one leaves behind every act of counting and classifying, and every calculable mark, the mind is like space. To comprehend with pure wisdom and without obstruction is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

12. Bodhisattva Nārāyaṇa: Worldly and Transcendent

Bodhisattva Nārāyaṇa said, “To regard the worldly and the transcendent as two separate places is duality. The true nature of the world is originally empty; this itself is the transcendent. Within this emptiness there is nothing that can be said to enter, leave, overflow, or disperse. To comprehend in this way is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

13. Bodhisattva Excellent Intention: Saṃsāra and Nirvāṇa

Bodhisattva Excellent Intention said, “To oppose saṃsāra and nirvāṇa is duality. If one sees the true nature of saṃsāra, there is no real saṃsāra. There is neither real bondage nor some other real liberation; no dharma genuinely ignites, and no dharma genuinely goes out. To understand in this way is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

14. Bodhisattva Present Vision: Exhaustion and Non-Exhaustion

Bodhisattva Present Vision said, “To regard exhaustion and non-exhaustion as two sides is duality. Whether one says a dharma has ultimately been exhausted or remains unexhausted, both alike bear the mark of inexhaustibility. The mark of inexhaustibility is emptiness, and in emptiness there is no opposition between exhaustion and non-exhaustion. To enter in this way is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

15. Bodhisattva Universal Guardian: Self and No-Self

Bodhisattva Universal Guardian said, “To oppose self and no-self is duality. If even self cannot be apprehended, where could one apprehend a separately established non-self or no-self? Seeing the true nature of self, one no longer gives rise to these two sides. This is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

16. Bodhisattva Lightning Deity: Understanding and Ignorance

Bodhisattva Lightning Deity said, “To grasp understanding and ignorance as two fixed realities is duality. The true nature of ignorance cannot be apprehended; it is precisely in this respect that ignorance is said to be understanding. Yet understanding likewise cannot be grasped. This does not mean that everyday ignorance is wisdom, but that neither understanding nor ignorance can be counted as a fixed existent. Equality without duality within them is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

17. Bodhisattva Joyful Vision: The Five Aggregates and Emptiness

Bodhisattva Joyful Vision said, “To regard form and the emptiness of form as two things is duality. Form itself is empty; it is not that form must first cease and only then some emptiness appears. The nature of form is itself empty. The same is true of feeling and the emptiness of feeling, perception and the emptiness of perception, formations and the emptiness of formations, and consciousness and the emptiness of consciousness. Consciousness itself is empty; it is not that consciousness becomes empty only after it ceases. The nature of consciousness is itself empty. To comprehend the five aggregates and emptiness in this way is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

18. Bodhisattva Luminous Mark: The Four Elements and the Element of Space

Bodhisattva Luminous Mark said, “To regard the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind as not sharing the same nature as the element of space is duality. The true nature of the four elements is the true nature of the element of space. Since the prior limit of the past and the later limit of the future are empty, the middle limit of the present is also empty. To know the true nature of the elements in this way is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

19. Bodhisattva Wondrous Mind: The Six Faculties and Six Objects

Bodhisattva Wondrous Mind said, “To regard the eye and form as two opposing realities is duality. If one knows the true nature of the eye faculty, then in the presence of forms one gives rise to neither greed, anger, nor delusion; this is called quiescent cessation. The same is true of ear and sound, nose and scent, tongue and taste, and body and touch. So too, through mind and dharmas: if one knows the true nature of the mind faculty, then in the presence of dharmas one gives rise to neither greed, anger, nor delusion; this is called quiescent cessation. To abide in this quiescent cessation is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

20. Bodhisattva Inexhaustible Intention: The Six Perfections and Dedication to Omniscience

Bodhisattva Inexhaustible Intention said, “To regard giving and dedication to omniscience as two separate things is duality. The true nature of giving is the true nature of dedication to omniscience. The same is true of ethical discipline, patience, diligent effort, meditation, and wisdom in relation to dedication to omniscience; through to wisdom, the true nature of wisdom is the true nature of dedication to omniscience. To enter the one mark here is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

21. Bodhisattva Profound Wisdom: Emptiness, Signlessness, and Wishlessness

Bodhisattva Profound Wisdom said, “If emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness are separately grasped as different dharmas, they become duality. Emptiness is signlessness, and signlessness is wishlessness. When emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness are truly comprehended, there is no graspable mind, mentation, or consciousness. Within a single gate of liberation, all three gates of liberation are complete. This is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

22. Bodhisattva Quiescent Faculties: Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha

Bodhisattva Quiescent Faculties said, “If Buddha, Dharma, and the Saṅgha are divided into mutually opposed realities, they become duality. Buddha is Dharma, and Dharma is Saṅgha. All Three Jewels have the mark of the unconditioned and are equal to space; all dharmas are likewise. To practice in accord with this principle is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

23. Bodhisattva Unobstructed Mind: Body and the Cessation of Body

Bodhisattva Unobstructed Mind said, “To regard the body and the body’s quiescent cessation as two things is duality. The body itself is the cessation of body. Why? Seeing the true mark of the body, one no longer gives rise to a discriminating view of the body, nor to a discriminating view of the body’s cessation. Body and the cessation of body are nondual and cannot be discriminated. To be neither startled nor afraid here is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

24. Bodhisattva Supreme Goodness: The Three Karmas of Body, Speech, and Mind

Bodhisattva Supreme Goodness said, “To discriminate and oppose bodily, verbal, and mental karma is duality. None of these three karmas has a graspable mark of fabrication. The unfabricated mark of bodily karma is the unfabricated mark of verbal karma; the unfabricated mark of verbal karma is the unfabricated mark of mental karma; and the unfabricated mark of the three karmas is the unfabricated mark of all dharmas. ‘Unfabricated’ here does not tell people to do nothing; it means that the true nature of the three karmas has no fixed mark of fabrication. To accord with this wisdom of the unfabricated is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

25. Bodhisattva Field of Merit: Meritorious, Wrongful, and Imperturbable Action

Bodhisattva Field of Merit said, “If meritorious action, wrongful action, and imperturbable action are discriminated and grasped, they become duality. Meritorious action is wholesome action in the desire realm that brings pleasant results; wrongful action is unwholesome action; and imperturbable action is the settled karma of the form and formless realms. The true nature of all three kinds of action is empty. Since they are empty, there is no meritorious, wrongful, or imperturbable action that can be grasped. Not giving rise to any further grasping with respect to these three kinds of action is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

26. Bodhisattva Floral Adornment: Every Duality Arises from Self

Bodhisattva Floral Adornment said, “The arising of a division into self and other is itself duality. If one sees the true mark of self, one no longer gives rise to dual dharmas. If one does not abide in dual dharmas, one no longer establishes a mind that cognizes. Since there is neither a cognizer nor an object cognized, this is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

27. Bodhisattva Treasury of Virtue: The Mark of Attainment

Bodhisattva Treasury of Virtue said, “For the mark of attainment to arise in the mind is duality. If there is non-attainment, there is nothing to take and nothing to reject. Without taking or rejecting, there is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

28. Bodhisattva Moon-Supreme: Darkness and Light

Bodhisattva Moon-Supreme said, “To oppose darkness and light is duality. When there is no graspable darkness and no graspable light, there is no duality. Why? When one enters the absorption of the cessation of perception and feeling, one does not discriminate between darkness and light. The marks of all dharmas are likewise. To enter in equality among the marks of all dharmas is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

29. Bodhisattva Jeweled Seal-Hand: Delighting in Nirvāṇa and Not Delighting in the World

Bodhisattva Jeweled Seal-Hand said, “To delight in nirvāṇa while detesting the world is duality. If one neither greedily delights in nirvāṇa nor rejects the world, there is no such duality. Why? Only if there were bondage first would one then establish liberation separately. If there is originally no real bondage, who needs to seek a liberation? Since there is neither bondage nor liberation, there is neither delight nor aversion. This is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

30. Bodhisattva Jewel-Crown King: The Right Path and the Wrong Path

Bodhisattva Jewel-Crown King said, “To regard the right path and the wrong path as two graspable realities is duality. One who truly abides in the right path no longer discriminates, ‘this is wrong’ and ‘that is right.’ To leave behind the two marks of wrong and right is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

31. Bodhisattva Delighting in Reality: Real and Unreal

Bodhisattva Delighting in Reality said, “To oppose the real and the unreal is duality. One who truly sees the true mark does not even regard the real as an object of vision; how, then, could such a person regard the unreal as one? The true mark cannot be seen by the physical eye; it can be seen only by the eye of wisdom. Yet this eye of wisdom falls neither into a fixed act of seeing nor into complete non-seeing. This is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

Mañjuśrī Pushes the Question Beyond Speech

After the thirty-one bodhisattvas had each finished speaking, they asked Mañjuśrī together, “What is a bodhisattva’s entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality?”

Mañjuśrī answered, “As I understand it, with respect to all dharmas, one establishes nothing in words, engages in no discursive explanation, indicates nothing by marks, and gives rise to no discriminating cognition. To leave behind every question and answer is entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

This answer relinquishes five things in turn: no words means not establishing anything through terms; no discourse means no longer fixing dharmas within a formulation; no indication means not marking out a sign for someone to see; no cognition means not establishing a knowing subject that discriminates; and leaving behind all questions and answers means no longer establishing even the opposing structure of a question and an answer.

Vimalakīrti Remains Silent, and Mañjuśrī Praises Him

Mañjuśrī then asked Vimalakīrti, “We have each finished speaking. Good sir, you should now tell us: what is a bodhisattva’s entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality?”

At that moment, Vimalakīrti simply remained silent and did not say a single word.

Mañjuśrī did not regard this silence as a refusal to answer. He praised him, saying, “Excellent! Excellent! Until there are no words and no speech at all—this is true entry into the dharma-gate of nonduality.”

The thirty-one bodhisattvas spoke of nonduality through different pairs of dharmas. Mañjuśrī spoke of nonduality through no words, no discourse, no indication, no cognition, and departure from all questions and answers. Vimalakīrti did not add even such an explanation. The earlier words were not erased; in silence, they simply were no longer grasped as an answer that could be held.

