The Vimalakirti Sutra

A new translation of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra (Ch. 維摩詰所說經). Translated from the Chinese of Master Kumārajīva (Taishō Vol. XIV. No. 475) by the International Institute for the Translation of Buddhist Texts (IITBT) at Dharma Realm Buddhist University. Also called the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra, (Sanskrit: विमलकीर्तिनिर्देश), it dates from no later than the third century CE, and most likely from the first or second century CE. In the sūtra the layman and householder Vimalakīrti, who is also a model Bodhisattva, instructs gods, learned Buddhist Arhats, and laypeople in all matters concerning the nature of enlightenment, emptiness (sunyata), and nonduality. Vimalakīrti employs a subtle understanding of “skillful means” (upāya) to lead them the highest truth: the counterintuitive claim that nirv āna and saṃsāra, at an ultimate level, are not different. The discourse culminates with a wordless teaching of silence. —Martin Verhoeven, Dharma Realm Buddhist University, Ukiah, California ISBN: 978