The Vimalakirti Sutra

by Vimalakirti, Burton Watson (Translator)

One of the most popular Asian classics for roughly two thousand years, the Vimalakirti Sutra stands out among the sacred texts of Mahayana Buddhism for its conciseness, its vivid and humorous episodes, its dramatic narratives, and its eloquent exposition of the key doctrine of emptiness or nondualism. Unlike most sutras, its central figure is not a Buddha but a wealthy townsman, who, in his mastery of doctrine and religious practice, epitomizes the ideal lay believer. For this reason, the sutra has held particular significance for men and women of the laity in Buddhist countries of Asia, assuring them that they can reach levels of spiritual attainment fully comparable to those accessible to monks and nuns of the monastic order.

Esteemed translator Burton Watson has rendered a beautiful English translation from the popular Chinese version produced in 406 C.E. by the Central Asian scholar-monk Kumarajiva, which is widely acknowledged to be the most felicitous of the various Chinese translations of the sutra (the Sanskrit original of which was lost long ago) and is the form in which it has had the greatest influence in China, Japan, and other countries of East Asia. Watson's illuminating introduction discusses the background of the sutra, its place in the development of Buddhist thought, and the profundities of its principal doctrine: emptiness.

Genres: Buddhism, Religion, Philosophy, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Theology, College

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 100

Reviews

[Kamakana · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you like this review, i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com

130219: five. english translation of chinese translation of sanskrit original. one of the easiest sutras i have read. watson has translated all the names. basic knowledge of buddhism is all you need, repetitive aspects of oral teachings abbreviated, i can certainly see why this is popular. central figure, discoursing on buddhism, on four noble truths, impermanence, emptiness, all within mahayana interpretations, is wealthy lay person, demonstrating enlightenment is possible for everyone... comforting, direct, simple, i do not know how much either the chinese or the english translations are agreed...

this is an example of not the (lost?) original as baseline truth but the elaborations of subsequent work, particularly leading through chinese, of which this is fourth of six translations since origin, that are text truths. and that it is easy to read, is not reason to think simple. quick, fun, insightful, inspiring, this is definitely five... there are so many books to read and so little time...

if you want more: Wisdom Beyond Words: The Buddhist Vision of Ultimate Reality
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment
more technical:
The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā
more:
Innovative Buddhist Women: Swimming Against the Stream
Women in the Footsteps of the Buddha: Struggle for Liberation in the Therigatha
Gender Equality in Buddhism
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment
Buddhism: A Philosophical Approach
What the Buddha Thought
Nietzsche and Buddhist Philosophy
Buddhist Philosophy: A Historical Analysis
Buddhism as Philosophy: An Introduction
Ethics Embodied: Rethinking Selfhood Through Continental, Japanese, and Feminist Philosophies
After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age
What the Buddha Thought
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment
Buddhist Philosophy: Essential Readings
Buddhism as Philosophy: An Introduction
Self, No Self?: Perspectives from Analytical, Phenomenological, and Indian Traditions
After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age
Philosophers of Nothingness: An Essay on the Kyoto School
The Kyoto School
Nishida And Western Philosophy
Buddhism: A Philosophical Approach
What the Buddha Thought
Wisdom Beyond Words: The Buddhist Vision of Ultimate Reality
Buddhism as Philosophy: An Introduction
An Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy
Why I Am Not a Buddhist
Why I Am a Buddhist: No-Nonsense Buddhism with Red Meat and Whiskey
Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World
Indian Buddhist Philosophy: Metaphysics as Ethics

[Blaine Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

You, lay person, can know the enlightenment of the Buddhas. The main attraction of this influential Mahayana text is that the most profound realizations of Mahayana Buddhist thought - emptiness, nonduality, the Bodhisattva ideal, the One Vehicle, altruistic compassion, and upaya/skillful means - are shown, by Vimalakirti's example, to be available to lay people. You don't have to be a monk or nun to know the perfect freedom of awakened mind, to realize your own Buddha-nature.

This entertaining text has been read by generations of lay people in East Asia. It had great influence on the Chan/Zen school of Buddhism. The circa 1st Century CE text is also a clear polemic on original "Hinayana" Buddhism when the breakaway sects were first articulating what was to become Mahayana Buddhism. Examples of this in the text are when Buddha's trusted disciple, the Venerable Shariputra, is humiliated or made to look like a novice. In addition to Vimalakirti and Shariputra, the bodhisattva of wisdom Manjushri and a mischievous unnamed Goddess are major characters in this text along with the typical panoply of Mahayana bodhisattvas.