Five Thousand Bodhisattvas Attain Acceptance of the Non-Arising of Dharmas

As this chapter was being taught, five thousand bodhisattvas in the assembly all entered the dharma-gate of nonduality and attained acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. They did not merely understand a term; they realized and became established in the principle that dharmas have never arisen. The chapter thus begins with Mastery in Dharma’s first answer on acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas and comes full circle when the five thousand bodhisattvas attain that acceptance.

Base text: the Later Qin translation by Kumārajīva, The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Lower Scroll, Chapter 10, “Buddha Fragrance-Accumulation.” What follows renders each of the chapter’s twenty-one passages in order. All thirty-five items of forceful speech, the ten wholesome dharmas of this land, and the eight dharmas for birth in a pure land are translated item by item without omission.

Śāriputra Thinks of Food, and Vimalakīrti Promises Food Never Had Before

At that time Śāriputra thought to himself, “The time for the meal is drawing near. Where are these bodhisattvas going to eat?”

Vimalakīrti knew his thought and said to him, “The Buddha taught the eight liberations, and you, sir, have received and practice them. How can you mingle a desire for food in your mind while also coming to hear the Dharma? If you truly want to eat, wait a little while. I shall enable you to obtain food such as you have never had before.”

These words did not leave the Dharma assembly at the level of an ordinary meal. Śāriputra was still thinking about how the assembly would receive food, but Vimalakīrti first asked: while hearing the Dharma and practicing the eight liberations, did his mind still mix in a craving for food? Then he did not refuse to provide a meal. He asked Śāriputra to wait and foretold a kind of food never had before.

Entering Samādhi, He Reveals the Land of Myriad Fragrances and Asks Who Can Fetch Fragrant Rice

Vimalakīrti immediately entered samādhi and, through his supernormal power, enabled the assembly to see a world above. Upward from the Sahā world, beyond as many buddha-lands as the sands of forty-two Ganges Rivers, was a land named Myriad Fragrances. Its Buddha was named Fragrance-Accumulation and was dwelling there at that very time.

The fragrance of that land was foremost when compared with all the fragrances among humans and gods in the buddha-worlds of the ten directions. There were not even the names śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha there. There was only a pure assembly of great bodhisattvas, to whom Buddha Fragrance-Accumulation was teaching the Dharma. Everything in the land was made of fragrance: its towers were fragrant, the ground used for walking meditation was fragrant, and its parks were fragrant. The fragrance emitted by its food flowed throughout immeasurable worlds in the ten directions.

At that time Buddha Fragrance-Accumulation was seated at a meal with the bodhisattvas. There were also many sons of gods, all named Fragrant Adornment. They had all set their minds on unsurpassed perfect awakening and were making offerings to Buddha Fragrance-Accumulation and the bodhisattvas. No one in Vimalakīrti’s house failed to see these scenes.

Vimalakīrti asked the bodhisattvas, “Sirs, who can go to that Buddha and bring back some rice?” Because of Mañjuśrī’s awe-inspiring spiritual power, they all remained silent and did not answer. Vimalakīrti then said, “Sirs, is it not shameful that among such a great assembly no one can go?”

Mañjuśrī replied, “As the Buddha has said, do not look down upon those who have not yet completed their training.”

Here Vimalakīrti first challenged them, and then Mañjuśrī stopped him. The scripture says only that the assembly remained silent because of Mañjuśrī’s spiritual power. It does not select another bodhisattva to go. In the next step Vimalakīrti himself creates a messenger by transformation.

Without Rising from His Seat, He Creates a Bodhisattva and Sends Him to Request Rice

Without rising from his seat, Vimalakīrti created a bodhisattva by transformation before the assembly. This transformed bodhisattva had a dignified countenance and all the excellent marks. His body emitted light, his majesty and virtue were exceptionally splendid, and his radiance eclipsed that of everyone in the gathering.

Vimalakīrti instructed him, “Go upward, passing beyond as many buddha-lands as the sands of forty-two Ganges Rivers. There is a land named Myriad Fragrances, where the Buddha named Fragrance-Accumulation is seated at a meal with the bodhisattvas. When you arrive, report exactly these words of mine: Vimalakīrti bows his head at the feet of the World-Honored One, offers immeasurable reverence, and asks after the World-Honored One’s daily well-being: Are your illnesses few? Are your afflictions few? Are your strength and ease secure? May the World-Honored One bestow the remainder of the food you have eaten, so that we may bring it back to the Sahā world and perform the Buddha’s work. May those here who delight in a lesser Dharma expand their minds and promote the great Way, and may the Tathāgata’s renown be heard everywhere.”

Before the eyes of the assembly, the transformed bodhisattva ascended. Everyone saw him depart and saw him reach the world of Myriad Fragrances, where he bowed his head at the feet of Buddha Fragrance-Accumulation. They all also heard him convey Vimalakīrti’s instructions in full: the bow, the reverence, the inquiry about few illnesses, few troubles, and secure strength, and the request that the Buddha bestow the leftover rice he had eaten so that it might be taken to the Sahā world to perform the Buddha’s work, enable those who delighted in a lesser Dharma to promote the great Way, and cause the Tathāgata’s renown to be heard everywhere.

The Bodhisattvas of Myriad Fragrances Ask about Sahā, and Buddha Fragrance-Accumulation Explains Vimalakīrti’s Transformative Work

When the bodhisattvas in the world of Myriad Fragrances saw this transformed bodhisattva, they praised it as something never seen before. They asked, “Where has this superior person come from? Where is the Sahā world? What sort of people are called those who delight in a lesser Dharma?” They put these three questions to Buddha Fragrance-Accumulation.

Buddha Fragrance-Accumulation told them, “Downward from here, beyond as many buddha-lands as the sands of forty-two Ganges Rivers, there is a world named Sahā. Its Buddha is named Śākyamuni and is dwelling in the world at this very time. In the evil age of the five corruptions, he expounds the Way and Dharma for sentient beings who delight in a lesser Dharma. There is a bodhisattva there named Vimalakīrti. He abides in the inconceivable liberation and is teaching the Dharma to the bodhisattvas. He has therefore sent this transformed bodhisattva here to extol my name and praise this land, so that the bodhisattvas there may increase their merit.”

Those bodhisattvas asked further, “What kind of person is Vimalakīrti, that he can produce such a transformation? How can his power of merit, fearlessness, and supernormal mastery be so vast?”

Buddha Fragrance-Accumulation answered, “His virtuous power is exceedingly vast. In all the worlds of the ten directions he sends transformed bodies to perform the Buddha’s work and benefit sentient beings.”

Buddha Fragrance-Accumulation Gives the Rice, and Nine Million Bodhisattvas Receive Three Admonitions

The Tathāgata Fragrance-Accumulation filled a bowl made of myriad fragrances with fragrant rice and gave it to the transformed bodhisattva. At that time nine million bodhisattvas in the world of Myriad Fragrances spoke together and requested, “We wish to go to the Sahā world to make offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha and also to visit Vimalakīrti and the bodhisattva assembly there.”

Buddha Fragrance-Accumulation said, “You may go. But first, draw in the fragrance of your own bodies, so that the sentient beings there do not become confused and attached because of it. Second, relinquish your original forms, so that those in that land who seek the bodhisattva path do not see you, despise themselves, and feel ashamed. Third, once there, do not hold that land in contempt and thereby form an obstructive perception. Why? The lands of the ten directions are all like empty space. In order to teach sentient beings who delight in a lesser Dharma, the buddhas do not fully reveal every feature of their pure lands.”

The transformed bodhisattva received the bowl filled with fragrant rice. Together with the nine million bodhisattvas, and through the awe-inspiring spiritual power of Buddha Fragrance-Accumulation and the power of Vimalakīrti, he suddenly disappeared from the world of Myriad Fragrances. In only a moment they arrived at Vimalakīrti’s house.

One Bowl of Fragrant Rice Pervades the Great Trichiliocosm, and the Assembly Gathers at Its Scent

Vimalakīrti immediately created nine million lion seats by transformation. Each was as tall, broad, orderly, and beautiful as the seats made before, and each of the nine million bodhisattvas took a seat. The transformed bodhisattva gave the bowl filled with fragrant rice to Vimalakīrti. Its fragrance completely pervaded the city of Vaiśālī and also the entire great trichiliocosm.

When the brahmans, householders, and others in Vaiśālī smelled the fragrance, their bodies and minds became peaceful and joyful, and they praised it as something never experienced before. Moon Canopy, the chief among the elders, came to Vimalakīrti’s house with eighty-four thousand people. They saw the extraordinarily great number of bodhisattvas in the house and the lofty, broad, and majestic lion seats, and they rejoiced deeply. They bowed to the bodhisattvas and the great disciples, then withdrew to stand at one side.

The city’s people were not the only ones drawn by the fragrance. The earth spirits, the spirits of empty space, and the gods of the desire realm and form realm all entered Vimalakīrti’s house as well.

Rice Pervaded by Great Compassion Satisfies Everyone without Diminishing

Vimalakīrti said to Śāriputra and the other great śrāvakas, “Sirs, you may eat. This is rice with the Tathāgata’s ambrosial flavor, pervaded by great compassion. Do not eat it with a narrow and limited mind, or you will be unable to digest it.”

One śrāvaka thought, “There is so little rice in this bowl, yet everyone in this great assembly is to eat. How can it be enough?”

The transformed bodhisattva said to him, “Do not use a śrāvaka’s limited merit and wisdom to measure the Tathāgata’s immeasurable merit and wisdom! The waters of the four great oceans might run dry, but this rice will never be exhausted. Even if everyone came to eat, each taking a portion as large as Mount Sumeru and continuing to eat for an eon, they could not finish it. Why? This is food left over from one endowed with the merits of inexhaustible ethical discipline, samādhi, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation. It can therefore never be exhausted.”

