The Vimalakirti Sutra: A Bilingual Volume with Cross References between English and Chinese - Translated from the Chinese of Master Kumarajiva

by Buddhist Text Translation Society, Dharma Master Kumarajiva, International Institute for the Translation of Buddhist Texts

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 nirvāṇa 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

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 23, 2022

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just a sutra, but a play with humorous episodes

The Vimalakirti Sutra is among one of the well-known sutras in the Mahayana Buddhism for its conciseness, and Chinese Classic for its elegant literacy. One of the reasons for the sutra’s popularity is that its main character, Vimalakirti, is not a Buddha or a Bodhisattva or even a monk, but a wealthy business man, who masters in doctrines and religious practice. The Sutra describes a remarkable man, who confidently lectures and advises arhats and bodhisattvas on cultivation matters.

This new English translation of the Vimalakirti Sutra from BTTS is a must-read for those who are interested in the principles of Buddha’s teaching and Chinese Classic literature. Not like Lotus Sutra, readers can understand the content by reading the sutra itself. I found the text of Vimalakirti Sutra is just as implicit as Shurangama Sutra. As a native Mandarin speaker, I have been trying without success to read the Chinese version of Vimalakirti Sutra.

Surprisingly, reading and understanding this new English translation was without effort. I like the layout of this book. Texts are arranged with hanging indents to help readers break the content that really makes reading much easier. The Chinese version is provided in the end of this book as reference. English translation explains those condensed Chinese words pretty well, and Buddha's teachings are communicated equally well via these two languages. It was such a joy to read this book. This well-translated English version vividly presents its humorous episodes, dramatic narratives, and eloquent exposition of the key doctrine of emptiness or nondualism.
Among the major themes, this book makes us ponder those fundamentals in Buddhism, such as who is the Buddha, what is the pure land, what does it mean to claim that there is no permanent self, and how is freedom conceived in Buddhism, etc. Although these questions arise from the past, but they also help us address issues that are pressing us today and help us rethink how to be a Buddhist in this contemporary living.

This book is translated by BTTS (Buddhist Text Translation Society) which is under the umbrella of DRBA (Dharma Realm Buddhist Association). That means this work is not translated by just anyone who is multi-lingual, but by a group of professional monastics and scholars who themselves are also Buddhist cultivators. Highly recommend!

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recording the exchanges between the Buddha and Bodhisattavas with the lay person Vimalakirti, the Vimalakirti Sutra takes the reader on a journey through different Buddha lands and through the enlightened minds of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Using a series of question and answer between various enlightened beings, presented through verses and prose, the sutra challenges the reader's understanding of what Buddhism teaches, how a Bodhisattva practices the path, the concepts of non-abiding and non-duality, what a pure land is and how that compares to our view of our world.
This version of the translated text by the Buddhist Text Translation Society from the Chinese to English has captured the wisdom, wonder, experiences and occasional humor that is contained within the Sutra. A truly enjoyable and enlightening read!

[Kerrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Virmalakirti comes from the Pure Land of Wonderful Joy, whereby the Buddha in that Pure Land is known as Unmoving/Aksobhya/Medicine Master Vaidurya Light Tathagata.

He manifested as a married layman on earth to teach, and set example for living beings on how to practice the Bodhisattva path as a lay person (someone who does not leave home to become a monk).

It is also to show living beings that you can still practice the path or being an examplar person, wherever you are -whether you live in a city, having a married or work life, or living in an unclean place such as earth.

Virmalakirti shares discourses and provides guidance to other Bodhisattvas on how to help living beings as a Bodhisattva, and the practices a Bodhisattva needs to perfect.

[Edwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended to those who investigated Buddhism earnestly. Personally, the words in the sutra may appear to be simple but I think I have to read it over and over again in order to unpack and decode the true meaning behind these words. My mind has been expanded and I'm happy to be able to encounter this precious jewel in this life. I feel a sense of excitement when this great bodhisattva who appears to be in layman form were exchanging words with the Buddha and other great sages. At one particular moment I even share to my mom how Vimalakirti picked up the world of wonderful joy in his hand and..... (you need to read it and find out) while I was reading the sutra. ❤️

[Heng Sai · Rating 5 out of 5]

The new translation of Vimalakirti Sutra is an excellent book. It consists of fourteen chapters with texts and endnotes.

Chapter 1 - Buddhalands
Chapter 2 - Skillful means
Chapter 3 - Sravakas
Chapter 4 - Bodhisattvas
Chapter 5 - Manjusri inquires about Vimalakirti's Health
Chapter 6 - The Inconceivable
Chapter 7 - Contemplating Living Beings
Chapter 8 - The Path of Buddhahood
Chapter 9 - Entering the Dharma-Door of Nonduality
Chapter 10 - Buddha collection of Supreme Fragrances
Chapter 11 - Bodhisattva Practice
Chapter 12 - Seeing Aksobhya Buddha
Chapter 13 - The offering of the Dharma
Chapter 14 - Entrustment

Vimalakirti was not a monk, but a successful businessman who also excelled spiritually.

[Qinbo Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

...

Just as Plato's famous dialogues such as Phaedo, Meno, and the Republic. The Vimalakirti sutra is a dialogue. How wonderful a lively conversation among the arhats and bodhisattvas. But I have to say that it's not an easy conversation to understand.

As a native Chinese, I have studied Chinese for almost 29 years since I was born. And I must confess that if I don't read patiently， I won't understand the meaning of the text. Even though I read patiently, I still feel extremely difficult to understand the implicit meaning of the sutra. So, if you are learning Chinese, don't feel upset.

