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 Sculpture of Vimalakirti at the Hosso (Yogacara) temple of Kōfuku-ji, 1196 CE | |
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| Tibetan | ཝི་མ་ལ་ཀིརྟི།
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| Venerated by | Buddhism |
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Vimalakīrti (Sanskrit: विमल vimala "stainless, undefiled" + कीर्ति kīrti "fame, glory, reputation") is a bodhisattva and the central figure in the Vimalakirti Sutra, which presents him as the ideal Mahayana Buddhist upāsaka ("lay practitioner") and a contemporary of Gautama Buddha (6th to 5th century BCE). There is no mention of him in Buddhist texts until after Nāgārjuna (1st century BCE to 2nd century CE) revived Mahayana Buddhism in India. The Mahayana Vimalakirti Sutra also spoke of the city of Vaisali as where the lay Licchavi bodhisattva Vimalakirti was residing.
History
Main article: Vimalakirti SutraThe Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra characterizes Vimalakīrti as a wealthy patron of Gautama Buddha residing in the ancient city of Vaishali which is now situated in the Indian state of Bihar. There is an ongoing debate as to the historicity of Vimalakirti with modern scholars grouping him with other figures in Mahayana literature, such as Avalokiteśvara and other bodhisattvas. Traditional scholars, however, take him to be a historical figure like Gautama Buddha, rather than mythic or legendary, and as such Vimalakīrti is not commonly venerated on altars or in tantric rituals, but as a prehistoric Zen, i.e., Chan preacher. Both groups agree that the descriptions of his acts in the Vimalakirti Sutra were allegorical in nature.
The Vimalakirti Sutra portrays Vimalakirti as the personification of skill in liberative techniques. Vimalakirti is respectful to everyone he interacts with including the Buddha however he is not intimidated by them either. He also claims himself to be among the "Great Sorcerers" and is capable of performing miraculous feats to teach fellow practitioners.
Other
In Chinese Chan Buddhist monasteries, a common word for abbot is Fāngzhàng (方丈) meaning "one square zhàng (equal to ten square feet)", a reference to the size of Vimalakīrti's stone room.
Gallery
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Vimalakirti, 8th-century wall painting, Dunhuang.
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The layman Vimalakīrti Debates Manjusri, Dunhuang Mogao Caves
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Depiction of Vimalakirti from the Southern Song period (1127-1279)
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See also
References
- Cole, Alan (2005). Text as Father: Paternal Seductions in Early Mahayana Buddhist Literature. University of California Press. pp. 289–290. ISBN 9780520931404.
- ^ "The Vimalakirti Sutra: The Dharma-Door of Nonduality". About.com. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- "Vimalakirti and the Doctrine of Nonduality". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- Thurman, Robert (2000). The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti: A Mahayana Scripture. Pennsylvania State University Press. p. ix. ISBN 0271012099.
- The Holy Teaching of Vimalakīrti: A Mahāyāna Scripture. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. 1991. p. 20. ISBN 978-81-208-0874-4.
- Thurman, Robert. "VIMALAKIRTI NIRDESA SUTRA". Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- Baroni, Helen Josephine (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 369. ISBN 9780823922406.
- Leighton, Taigen Dan. "Boddhisattvas of Compassion Lesson 8: Vimalakirti". Ashoka: the eDharma learning center. DharmaNet International. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- ^ Thurman, Robert (1976). The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti. The Pennsylvania State University Press. pp. 1–10. ISBN 978-0-271-00601-7.
- Buswell Jr., Robert E.; Lopez Jr., Donald S. (2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 295. ISBN 978-1-4008-4805-8.
External links
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