The rice in the bowl then fully satisfied everyone in the Dharma assembly, yet its quantity did not decrease. All the bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, gods, and humans who had eaten from the bowl felt physically secure and joyful, like the bodhisattvas in the land Adorned with Every Joy. From every pore of their bodies came a subtle fragrance like that of the fragrant trees in the land of Myriad Fragrances.

The bowl first drew the city’s people, earth spirits, spirits of empty space, and gods by its scent, and then fed bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, gods, and humans together. Not one of the five—ethical discipline, samādhi, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation—is omitted. By saying that the four oceans could run dry while the rice could not be exhausted, and that even portions as large as Mount Sumeru eaten for an eon would not finish it, the scripture opens out one layer after another beyond limited measurement.

Myriad Fragrances Teaches with Fragrance; Sahā Tames with Forceful Speech

Vimalakīrti asked the bodhisattvas who had come from the world of Myriad Fragrances, “By what means does the Tathāgata Fragrance-Accumulation teach the Dharma?”

The bodhisattvas of Myriad Fragrances answered, “The Tathāgata of our land does not teach through written words. He uses only various fragrances to enable gods and humans to enter conduct regulated by ethical discipline. The bodhisattvas each sit beneath a fragrant tree. When they smell this subtle fragrance, they attain the Samādhi Treasury of All Virtues. Bodhisattvas who attain this samādhi become fully endowed with every bodhisattva virtue.”

The bodhisattvas of Myriad Fragrances then asked Vimalakīrti, “By what means does the present World-Honored One, Śākyamuni Buddha, teach the Dharma?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “The sentient beings in this land are forceful in character and difficult to teach. The Buddha therefore tames them with forceful and direct speech. He tells them item by item: this is hell; these are animals; these are hungry ghosts; these are the various difficult conditions in which one cannot hear and practice the Dharma; this is the place where foolish people are born.”

“He also says: this is wrong conduct done with the body, and this is the result brought about by bodily wrong conduct; this is wrong conduct spoken with the mouth, and this is the result brought about by verbal wrong conduct; this is wrong conduct arising in the mind, and this is the result brought about by mental wrong conduct.”

“He then points out the ten unwholesome actions and their results one by one: this is taking life, and this is the result of taking life; this is taking property that another has not given, and this is the result of taking what has not been given; this is sexual misconduct, and this is the result of sexual misconduct; this is false and untruthful speech, and this is the result of false speech; this is speech that sows discord between two sides, and this is the result of divisive speech; this is malicious and brutal speech, and this is the result of harsh speech; this is speech without proper meaning or benefit, and this is the result of meaningless speech; this is craving and jealousy, and this is the result of craving and jealousy; this is anger and harmful vexation, and this is the result of anger and vexation; this is wrong view, and this is the result of wrong view.”

“He further points out the following six things and their results one by one: this is stinginess, and this is the result of stinginess; this is violating ethical discipline, and this is the result of violating ethical discipline; this is anger, and this is the result of anger; this is laziness, and this is the result of laziness; this is mental distraction, and this is the result of mental distraction; this is delusion, and this is the result of delusion.”

“Next, he makes ethical discipline and contrasting dharmas clear one by one: this is the establishment of a precept; this is observing a precept; this is violating a precept. This is what should be done, and this is what should not be done. This creates an obstruction, and this does not create an obstruction. This incurs an offense, and this leaves an offense behind. This is pure, and this is defiled. This is accompanied by the outflows of affliction, and this is without the outflows of affliction. This is a wrong path, and this is the right path. This is the conditioned, involving fabrication, arising, and ceasing, and this is the unconditioned, without such fabrication, arising, and ceasing. This is the world, and this is nirvāṇa.”

“Sentient beings who are difficult to teach have thoughts that leap about without rest, like monkeys, so their minds must be controlled through various Dharma methods before they can be tamed. It is also like elephants and horses whose forceful natures are refractory and resistant to training: only after severe and painful discipline that reaches to the bone do they become compliant. The sentient beings of this land who are forceful and difficult to teach are the same. The Buddha must use various kinds of painful and direct speech before they can enter conduct regulated by ethical discipline.”

This long passage cannot be replaced by a single phrase such as “the causal results of good and evil.” The evil destinies, the three kinds of action and their results, the ten unwholesome actions and their results, the six items from stinginess through delusion and their results, the three statements on ethical discipline, and then the eight contrasting pairs are all named by the scripture. Each lets sentient beings know what brings suffering, what should be abandoned, and what should be practiced, while also giving the mind that scatters like a monkey boundaries it can follow.

The Bodhisattvas of Myriad Fragrances Praise This Land, and Vimalakīrti Teaches Its Ten Wholesome Dharmas

After hearing this, the bodhisattvas of Myriad Fragrances all said, “This is truly something never experienced before! The World-Honored One Śākyamuni conceals his immeasurable powers of mastery and liberates them by means of the Dharma enjoyed by the poor. The bodhisattvas born in this buddha-land can also labor humbly and come here with immeasurable great compassion.”

Vimalakīrti said, “As you have said, the great compassion these bodhisattvas of this land direct toward sentient beings is indeed extremely firm. Yet the benefit they bring sentient beings here in a single lifetime exceeds the benefit produced by bodhisattvas in your land through a hundred thousand eons of practice. Why? This Sahā world has ten wholesome dharmas that do not exist in other pure buddha-lands.”

“First, they embrace the poor through generosity. Second, they embrace those who violate the prohibitions through pure ethical conduct. Third, they embrace the angry through patience. Fourth, they embrace the lazy through diligence. Fifth, they embrace the mentally distracted through meditative concentration. Sixth, they embrace the deluded through wisdom.”

“Seventh, for those in the eight difficult conditions who can scarcely hear and practice the Dharma, they teach the Dharma that removes these difficulties and liberate them. Eighth, they transform those who delight only in the Lesser Vehicle through the Great Vehicle Dharma. Ninth, they aid those who lack merit through various wholesome roots. Tenth, they constantly employ the four means of gathering to embrace and bring sentient beings to fulfillment. These are the ten wholesome dharmas.”

The first six set generosity, pure ethical discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom respectively before poverty, violation of prohibitions, anger, laziness, mental distraction, and delusion. The final four address the eight difficult conditions, delight in the Lesser Vehicle, lack of virtue, and sentient beings who need to be brought to fulfillment through the four means of gathering. The practice of one lifetime described by the scripture consists precisely of these ten wholesome dharmas directed toward actual sentient beings.

Eight Dharmas for Practicing in This World without Blemish and Being Born in a Pure Land

The bodhisattvas of Myriad Fragrances asked again, “How many dharmas must bodhisattvas accomplish in order to practice the bodhisattva conduct in this world without blemish and later be born in a pure buddha-land?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “Bodhisattvas must accomplish eight dharmas in order to practice in this world without blemish and be born in a pure buddha-land.”

“First, benefit sentient beings without hoping that they will repay you. Second, willingly undergo every kind of suffering and distress in place of all sentient beings, and give and dedicate to them all the merit produced by your deeds.”

“Third, treat all sentient beings with an equal mind, while keeping yourself humble and allowing no obstruction in your mind. Fourth, regard every bodhisattva with the same respect as if seeing a buddha.”

“Fifth, when you hear scriptures you have never heard before, do not immediately doubt them. Sixth, do not oppose the śrāvakas merely because your vehicles differ.”

“Seventh, when others receive offerings, do not become jealous; when you yourself receive benefit, do not become arrogant. In both the offerings received by others and the benefit received by yourself, tame your own mind.”

“Eighth, constantly examine your own faults, do not contend to proclaim the shortcomings of others, and always single-mindedly seek every virtue. These are the eight dharmas.”

These eight dharmas begin with benefiting sentient beings without seeking repayment. Through taking on suffering, dedicating merit, equality, humility, respect, trust in scriptures, non-opposition to śrāvakas, freedom from jealousy and arrogance, taming one’s own mind, examining one’s own faults without accusing others, and single-mindedly seeking virtues, they form a path that does not turn bodhisattva conduct into self-exaltation. The scripture joins freedom from jealousy over others’ offerings, freedom from arrogance over one’s own gain, and taming the mind amid both into a single item. It likewise joins examining one’s own faults, not disputing others’ shortcomings, and single-mindedly seeking virtue in the last item. Their sequence must not be arbitrarily divided or merged.

As the Dharma Is Taught, Two Kinds of Assembly Members Benefit

As Vimalakīrti and Mañjuśrī taught these dharmas among the assembly, a hundred thousand gods and humans all set their minds on unsurpassed perfect awakening. At the same time, ten thousand bodhisattvas attained acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas.

At the chapter’s close, the words “while these dharmas were being taught” simply record two kinds of benefit. They do not make one kind the cause of the other. A hundred thousand gods and humans set their minds on awakening, while ten thousand bodhisattvas attained acceptance, each stated alongside the other as the scripture has it. Thus the meal first contemplated by Śāriputra has opened into an upper buddha-land, the Buddha’s work performed through fragrant rice, two lands’ modes of teaching, ten wholesome dharmas, and eight forms of bodhisattva conduct. The food never had before that the assembly truly receives is more than a single bowl of fragrant rice.

Base text: Kumārajīva’s Yao-Qin translation, The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Lower Scroll, Chapter 11, “The Conduct of the Bodhisattva.” What follows renders the chapter’s twenty-nine passages in their transmitted sequence. Not one of the fourteen kinds of Buddha-work, fifty items under not exhausting the conditioned, fifteen items under not abiding in the unconditioned, or final four pairs is omitted.

The Āmra Grove First Displays an Auspicious Sign

At that time, the Buddha was teaching the Dharma in the Āmra Grove. The ground in the grove suddenly became broad and majestic, and the entire assembly present took on a golden color.

Ānanda asked the Buddha, “World-Honored One, what cause and condition have made this auspicious sign appear here? This place has suddenly become broad and majestic, and the entire assembly has taken on a golden color.”

The Buddha told Ānanda, “Vimalakīrti, Mañjuśrī, and the assembly, respectfully gathered around them, have already formed the intention to come here. This auspicious sign has therefore appeared first.”