I quote the Dharma master Xuanhua's commentary on The Lotus Sutra here. "Some may have read translations, but that is like an ant nibbling at a watermelon. It runs around and around, nibbling here and there, but never tastes it. Reading sutras on one's own is like an ant nibbling at the melon. The melon is sweet, but no matter how long the ant runs around on the outside, he has no way to get into it and tastes its favor." (quote from Introduction: The Five Periods and the Eight Teachings The Five Profound Meanings http://www.cttbusa.org/dfs/dfs_intro5...). He means if you want to understand the buddha dharma meaning, the best way to do that is to learn from a genuine good advisor.

...

But except for the verses and profound meanings in this sutra, there are some attractive stories in this sutra. For example, when the layman Vimalakirti is experiencing an illness, nobody wants to visit him and say sorry for his suffering. How unwilling arhats and bodhisattvas to do that.

And when they are reluctant to visit the layman, he prepares nothing but a bed in the empty room to welcome the arhats and bodhisattvas.

So he borrowed the seats from a world called Sumeru Banner that is in the east and beyond lands as many as the grains of sand in thirty-six Ganges Rivers.

And he asked for food from a world called Myriad Frangrance that is above and beyond lands as many as the grains of sand in forty-two Ganges Rivers.

Wow, how great a view that surpasses the latest technology that the James-Webb telescope provided to us.

And two stories about the goddess. Meanwhile, there are goddesses in Buddhism. Just like Sophia and Muse. One story is about the goddess who transformed her body with Sariputra， you can say it is a little bit like a fairy tale, but it is true. The second story is about the goddesses who were following the demon before they met Vimalakirti, then they changed their behavior and became the accompanies of bodhisattvas.

The words on the cover of this edition are quoted from the second story.

"Sisters, there is a Dharma door called the inexhaustible lamp that you must learn. This inexhaustible lamp is like a single lamp that lights a hundred thousand lamps; it lights up the darkness, yet its light is never exhausted. In the same way, sisters, a single bodhisattva may guide hundreds of thousands of living beings and inspire them to bring forth the resolve for anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi without ever exhausting his own resolve. As he teaches the Dharma in accordance with conditions, his goodness naturally increases. This is called the inexhaustible lamp."

I am really lazy reading this sutra because it's not easy to do that. Forgive my excuse, and I am willing to tell you about a very famous poet in Tang Dynasty. His name is Wang Wei. He is well-known to Chinese People. And he has another name， Mojie. If you connect Wei and Mojie, then it is Weimojie——Vimalakirti. How weird a Chinese great poet has a foreign name in his time. His poems are very beautiful and I would like to share one with you.

鹿柴 (王维)Deer Park (Wang Wei)
空山不见人,On this lonely mountain I see no one,
但闻人语响.Yet I hear the echo of voices.
返景入深林,Rays of sunlight enter into the deep forest,
复照青苔上.Shining once more upon green moss.

Appreciate all the efforts to make this sutra available to Western people. Rejoicing in the publication of The Vimalakirti Sutra.

[Dana Han · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sutra is all about the practice of one’s cultivating and realizing Buddha’s teachings. It features Vimalakirti’s conversations with eminent disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha about Boddhisatva’s path, roles, and practices: its last two chapters narrate one of Shakyamuni Buddha’s previous lives, illustrating the Boddhisatva’s practice of offering the Dharma, and his telling the future Buddha Maitreya the kinds of the Boddhisatvas following the demise of the Dharma. One of the most interesting parts was that the goddess gave Dharma talk by employing her (or female) body. Vimalakirti’s explanation is simple yet deep. He illuminates that 1) Boddhisatva’s practice should fulfill all procedures and steps that Buddha(s) had taught and 2) Buddhist practice starts with and aims for removing the afflictions of greed, anger, and ignorance. His instruction on the Bodhisattva’s practices is encouraging and resourceful to apply to our daily life and practice.

[Angela Morelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish someone would do a dramatic/theatrical version of the sutra text. It is such a fun and deep sutra text that every time I read it, it sheds a different light in my heart - a truly inconceivable experience if you give it a good chance.

This is also a wonderful translation, if you read both English and Chinese, this version makes it very easy for you to find the corresponding sutra text. Great help for those who are scholars or bilingual readers

[Yi Sun · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a former participant of Buddhist Text Translation Society's summer translation retreat a couple years ago, I can still recall the devotion and meticulousness of everyone who had contributed to this book, as well as the fun and inspiration the sutra had brought us. The Vimalakirti Sutra is a great choice for everyone interested in Mahayana Buddhism and those who want to dive deeper into the teaching.

[Vivian Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A major significance of this classic Sutra is the use of impressive stories to spread the Buddha Dharma. The idea of "affliction is bodhi" and the concept of non-duality: neither arises nor extinguishes, neither defiled nor pure, neither increases nor decreases; and the Q & A part on "entering the Dharma door of non-duality" greatly influenced the progressing development of Mahayana Chan Buddhism in those days. One chapter narrates the dialogue between Buddha's Disciple Sariputra and the Goddess who scattered heavenly flowers on the Bodhisattvas and the Sravakas, and the transformation of Saraputra's gender from male to female, etc. etc. Such stories are inconceivable, and bring forth the Buddhism thoughts of non-attachment, non-arising of the phenomena, emptiness and so on ...

This Sutra is about Vimalakirti, a Lay Mahayana Buddhist practitioner (upasaka), his encounters with the Bodhisattvas, and Buddha's Disciples etc. will help readers to understand deeply the profound meaning of Buddha's Teachings.

[TL · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My buddhaland is always pure like this. I only make it appear rife with evil and impurity for the sake of saving living beings of lowly aspirations. This is akin to how the gods all eat from the same jeweled vessel, but their food appears differently depending on their merit and virtue. In the same way, Śāriputra, a person whose mind is pure will see this land as adorned with merit."