The Vimalakīrti Sutra
An Interactive Journey Through the Ancient Buddhist Text
The Vimalakīrti Sutra
One of the oldest Mahayana sutras, featuring the wealthy merchant householder Vimalakīrti, who is also a powerful bodhisattva with Buddha-like qualities. The text explores profound themes through dramatic encounters and miraculous events.
Setting
Āmrapālī’s garden and Vimalakīrti’s house in Vaiśālī
Protagonist
Vimalakīrti – merchant, householder, and bodhisattva
Central Theme
Emptiness (śūnyatā) and non-duality (advaya)
Twelve Chapters
Core Themes
Emptiness (śūnyatā)
- All dharmas are without self-nature (niḥsvabhāva)
- All dharmas are originally calm (ādiśānta)
- Dharmas are without marks (alakṣṇa) and inexpressible
- All dharmas are the same (sama) and without duality
Philosophical Elements
- The superiority of Mahayana over Hinayana
- The transcendental body of a tathagata
- The ambivalence of the sexes
- The benevolent power of bodhisattvas
The Teaching of Silence
Śāriputra’s Silence
The first dramatic moment of silence occurs when Śāriputra is rendered speechless during an exchange with a goddess. This silence represents the limitations of conventional understanding.
Vimalakīrti’s Thunder Silence
When discussing non-duality with an assembly of bodhisattvas, Vimalakīrti responds with profound silence – a teaching beyond words that expresses the ultimate nature of reality.
Influence on Zen
This emphasis on silence served as a forerunner to the Ch’an/Zen tradition, with its avoidance of positive statements about ultimate reality.