Vimalakīrti Holds the Assembly in His Palm and Goes with Them to See the Buddha

Vimalakīrti said to Mañjuśrī, “We can go together to see the Buddha and, together with the bodhisattvas, pay reverence, attend upon him, and make offerings.”

Mañjuśrī replied, “Excellent! Let us go. Now is the time.”

Vimalakīrti immediately exercised his supernormal power. He lifted the entire assembly together with the lion seats on which they sat, placed them in the palm of his right hand, and went to where the Buddha was. After arriving, he set the assembly and their seats on the ground, bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet, circumambulated the Buddha seven times to the right, stood to one side with palms joined and mind collected. The bodhisattvas also all rose from their seats, bowed their heads at the Buddha’s feet, circumambulated him seven times, and stood to one side. The great disciples, Śakra, Brahmā, the Four Heavenly Kings, and the others likewise rose from their seats, bowed their heads at the Buddha’s feet, and stood to one side.

After the World-Honored One had greeted the bodhisattvas according to Dharma protocol, he invited each of them to return to his seat, and everyone respectfully accepted the instruction. Once the assembly was seated, the Buddha asked Śāriputra, “Have you seen everything done through the sovereign supernormal power of this bodhisattva-mahāsattva?”

Śāriputra replied, “Yes, I have seen it.”

The Buddha asked again, “What do you think of this?”

Śāriputra replied, “World-Honored One, everything I see him do is truly inconceivable. It cannot be conceived by the mind or measured by calculation.”

Fragrance from Their Pores Remains until the Power of the Fragrant Rice Is Exhausted

At this point, Ānanda asked the Buddha, “World-Honored One, I now smell a fragrance I have never smelled before. What fragrance is this?”

The Buddha told Ānanda, “This fragrance issues from the pores of those bodhisattvas.”

Śāriputra then said to Ānanda, “The same fragrance also issues from our pores.”

Ānanda asked, “Where does this fragrance come from?”

Śāriputra replied, “The elder Vimalakīrti brought back the remainder of a Buddha’s meal from the Land of Myriad Fragrances. Everyone who ate that rice in his house emits this fragrance from every pore of the body.”

Ānanda then asked Vimalakīrti, “How long will this fragrance remain on the body?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “Until the rice is completely digested.”

Ānanda asked again, “How long will it take for the rice to be completely digested?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “The power of this rice itself lasts for seven days and is exhausted only afterward. Yet, Ānanda, if the person who eats it has a Dharma benefit that should be accomplished, the power of the rice disappears only after that benefit has been accomplished.” The five cases, in order, are:

1. If a śrāvaka who has not yet entered the fixed position eats this rice, its power is exhausted only after he enters the fixed position.
2. If a śrāvaka who has already entered the fixed position eats this rice, its power is exhausted only after his mind is liberated.
3. If someone who has not yet aroused the Great Vehicle mind eats this rice, its power is exhausted only after he arouses the Great Vehicle mind.
4. If someone who has already aroused the Great Vehicle mind eats this rice, its power is exhausted only after he attains acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas.
5. If someone who has already attained acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas eats this rice, its power is exhausted only after he reaches the stage of one life remaining.

“It is like a medicine called Supreme Flavor. The medicine’s power disappears only after every poison throughout the body of the person who takes it has been eliminated. This rice is the same: its power disappears only after every poison of the afflictions has been eliminated.”

Ānanda praised this before the Buddha: “Such a thing has never happened before! World-Honored One, fragrant rice such as this can actually perform the Buddha’s work.”

Light, Food, Language, and Silence Can All Perform the Buddha’s Work

The Buddha said, “So it is, so it is, Ānanda! The ways in which buddha-lands perform the Buddha’s work are not all the same.” In the scripture’s sequence there are fourteen kinds:

1. Some buddha-lands perform the Buddha’s work through the Buddha’s light.
2. Some perform the Buddha’s work through bodhisattvas.
3. Some perform the Buddha’s work through persons created by the Buddha.
4. Some perform the Buddha’s work through the bodhi tree of awakening.
5. Some perform the Buddha’s work through the Buddha’s clothing and bedding.
6. Some perform the Buddha’s work through food.
7. Some perform the Buddha’s work through groves, terraces, towers, and pavilions.
8. Some perform the Buddha’s work through the thirty-two marks and eighty excellent characteristics.
9. Some perform the Buddha’s work through the Buddha’s body.
10. Some perform the Buddha’s work through space.

Sentient beings each enter disciplined and right conduct through the particular cause or condition suited to them.

11. Some perform the Buddha’s work through seven similes: dreams, illusions, shadows, echoes, reflections in mirrors, moons in water, and mirages in the heat.
12. Some perform the Buddha’s work through sound, language, and written words.
13. Some pure buddha-lands are quiescent and silent, without words, discourse, indication, discriminating cognition, fabrication, or the conditioned; they perform the Buddha’s work through just such silence.
14. In summary, nothing in the buddhas’ deportment—walking, standing, advancing, or stopping—or in anything they do fails to be the Buddha’s work.

The Buddha further said, “Ānanda, the world has the four Māras and eighty-four thousand gateways of affliction, by which sentient beings are wearied and troubled. The buddhas use these very dharmas to perform the Buddha’s work. This is called entering the Dharma-gate of all buddhas.”

“A bodhisattva who enters this Dharma-gate sees every pure and beautiful buddha-land without becoming pleased by it, greedily attached to it, or proud; and sees every impure buddha-land without becoming sorrowful, obstructed, or submerged. The bodhisattva gives rise only to a pure mind toward the buddhas and, with joy and reverence, praises this as something never before experienced.”

“The merit of all buddhas, the Tathāgatas, is equal. It is only in order to teach and transform sentient beings that they manifest different buddha-lands. Ānanda, consider this: the lands of the buddhas have many different kinds of ground, but space does not have these many differences. In the same way, the physical bodies manifested by the buddhas have many differences, but their unobstructed wisdom does not.”

The Buddhas’ Merits Are Equal, and Their Wisdom and Eloquence Cannot Be Measured

The Buddha continued to tell Ānanda, “The physical bodies, majestic virtue and appearance, lineage, ethical discipline, samādhi, wisdom, liberation, knowledge and vision of liberation, various powers, fearlessnesses, exclusive qualities, great loving-kindness, great compassion, ordinary deportment and conduct, lifespans, teaching and transformation through the Dharma, bringing sentient beings to fulfillment, purification of buddha-lands, and complete possession of all Buddha-dharmas of the buddhas are all equal. They are therefore all called Samyaksaṃbuddha, all called Tathāgata, and all called Buddha.”

“Ānanda, if I were to explain the meanings of these three names extensively, even if your lifespan lasted an eon, you could not receive them all. Even if the great trichiliocosm were filled with sentient beings, every one of them foremost in learning like Ānanda and each endowed with mnemonic retention, and all of them listened for the whole of an eon-long lifespan, they still could not receive them all. So it is, Ānanda: the unsurpassed perfect awakening of the buddhas has no measure, and their wisdom and eloquence are inconceivable.”

Ānanda said to the Buddha, “From now on, I no longer dare to call myself learned.”

The Buddha told Ānanda, “Do not give rise to a mind of retreat! Why? I say that you are the most learned among the śrāvaka disciples; I do not say that you are the most learned among the bodhisattvas. Enough, Ānanda! A wise person should not try to measure the bodhisattvas. All the oceans and deep pools can still be measured, but the bodhisattvas’ meditative absorptions, wisdom, mnemonic retention, eloquence, and every merit cannot be measured.”

“Ānanda, set aside for the moment everything practiced by the bodhisattvas and consider only the supernormal power Vimalakīrti has displayed on this occasion. Even if all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas spent hundreds of thousands of eons exhausting their strength in every kind of transformation, they could not do what he has done.”

The Bodhisattvas from Myriad Fragrances Reproach Themselves and Request the Dharma

At that time, the bodhisattvas who had come from the world of Myriad Fragrances joined their palms and said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One, when we first saw this land, an inferior perception arose in our minds. We now repent and reproach ourselves and have abandoned that mind. Why? The domain of the buddhas’ skillful means is inconceivable. In order to liberate sentient beings, they manifest different buddha-lands in accordance with what is suitable for those beings. Indeed, World-Honored One, please bestow upon us a small portion of the essentials of the Dharma so that, after we return to our own land, we may continue to recollect the Tathāgata.”

The Buddha told these bodhisattvas, “There is a Dharma-gate of liberation called Exhaustion and Non-Exhaustion, which you should cultivate and study. What is called exhaustion? It is conditioned dharmas. What is called non-exhaustion? It is the unconditioned. A bodhisattva does not exhaust conditioned practice and does not abide in the unconditioned.”

A Bodhisattva’s Not Exhausting the Conditioned

The Buddha said, “What is called not exhausting the conditioned? It means not leaving great loving-kindness and not abandoning great compassion.” The scripture then lists the following fifty items in order:

1. Deeply arouse the aspiration to omniscience and never forget it.
2. Teach and transform sentient beings without ever growing weary.
3. Constantly remember and practice in accord with the four means of gathering: giving, kind speech, beneficial action, and shared activity.
4. Protect the true Dharma without begrudging body or life.
5. Plant every kind of wholesome root without fatigue or satiety.
6. Keep one’s resolve firmly established and skillfully dedicate the merit cultivated.
7. Seek the Dharma without indolence.
8. Teach the Dharma without stinginess.
9. Diligently make offerings to the buddhas.
10. Therefore enter saṃsāra without fear.
11. Face honor and humiliation without sorrow or joy in the mind.
12. Do not slight those who have not yet learned.
13. Respect those who have learned as one would respect the Buddha.
14. Devise means to cause those who have fallen into afflictions to arouse right mindfulness.
15. Do not regard the joy of seclusion as something precious and desirable.
16. Do not become attached to one’s own happiness.
17. Rejoice in the happiness of others.
18. While in the various meditative absorptions, regard them as hells and do not greedily abide in them.
19. While in saṃsāra, regard it as a garden grove and do not retreat because of saṃsāra.
20. Regard a person who comes seeking something as an excellent teacher.
21. Be able to relinquish everything one possesses.
22. When giving, understand in the mind that this practice tends toward omniscience.
23. Upon seeing someone violate ethical discipline, arouse the intention to protect and rescue that person.
24. Regard the perfections as one’s parents.
25. Regard the factors of the path as one’s family and companions.
26. Cultivate wholesome roots without any limit.
27. Adopt the adornments of pure lands to bring one’s own buddha-land to fulfillment.
28. Practice boundless giving to perfect the excellent marks.
29. Eliminate every evil action and purify bodily, verbal, and mental karma.
30. Pass through countless great eons in saṃsāra.
31. Keep one’s resolve courageous and vigorous, without retreating because of long eons.
32. Hear of the Buddha’s immeasurable merits without weariness in one’s aspiration.
33. Use the sword of wisdom to break the thieves of affliction.
34. Transcend the aggregates, elements, and sense-fields, shoulder sentient beings, and cause them forever to attain liberation.
35. Subdue Māra’s armies through great diligent effort.
36. Constantly seek the practice of true-mark wisdom that does not grasp characteristics; no-thought here does not mean making the mind entirely devoid of thoughts.
37. Have few desires and know contentment with respect to worldly dharmas, while seeking transcendent dharmas without weariness.
38. At the same time, do not abandon worldly dharmas.
39. Do not violate the proper rules of deportment, yet be able to act in accord with worldly conventions.
40. Arouse supernormal wisdom to guide sentient beings.
41. Attain mnemonic retention so that nothing heard is forgotten.
42. Skillfully discern the different capacities of sentient beings and dispel their doubts.
43. Possess eloquence that delights in teaching and expound the true Dharma without obstruction.
44. Purely practice the ten wholesome paths and receive the blessings of birth among gods and humans.
45. Cultivate the four immeasurable minds of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, opening the way to birth in the Brahmā heavens.
46. Request the teaching of the Dharma, rejoice in and praise wholesome deeds, and perfect the Buddha’s voice.
47. Make bodily, verbal, and mental karma wholly good and perfect the Buddha’s deportment.
48. Cultivate wholesome dharmas deeply so that one’s practice becomes progressively more excellent.
49. Bring the bodhisattva saṅgha to fulfillment through Great Vehicle teaching.
50. Keep the mind free from heedlessness and lose none of the wholesome dharmas.

The Buddha concluded, “Practicing these dharmas is called a bodhisattva’s not exhausting the conditioned.”

A Bodhisattva’s Not Abiding in the Unconditioned

The Buddha then said, “What is called a bodhisattva’s not abiding in the unconditioned?” The scripture next lists the following fifteen contemplative practices in order:

1. Cultivate emptiness without making realization of emptiness a stopping place.
2. Cultivate signlessness and wishlessness without making realization of signlessness and wishlessness a stopping place.
3. Cultivate non-origination without making realization of non-origination a stopping place.
4. Contemplate the impermanence of all things without becoming weary of wholesome roots.
5. Contemplate the world as suffering without becoming averse to saṃsāra.
6. Contemplate no-self while still teaching sentient beings without weariness.
7. Contemplate quiescent cessation without becoming permanently submerged in cessation.
8. Contemplate seclusion while still cultivating wholesome dharmas in body and mind.
9. Contemplate all dharmas as having no destination while personally taking wholesome dharmas as one’s destination.
10. Contemplate non-arising while using dharmas of arising to shoulder all sentient beings.
11. Contemplate freedom from outflows without cutting off the outflows through which one remains together with sentient beings.
12. Contemplate all things as without fabrication while teaching sentient beings through various practices.
13. Contemplate all things as empty and void without abandoning great compassion.
14. Contemplate the position of the true Dharma without following the Lesser Vehicle and stopping there.
15. Contemplate all dharmas as illusory, without solidity, person, master, or fixed form; yet, while one’s original vows remain unfulfilled, do not let the cultivation of merit, meditative concentration, and wisdom be in vain.

The Buddha concluded, “Cultivating these dharmas is called a bodhisattva’s not abiding in the unconditioned.”

Four Pairs of Merit and Wisdom, Loving-Kindness and Vows, and Dharma Medicine

The Buddha finally explained the matter through four pairs of alternating statements:

1. Being complete in merit means not abiding in the unconditioned; being complete in wisdom means not exhausting the conditioned.
2. Having great loving-kindness and great compassion means not abiding in the unconditioned; seeking to fulfill one’s original vows means not exhausting the conditioned.
3. Gathering the medicine of the true Dharma means not abiding in the unconditioned; giving Dharma medicine according to what sentient beings need means not exhausting the conditioned.
4. Knowing the illnesses of sentient beings means not abiding in the unconditioned; eliminating the illnesses of sentient beings means not exhausting the conditioned.

The Buddha said, “Good sirs, a bodhisattva who cultivates this Dharma-gate practices not exhausting the conditioned and not abiding in the unconditioned. This is called the Dharma-gate of liberation of Exhaustion and Non-Exhaustion, which you should cultivate and study.”

Hearing the Dharma, They Rejoice, Make Offerings, and Return to Their Land

At that time, the bodhisattvas who had come from the world of Myriad Fragrances heard this Dharma and gave rise to immense joy. They scattered many wondrous flowers of various colors and fragrances throughout the great trichiliocosm as offerings to the Buddha, this scriptural Dharma, and the bodhisattvas. After making their offerings, they bowed their heads at the Buddha’s feet, praised this as something never before experienced, and said, “Śākyamuni Buddha can exercise skillful means so well in this land.”

After saying this, they suddenly disappeared from the assembly and returned to their own land.

Base text: Kumārajīva’s Yao-Qin translation, The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Lower Scroll, Chapter 12, “Seeing Akṣobhya Buddha.” What follows renders the chapter’s twenty-six prose passages in sequence; none of the twenty-two groups in the contemplation of the Tathāgata, the eight groups describing the Land of Wondrous Joy, or the eight benefits of hearing and retaining the sūtra is omitted.

How Should One Contemplate the Tathāgata?

At that time, the World-Honored One asked Vimalakīrti, “You wish to see the Tathāgata. In what manner do you contemplate the Tathāgata?”

Vimalakīrti answered, “As I contemplate the true mark of my own body, so do I contemplate the Buddha. I contemplate the Tathāgata in this way: looking to the prior limit of the past, He does not come from there; looking toward the later limit of the future, He does not go there; and in the present, He does not abide.”

“I do not contemplate form as the Tathāgata, nor do I contemplate the suchness of form or the nature of form as the Tathāgata. I do not contemplate feeling, perception, formations, or consciousness as the Tathāgata, nor do I contemplate the suchness of consciousness or the nature of consciousness as the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata does not arise from the four great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind; He is like space. The six entrances have not accumulated into Him, and He has passed beyond the range of the six faculties: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.”

“He is not within the three realms of desire, form, and formlessness. He has left the three defilements, accords with the three gates of liberation, possesses the three knowledges in full, and yet is equal with ignorance. He is neither one mark nor a different mark, neither a mark of self nor a mark of another; He is neither utterly signless nor a mark that can be grasped.”

“He is not on this shore of saṃsāra, not on the farther shore of nirvāṇa, and does not remain in the midstream between the two shores, yet He still teaches and transforms sentient beings. He contemplates quiescent cessation, yet is not forever extinguished. He is neither this nor that, depends neither upon this nor upon that. He cannot be known by wisdom as its object, nor cognized by consciousness as its object.”

“He has neither obscurity nor brightness, neither an established name nor a graspable mark, neither strength nor weakness. He is neither pure nor impure. He is not fixed in any direction, yet does not depart from direction; He is neither conditioned nor unconditioned. No mark can indicate Him, and no dharma can express Him.”

“He falls neither within giving nor stinginess, neither ethical discipline nor transgression, neither patience nor anger, neither diligent effort nor indolence, neither meditation nor distraction, neither wisdom nor folly, and neither truthfulness nor deceit. He neither comes nor goes, neither exits nor enters. Here every path on which language can travel is cut off.”

“He is neither a field of merit nor not a field of merit, neither worthy of offerings nor unworthy of offerings. He neither takes nor relinquishes and is neither marked nor signless. He is the same as the true limit and equal to the Dharma-nature. He cannot be named or measured and passes beyond all naming and measuring.”

“He is neither great nor small, neither visible nor audible, neither perceptible nor knowable. He is far removed from every bond. He is equal with every wisdom, the same as sentient beings without difference, and makes no discrimination among any dharmas.”

“In all things He is without fault, turbidity, or affliction; without fabrication, origination, arising, or cessation. He has no fear, sorrow, joy, aversion, or attachment. He did not exist in the past, will not exist in the future, and does not exist in the present.”

“No speech or discrimination can reveal Him. World-Honored One, the body of the Tathāgata is such as this. To contemplate in this way is called right contemplation; to contemplate otherwise is called wrong contemplation.”

Vimalakīrti’s answer does not replace a visible form with another thing called the “real Tathāgata.” Instead, it relinquishes layer by layer coming, going, and abiding; the five aggregates; the four great elements; the six entrances; the three realms; marks and signlessness; the two shores; direction; the conditioned and the unconditioned; the opposing pairs of the six perfections; seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing; existence in the three times; and revelation through words. Yet the sūtra retains both “yet teaches and transforms sentient beings” and “is not forever extinguished.” It does not turn right contemplation into an annihilation in which nothing exists.

Where Did You Die before Coming to Be Born Here?

Śāriputra then asked Vimalakīrti, “Where did you die before being born here?”

Vimalakīrti asked in return, “Does the Dharma you have realized undergo death and birth?”

Śāriputra answered, “It undergoes neither death nor birth.”

Vimalakīrti then asked, “If all dharmas originally bear no marks of death or birth, why ask where I died before being born here? What do you think? Suppose an illusionist conjures a man and a woman by illusion. Do those illusory people undergo death and birth?”

Śāriputra answered, “They undergo neither death nor birth.”

Vimalakīrti asked again, “Have you not heard the Buddha teach that all dharmas are like illusory appearances?”

Śāriputra answered, “Yes, I have.”

Vimalakīrti said, “If all dharmas are like illusory appearances, why ask where I died before being born here? Śāriputra, what is called death is the mark of disintegration displayed by false and unreal dharmas; what is called birth is the mark of continuity displayed by false and unreal dharmas. Although a bodhisattva manifests death, he does not exhaust his roots of goodness; although he manifests birth, he does not cause the various unwholesome dharmas to increase.”

This exchange does not stop after calling death and birth illusory. The sūtra still distinguishes four points: death is the mark of disintegration of false dharmas; birth is the mark of continuity of false dharmas; although a bodhisattva dies, he does not exhaust his roots of goodness; and although he is born, he does not increase the various evils. That no real entity perishes in one place and arises in another does not prevent a bodhisattva, while manifesting death and birth, from preserving his roots of goodness and not increasing evil.

Why Leave a Pure Land and Come to a Place Filled with Anger and Harm?

The Buddha then told Śāriputra, “There is a land called Wondrous Joy, where the Buddha is called Immovable. Vimalakīrti died in that land and was born here.”

Śāriputra exclaimed, “Never before has there been such a thing! World-Honored One, this layman can leave behind a pure land and willingly come to this place filled with anger and harm.”

Vimalakīrti asked Śāriputra, “What do you think? When sunlight appears, does it mingle with darkness?”

Śāriputra answered, “No. When sunlight appears, all darkness vanishes at once.”

Vimalakīrti asked again, “Why does the sun travel over Jambudvīpa?”

Śāriputra answered, “To shine its light and dispel the darkness of Jambudvīpa.”

Vimalakīrti said, “A bodhisattva is the same! Although born in an impure buddha-land, he does so in order to teach and transform sentient beings. Thus he does not mingle with the darkness of folly, but only extinguishes the darkness of sentient beings’ afflictions.”

Every element of this simile corresponds: sunlight appears without mingling with darkness; it travels over Jambudvīpa in order to illumine and dispel the gloom. A bodhisattva born in an impure buddha-land likewise does not mingle with the darkness of folly; he comes among sentient beings in order to teach and transform them and extinguish the darkness of their afflictions. The sūtra says neither that the bodhisattva is defiled by dwelling in an impure land nor that he abandons sentient beings in pursuit of his own purity.

The Assembly Wishes to See Wondrous Joy, and the Buddha Commands Vimalakīrti to Manifest It

At that time, the assembly single-mindedly longed to behold the Tathāgata Immovable in the Land of Wondrous Joy, along with the bodhisattvas and the assembly of śrāvakas there. The Buddha knew the thoughts of everyone in the gathering and said to Vimalakīrti, “Good man, manifest for this Dharma assembly the Tathāgata Immovable of the Land of Wondrous Joy, together with its bodhisattvas and assembly of śrāvakas. Everyone wishes to see them with their own eyes.”

Vimalakīrti then thought, “Without rising from my seat, I should take the Land of Wondrous Joy and bring it here: its Ring of Iron Mountains and streams; its valleys and rivers; its great seas and springs; its Mount Sumeru and other mountains; its sun, moon, stars, and constellations; the palaces of its devas, nāgas, ghosts, spirits, Brahmā gods, and others; its bodhisattvas and assembly of śrāvakas; its cities, towns, and villages; its men and women, old and young; all the way through the Tathāgata Immovable, his tree of awakening, and the wondrous lotus flowers that perform buddha-work throughout the worlds of the ten directions. I should bring them all together.”

“The world of Wondrous Joy also has three stairways made of precious substances, rising directly from Jambudvīpa to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. The devas descend by these three jeweled stairways in order to pay reverence to the Tathāgata Immovable and to hear and receive the sūtra and Dharma. The people of Jambudvīpa also climb these jeweled stairways to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three and see the devas there with their own eyes. The world of Wondrous Joy has accomplished immeasurable qualities such as these.”

“With my right hand, I will cut away this portion extending from the highest Akaniṣṭha Heaven down to the waters below, as though taking a round wheel made by a potter. I will then move it into this world, as one might hold a flower garland in one’s hand, and display it to the entire assembly.”

After thinking this, Vimalakīrti entered samādhi and manifested the power of spiritual mastery. With his right hand he cut away the world of Wondrous Joy and placed it within this land.

Wondrous Joy Enters This Land, and Both Worlds Remain Just as Before

The bodhisattvas and śrāvakas who had attained spiritual powers in the world of Wondrous Joy, together with the other devas and humans, all cried out, “Yes, World-Honored One! Who is taking us away? May the World-Honored One protect us.”

The Buddha Immovable told them, “This is not my doing. It is being done by Vimalakīrti through the power of his spiritual mastery.”

As for the others who had not attained spiritual powers, they neither perceived nor knew where they were being carried. Although the world of Wondrous Joy entered this land, it neither increased nor decreased; this world likewise did not become constricted or narrow. Everything remained no different from before.

The sūtra describes three states separately: those who have attained spiritual powers perceive the movement and cry out for protection; those who have not attained them neither perceive nor know; and when the two worlds enter one another, Wondrous Joy neither increases nor decreases, while this land does not become constricted. All three occur within Vimalakīrti’s manifestation of spiritual power, and none can replace either of the others.

Having Seen the Pure Buddha-Land, One Should Learn the Path Practised by the Tathāgata Immovable

Śākyamuni Buddha then said to the assembly, “Now behold the Tathāgata Immovable in the world of Wondrous Joy. Behold the adornments of that land, the purity of the bodhisattvas’ conduct there, and the stainlessness of the śrāvaka disciples.”

The assembly answered together, “Yes, we have seen them.”

The Buddha said, “If bodhisattvas wish to obtain a pure buddha-land such as this, they should learn the path practised by the Tathāgata Immovable.”

When the Land of Wondrous Joy was manifested here, fourteen nayutas of people in the Sahā world aroused the mind of unsurpassed, complete and perfect awakening. They all vowed to be born in the buddha-land of Wondrous Joy. Śākyamuni Buddha immediately gave them a prediction: “You will be born in that land.”

Once the world of Wondrous Joy had completed the work of benefiting sentient beings that it was to perform in this land, it returned to its original place. The entire Dharma assembly saw it return with their own eyes.

From “we have seen” to “you should learn,” the sūtra does not let the assembly stop at the display of spiritual power. The Buddha first points out, one by one, the land’s adornments, the purity of the bodhisattvas’ conduct, and the stainlessness of the disciples, and then says that bodhisattvas who wish to obtain a pure buddha-land should learn the path practised by the Tathāgata Immovable. The fourteen nayutas of people do not merely feel admiration: they arouse the mind of awakening, vow to be born in Wondrous Joy, and receive the Buddha’s prediction.

Śāriputra’s Two Vows, His Rejoicing, and the Eight Benefits of Hearing and Retaining the Sūtra

The Buddha asked Śāriputra, “Have you seen the world of Wondrous Joy and the Buddha Immovable?”

Śāriputra answered, “Yes, World-Honored One, I have seen them. May all sentient beings obtain a pure land like that of the Buddha Immovable. May all sentient beings also obtain spiritual powers like those of Vimalakīrti.”

“World-Honored One, today we rejoice that we have obtained such excellent benefit: we have been able to see Vimalakīrti, draw near to him, and make offerings to him. All sentient beings, whether while the Buddha still dwells in the world or after His parinirvāṇa, likewise obtain excellent benefit if they can hear this sūtra. How much more is this so if, after hearing it, they trust, accept, and understand it, retain it without loss, read it, recite it from memory, explain it for others, and practise in accordance with the Dharma as the sūtra teaches.”

“If someone obtains this scripture with their own hands, it is as though they have already obtained a treasury of the jewel of Dharma. If someone reads and recites this sūtra, explains its meaning, and then practises as it teaches, that person is watched over and kept in mind by the buddhas.”

“If someone makes offerings to a person who reads, recites, explains the meaning, and practises as taught, know that this is the same as making offerings to the Buddha. If someone copies and keeps a scroll of this sūtra, know that the Tathāgata is present in the room where that person dwells.”

“If someone hears this sūtra and responds with sympathetic joy, that person is taking hold of omniscience. If someone can trust and understand this sūtra, even if only a single four-line verse within it, and can explain it to others, know that this person has received the prediction of unsurpassed, complete and perfect awakening.”

Śāriputra’s conclusion advances item by item: merely hearing this sūtra already brings good benefit; after hearing it, trusting and understanding, retaining, reading, reciting, explaining, and practising deepen that benefit; obtaining the scripture in one’s hands is like obtaining a treasury of the jewel of Dharma; reading, reciting, explaining its meaning, and practising as taught bring the buddhas’ mindful protection; making offerings to a person who lives by the sūtra is like making offerings to the Buddha; where a scroll is copied and kept, the Tathāgata is present in that room; responding with sympathetic joy upon hearing the sūtra is to take hold of omniscience; and trusting and understanding one four-line verse and explaining it to others brings a prediction of awakening. The chapter begins by asking “How should one see the Tathāgata?” and ends by placing the Tathāgata in the room where the sūtra scroll is copied and kept. What is seen does not stop with a single manifestation of spiritual power, but continues to be transmitted through hearing, retaining, and practising as taught.

Base text: Kumārajīva’s Yao-Qin translation, The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Lower Scroll, Chapter 13, “The Offering of Dharma.” What follows renders the chapter’s eight prose passages sentence by sentence in their transmitted sequence. Not one name, number, article of offering, quality of the profound sūtra, practice of the offering of Dharma, or person transformed by Moon Canopy is omitted.

Śakra Praises This Sūtra and Vows to Protect It

At that time, Śakra said to the Buddha before the great assembly, “World-Honored One! Although I have heard hundreds of thousands of sūtras from the Buddha and Mañjuśrī, never before have I heard a scripture such as this, which teaches inconceivability, sovereign spiritual powers, and the definitive true mark. As I understand the meaning spoken by the Buddha, if sentient beings hear this sūtra-Dharma and can trust and understand it, receive and retain it, and read and recite it, they will certainly attain this Dharma without doubt. How much more will this be so if they actually practice in accordance with what the sūtra teaches!”

He then explained one by one the benefits attained by such a practitioner: closing the roads to the various evil destinies; opening every gate of goodness; always being kept in mind and protected by the buddhas; subduing outside teachings; destroying hostile Māras; cultivating the path to awakening; dwelling at the place of awakening; and personally treading the tracks once walked by the Tathāgata. These eight benefits are not offered only to someone able to memorize the sūtra’s sentences. Śakra first lists hearing, trusting and understanding, receiving and retaining, and reading and reciting, then places practice in accordance with the teaching at a deeper level.

Śakra further vowed before the Buddha, “World-Honored One! If someone receives and retains this sūtra, reads and recites it, and can also practice in accordance with what it teaches, I and all my retinue will make offerings to and attend upon that person. Whether in a village, town, forest, or wilderness, wherever this sūtra is found, I and all my retinue will go there in order to hear and receive the meaning of the Dharma. I will cause those who do not yet trust it to give rise to trust, and I will protect those who already trust it.”

The Buddha Uses Vast Material Offerings to Compare the Merit of Retaining This Sūtra

The Buddha said, “Excellent! Excellent, Lord of the Gods! Just as you have said, I too rejoice in and assist your joy. This sūtra extensively teaches the inconceivable unsurpassed perfect awakening of the buddhas of the past, future, and present. Therefore, Lord of the Gods, if a good man or good woman receives and retains, reads and recites, and makes offerings to this sūtra, that person thereby makes offerings to the buddhas of the past, future, and present.”

The Buddha then proposed a comparison on an immense scale. Suppose that every place throughout the three-thousand great-thousand world-system were filled with Tathāgatas, as densely as sugarcane, bamboo, reeds, rice, hemp, and forests. Suppose also that, throughout one full kalpa or slightly less than a kalpa, a good man or good woman revered, honored, praised, and made offerings to these Tathāgatas, presenting everything required for their ease.

After the buddhas had passed into extinction, these people would then build a seven-jeweled stūpa for the full-body relics of every single Buddha. Each stūpa would extend in length and breadth across one four-continent world, rise as high as the Brahmā Heaven, and be adorned with its finial and standard pole. For one kalpa or slightly less than a kalpa, they would again make offerings of every kind of flower, incense, necklace, standard, banner, and supremely subtle music. The Buddha asked Śakra, “What do you think? Is the merit planted by this person great or not?”

Śakra answered, “It is exceedingly great, World-Honored One! Even if one spoke for a hundred thousand koṭis of kalpas, one could not finish telling that person’s merit.”

The Buddha told the Lord of the Gods, “You should know that if a good man or good woman hears this scripture of inconceivable liberation, trusts and understands it, receives and retains it, reads and recites it, and actually practices it, that person’s merit is greater than what I have just described. Why? The awakening of all buddhas is born entirely from this Dharma. The mark of awakening cannot be measured; therefore, the merit produced by this cause and condition likewise cannot be measured.”

The sūtra first acknowledges that even a hundred thousand koṭis of kalpas would not suffice to tell the merit of those vast material offerings, and only then says that the merit of the offering of Dharma is greater. The crucial point in the comparison is that the awakening of all buddhas arises from the Dharma and the mark of awakening cannot be measured. It does not say that flowers, incense, stūpas, or care for the buddhas possess no merit at all.

Medicine-King Tathāgata, King Jeweled Canopy, and the Thousand Princes Make Offerings to the Buddha

The Buddha again told the Lord of the Gods, “Immeasurable asaṃkhyeya kalpas ago, a Buddha named Medicine-King Tathāgata appeared in the world. He was Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly and Universally Awakened, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, Well-Gone, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed, Tamer of Persons, Teacher of Gods and Humans, Buddha, and World-Honored One. His world was called Great Adornment, and the kalpa was called Adornment. The Buddha’s lifespan was twenty small kalpas. His community of śrāvakas numbered 3.6 billion nayutas, and his community of bodhisattvas numbered 1.2 billion.”

“Lord of the Gods! At that time there was a wheel-turning sage-king named Jeweled Canopy. He possessed the seven treasures and ruled the four-continent world. The king had one thousand sons, every one of them handsome in appearance, courageous, and strong, with the power to subdue enemies.”

King Jeweled Canopy and his retinue made offerings to Medicine-King Tathāgata, presenting everything required for the Buddha’s ease, and continued doing so for a full five kalpas. When the five kalpas had passed, he told his thousand sons, “You too should make offerings to the Buddha just as I have, with a deeply sincere mind.” The thousand princes accepted their father the king’s command and made offerings to Medicine-King Tathāgata for another full five kalpas, presenting everything required for the Buddha’s ease.

Moon Canopy Seeks an Offering That Surpasses Material Offerings

Among the thousand princes was one named Moon Canopy. Sitting alone, he reflected, “Is there an offering that surpasses the offerings we have already made?” Through the Buddha’s spiritual power, a god in the sky said to him, “Good man! Making an offering through the Dharma surpasses all other offerings.”

Moon Canopy immediately asked, “What is called the offering of Dharma?” The god answered, “You may go ask Medicine-King Tathāgata. He will explain the offering of Dharma to you in detail.”

Prince Moon Canopy at once went to the place where Medicine-King Tathāgata was staying, bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet, withdrew to one side, and stood there. He said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! Among all forms of offering, the offering of Dharma is supreme. What is called the offering of Dharma?”

Medicine-King Tathāgata First Describes the Profound Sūtra to Which the Offering of Dharma Is Made

Medicine-King Tathāgata said, “Good man! What is called the offering of Dharma is making an offering to the profound sūtras spoken by the buddhas.” The Buddha then set forth the nature of such a profound sūtra item by item.

It is a profound sūtra spoken by the buddhas. All the worlds find it difficult to trust and difficult to receive. Its meaning is subtle and difficult to see. It is pure and unstained, and it cannot be attained merely through discriminative thought. It is embraced by the Dharma treasury of the bodhisattvas and sealed by the seal of dhāraṇī. It can bring practitioners to non-retrogression and enable them to perfect the six perfections of giving, ethical discipline, patience, diligent effort, meditation, and wisdom. It enables them skillfully to distinguish meaning, accord with the Dharma of awakening, and dwell above the many sūtras.

It enables people to enter great loving-kindness and great compassion, leave behind every affair of Māra and every wrong view, and accord with the Dharma of causes and conditions. It reveals that there is no real self, no real person, no real sentient being, and no real lifespan. It accords with emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, and non-arising.

It can enable sentient beings to sit at the place of awakening and turn the Dharma-wheel, receiving the shared praise of the assemblies of gods, nāgas, gandharvas, and the other classes whom the sūtra gathers under a general designation. It enables sentient beings to enter the treasury of the Buddha-Dharma and gathers all the wisdom of the worthy and holy ones. It can proclaim the path practiced by the bodhisattvas. Relying on the meaning of the true mark of all dharmas, it clearly proclaims the five dharmas of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, no-self, and quiescent cessation.

It can rescue all sentient beings who have violated the precepts. It can strike fear into the hosts of Māra, followers of outside paths, and those who are attached through greed. It receives the shared praise of the buddhas and the worthy and holy ones. It causes people to turn away from the suffering of birth and death and see the bliss of nirvāṇa. It is also the Dharma spoken in common by the buddhas of the ten directions and the three times.

From “spoken by the buddhas” and “difficult to trust and receive” through “spoken by the buddhas of the ten directions and the three times,” the foregoing account contains twenty-nine items. The sūtra does not pass over them with the single word “profound.” It unfolds one by one the profound sūtra’s purity, what embraces and seals it, what it perfects and accords with, what it teaches, and the benefits it can bring.

Hearing, Retaining, Explaining, and Protecting the Dharma Are the Offering of Dharma

Medicine-King Tathāgata continued, “If someone hears profound sūtras of this kind and can trust and understand them, receive and retain them, read and recite them, use the power of skillful means to explain and distinguish them for sentient beings, make their meaning clearly manifest, and act to protect the true Dharma, this is called the offering of Dharma.”

This passage explicitly lists seven actions: first, hearing the profound sūtra; second, trusting and understanding it; third, receiving it and retaining it without loss; fourth, personally reading and reciting it; fifth, using the power of skillful means to explain and distinguish it for sentient beings; sixth, making the meaning taught clearly manifest; and seventh, protecting the true Dharma. The offering of Dharma does not stop at having heard the Dharma oneself, nor does it stop at possessing a copy of the sūtra. The Dharma that has been heard must also be understood, retained, explained, and protected.

Practicing in Accordance with What Is Taught Is the Supreme Offering of Dharma

Medicine-King Tathāgata did not stop with hearing, retaining, and explaining, but continued: “With respect to all dharmas, one must also practice in accordance with what is taught in the sūtra.”

The practitioner should accord with the twelve links of dependent origination, leave behind every wrong view, and attain acceptance of non-arising. One decisively sees that there is no real self and no real sentient being, yet neither contradicts nor disputes cause, condition, and karmic result, and leaves behind grasping at everything that belongs to self.

Next come the four reliances. First, rely on meaning, not on words themselves; that is, do not lose the meaning taught by chasing after language. Second, rely on the wisdom that illuminates and determines meaning, not on the consciousness that merely discriminates among objective appearances. Third, rely on sūtras whose meaning is definitive and fully clear, not on sūtras whose meaning is not yet definitive and fully clear. Fourth, rely on the Dharma, and do not turn away from the Dharma because of a person’s identity.

The practitioner must also accord with the original characteristics of all dharmas and see that there is no real entry that can be spoken of and no real return that can be spoken of. Because ignorance is ultimately extinguished, formations are also ultimately extinguished. The sūtra then passes over the intermediate links and continues through to this: because birth is ultimately extinguished, aging-and-death is also ultimately extinguished. One contemplates the twelve links of dependent origination in this way without grasping them as the real mark of something finally exhausted. Contemplating them as having no mark of exhaustion, one no longer gives rise to the various views. Medicine-King Tathāgata calls this entire passage the supreme offering of Dharma.

The explicitly stated junctures of the supreme offering of Dharma are: practicing in accordance with what is taught; according with the twelve links of dependent origination; leaving wrong views behind; attaining acceptance of non-arising; decisively seeing no-self and no sentient being; neither contradicting nor disputing cause, condition, and karmic result; leaving what belongs to self behind; relying on meaning rather than words; relying on wisdom rather than consciousness; relying on sūtras of definitive meaning rather than sūtras of nondefinitive meaning; relying on the Dharma rather than a person; according with the characteristics of dharmas; having no place of entry and no place of return; contemplating the ultimate extinction of ignorance and formations, through to the ultimate extinction of birth and aging-and-death; contemplating the twelve links of dependent origination as having no mark of exhaustion; and no longer giving rise to views. Every item has its own place in the sūtra. They cannot be compressed into the single sentence “practice according to the sūtra.”

Moon Canopy Attains Acceptance and Vows to Protect the City of Dharma

The Buddha told the Lord of the Gods that, after Prince Moon Canopy had heard this Dharma from Medicine-King Tathāgata, he attained pliant acceptance. He immediately removed the jeweled robe adorning his body and offered it to the Buddha, saying, “World-Honored One! After the Tathāgata’s extinction, I will practice the offering of Dharma and protect the true Dharma. May the World-Honored One support and fulfill me with spiritual power and compassion, enabling me to subdue the hostile Māras and practice the bodhisattva path.”

Medicine-King Tathāgata knew the profound intention in Moon Canopy’s mind and gave him this prediction: “In the final period, you will protect the city of Dharma.”

Having seen the purity of the Dharma and heard the Buddha give him this prediction, Moon Canopy left home in faith and cultivated wholesome dharmas. Through diligent effort, before long he attained the five superknowledges, reached the bodhisattva path, attained dhāraṇī, and attained uninterrupted eloquence.

After Medicine-King Tathāgata’s extinction, Moon Canopy used the three powers of his superknowledges, retention, and eloquence for ten small kalpas to spread onward the Dharma-wheel turned by Medicine-King Tathāgata. The bhikṣu Moon Canopy diligently exerted himself to protect the true Dharma. In that very life he established one million koṭis of people in non-retrogression from unsurpassed perfect awakening, caused fourteen nayutas of people to form a profound resolve for the śrāvaka vehicle and the pratyekabuddha vehicle, and enabled immeasurable sentient beings to be born in the heavens.

The Buddha Identifies the People of the Past and Concludes by Urging an Offering of Dharma to the Buddha

The Buddha asked the Lord of the Gods, “Could King Jeweled Canopy of that time have been someone else? He has now become a buddha named Jeweled Flame Tathāgata. The thousand princes are the thousand buddhas of the Fortunate Kalpa: the first was Krakucchanda Buddha, and the final Tathāgata is named Ruci. As for the bhikṣu Moon Canopy, he was none other than myself.”

The Buddha concluded, “Lord of the Gods! You should understand this essential point: among all offerings, the offering of Dharma is highest and supreme, first and incomparable. Therefore, Lord of the Gods, you should use the offering of Dharma to make offerings to the Buddha.”

This chapter moves from Śakra’s vow to protect those who recite, retain, and practice the sūtra to Moon Canopy’s actual protection of the Dharma-wheel turned by Medicine-King Tathāgata. It moves from Tathāgatas filling the world, seven-jeweled stūpas, and every article of offering to hearing the sūtra, trusting and understanding, receiving and retaining, reading and reciting, explaining, making clear, protecting the Dharma, and practicing in accordance with what is taught. Material offering is not erased: after Moon Canopy attains acceptance, he still removes his jeweled robe and offers it to the Buddha. What the sūtra truly advances is this: if offering is to accord with the awakening of all buddhas, then the Dharma heard must become practice in oneself and must also be protected and circulated among sentient beings.

Base text: Kumārajīva’s Yao-Qin translation, The Vimalakīrti Sūtra, Lower Scroll, Chapter 14, “Entrustment.” What follows renders the chapter’s twelve passages one by one; none of the three groups of two, Maitreya’s five actions, the two scripture names, or the assembly in the circulation passage is omitted.

The World-Honored One Entrusts the Dharma of Unsurpassed Awakening to Maitreya

At that time, the Buddha said to Bodhisattva Maitreya, “Maitreya! I now entrust to you the Dharma of unsurpassed perfect awakening borne by this sūtra, which I gathered over immeasurable kotis of asaṃkhyeya kalpas. After the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa, in the latter age, you must exercise your spiritual powers to proclaim and circulate sūtras of this kind widely throughout Jambudvīpa. Do not let them be cut off.

“Why? In a future age, there will be good men and good women, as well as devas, nāgas, ghosts and spirits, gandharvas, rākṣasas, and beings of their kind, who raise the mind that seeks unsurpassed perfect awakening and delight in the Dharma of the Great Vehicle. If they cannot hear sūtras of this kind, they will lose exceptional benefit. If they can hear sūtras of this kind, they will surely give rise to abundant faith and delight, regard them as rare, and reverently receive them upon the crown of their heads. You should explain them widely to each kind of sentient being in accordance with the benefit they ought to gain.”

What Are the Two Marks of a Bodhisattva?

The Buddha again said to Maitreya, “You should know that bodhisattvas have two marks. What are the two?

“The first is delighting in the business of miscellaneous phrasing and literary ornament. The second is feeling no fear before profound meaning and being able to enter it as it truly is.

“If one delights only in miscellaneous phrasing and literary ornament, you should know that this is a bodhisattva new to the training. If one has no fear before profound sūtras of this kind, which are undefiled and unattached, but can enter them; if, after hearing them, one’s mind is pure, one can accept and retain them, read and recite them, and practice in accordance with what they teach, you should know that this is a bodhisattva who has long cultivated the practice of the Way.”

Two Ways New Bodhisattvas Injure Themselves before the Profound Dharma

The Buddha continued, “Maitreya! There are also two circumstances showing that bodhisattvas new to the training cannot become settled in the profound Dharma. What are the two?

“First, on hearing for the first time a profound sūtra they have never heard before, they become alarmed and afraid, then give rise to doubt, cannot accord with it, and go on to slander it and refuse to believe it. They also say that they have never heard such a sūtra and demand to know where it came from.

“Second, when they see someone who upholds and explains such a profound sūtra, they do not draw near that person, do not make offerings, and do not show respect; sometimes they even speak of that person’s faults and wrongdoing.

“Those who possess these two circumstances should be known as bodhisattvas new to the training who injure themselves and cannot discipline their own minds within the profound Dharma.”

Even Those Who Already Believe and Understand the Profound Dharma May Injure Themselves in Two Ways

The Buddha also said, “Maitreya! There are two further circumstances: although bodhisattvas already believe and understand the profound Dharma, they still injure themselves and cannot attain acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. What are the two?

“First, they slight bodhisattvas new to the training and fail to teach them. Second, although they understand the profound Dharma, they still grasp its various marks and give rise to discrimination. These are the two dharmas of self-injury.”

Maitreya Promises to Leave Faults Behind and Uphold the Sūtra’s Dharma

After hearing these words, Bodhisattva Maitreya said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! This is truly unprecedented. Just as the Buddha has taught, I will certainly leave these faults behind and reverently uphold the Dharma of unsurpassed perfect awakening gathered by the Tathāgata over countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas.

“If, in a future age, good men and good women seek the Great Vehicle, I will cause them to obtain sūtras of this kind in their own hands, grant them the power to recollect the Dharma of the sūtras, and enable each of them to accept and retain them, read and recite them, and explain them widely to others.

“World-Honored One! If, in the latter age to come, anyone can accept and retain this sūtra, read and recite it, and explain it to others, you should know that all these things have been established and brought to completion through Maitreya’s spiritual power.”

The World-Honored One Praises Him

The Buddha replied, “Excellent! Excellent! Maitreya! Just as you have said, the Buddha also assists you in this rejoicing.”

All the Bodhisattvas Also Promise to Proclaim and Circulate It Widely

At that time, all the bodhisattvas present joined their palms and said to the Buddha, “After the Tathāgata’s parinirvāṇa, we too will proclaim and circulate the Dharma of unsurpassed perfect awakening widely throughout the lands of the ten directions. We will also instruct and guide those who teach the Dharma, enabling them to obtain this sūtra.”

The Four Heavenly Kings Promise to Go Hear the Dharma and Protect That Person

Next, the Four Heavenly Kings said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One! Wherever it may be—in a city, village, mountain forest, or wilderness—so long as a scroll of this sūtra is present there and someone reads, recites, and explains it, we will lead the officials under our command to that place in order to hear the Dharma and protect the person who teaches and upholds the sūtra. Within a hundred yojanas around that person, we will not allow those who lie in wait for an opening to find any opportunity.”

The World-Honored One Commands Ānanda to Accept, Retain, and Circulate It

At that time, the Buddha said to Ānanda, “You must accept and retain this sūtra, proclaim it widely, and cause it to circulate.”

Ānanda replied, “Yes! I have already accepted and retained its essential meaning. World-Honored One! What should this sūtra be called?”

The World-Honored One Gives the Two Names of the Sūtra

The Buddha said, “Ānanda! This sūtra is named The Teaching of Vimalakīrti; it is also named The Dharma-Gate of Inconceivable Liberation. You should accept and retain it under these two names.”

The Entire Assembly Rejoices on Hearing the Dharma

When the Buddha had finished teaching this sūtra, the elder Vimalakīrti, Mañjuśrī, Śāriputra, Ānanda, all the others in the assembly, and the entire great multitude of devas, human beings, and asuras heard what the Buddha had taught and all rejoiced greatly.