I prefer this Thurman translation to the Burton Watson translation, e.g., Thurman's "liberation" -v Watson's "emancipation" - Thurman's wording just works better (IMHO). Comparing the chapter titles between these two translations one would hardly know they are the same book. Thurman translates from the 12-chapter Tibetan version of the text while Watson's translation is the 14-chapter Kumarajiva Chinese version. Published first in 1976, Thurmond's translation is also replete with copious footnotes giving important insights, short comments, and references to further one's understanding of the text. His nine-page introduction is an excellent summary of the meaning of nonduality which is one of the main themes of Vimalakirti's teachings. Chapter nine "The Dharma Door of Nonduality" is the culmination of the teaching.

The role of silence in describing the ineffable is another theme of this sutra. In an important endnote, Thurman brings out the contrast between the silence of Shariputra in chapter seven (p59) and Vimalakirti's thunderous silence at the end of chapter nine (p77). Jay Garfield also provides a beautiful analysis of the differences between these two silences in his essay "Sounds of Silence: Ineffability and the Limits of Language in Madhyamaka and Yogachara" which can be found in his book Empty Words: Buddhist Philosophy and Cross-Cultural Interpretation. Thurman provides a very handy and detailed Glossary at the end of the book with sections on Sanskrit terms, Numerical categories, and Technical terms.

So, no need to join a monastery or nunnery if your goal is full awakening - just take the age-old example of Licchavi Vimalakirti (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licchav...) as provided by this excellent translation by the venerable scholar-practitioner-teacher-translator Robert Thurman.

[Juliane Roell · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most amazing Mahayana texts that I have studied so far. It combines with and deepens the Prajna Paramita Sutra (Heart Sutra), the Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment. It expounds the non-dual Dharma in such a lucid way that I get goosebumps and heart throbbings from this.
I worked with Charles Luk's translation from Chinese which I found extremely clear and readable (and well explained with footnotes), and sometimes referred to the translation from Tibetan by Robert A.F. Thurman.

(May enlarge the review later)

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An astonishing teaching. It is a blessing that, altough we do not really comprehend this view as Bodisattva Vimalakirti shows us, we could encounter this book in this lifetime. The variety of characters that present during the whole sutta, how do they do their practice, as well they contact with the vision of Vimalakirti and his savvy remarks are mindboogling.
May we all comprehend this teaching in its entirety someday!

[Mengsen Zhang · Rating 4 out of 5]

summarize in a quote (modified to my understanding of the Chinese version):" rely on meaning, not on words; rely on sutras that are understood, not those that are not."

[Richard St Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am enjoying reading this for the third time.

My favorite version however is the:
The Teaching of Vimalakīrti (Vimalakīrtinirdeśa), Sacred Books of the Buddhists 32 (London: Pali Text Society, [1976:] 1994). Translated under the name Sara Boin. Translation from Étienne Lamotte, L’Enseignement de Vimalakīrti, Bibliothèque du Muséon 51 (Louvain: Institut Orientaliste, 1962).

Which I was, along with the other members of a Buddhist Study group in London, to get as a photocopy (courtesy of the late Sara Bion-webb)in about 1972??

For practitioners of Buddhism this is a must read, ideally along with: Śūraṃgamasūtra: The Concentration of Heroic Progress (London: Buddhist Society and Curzon
Press, 1999). Translation from É. Lamotte, La Concentration de la Marche héroïque, Mélanges Chinois
et Bouddhiques XIII (Brussels: Institut Belge des Hautes Études chinoises, 1965).
Which sadly got renamed "Concentration of Heroic Progress" from "Samādhi of the Heroic Way" Still the name cannot take away from the contents.

[Niklas Braun · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot here, and it's very dense. But the Sutra itself is quite good, and there is a lot to be learned. There definitely is a lot of filler material, however, with back and forth between characters repeated often. However, it's what's in between these exchanges that contains the good stuff. I would recommend using this as a guide, while studying it with other people or online as you read.

[a · Rating 5 out of 5]

It would be dangerous to say too much about this book, but this is the passage I am still digesting:

“The Licchavi Vimalakīrti said to the patriarch Mahākāśyapa, ‘Reverend Mahākāśyapa, the Māras who play the devil in the innumerable universes of the ten directions are all bodhisattvas dwelling in the inconceivable liberation, who are playing the devil in order to develop living beings through their skill in liberative technique. Reverend Mahākāśyapa, all the miserable beggars who come to the bodhisattvas of the innumerable universes of the ten directions to ask for a hand, a foot, an ear, a nose, some blood, muscles, bones, marrow, an eye, a torso, a head, a limb, a member, a throne, a kingdom, a country, a wife, a son, a daughter, a slave, a slave-girl, a horse, an elephant, a chariot, a cart, gold, silver, jewels, pearls, conches, crystal, coral, beryl, treasures, food, drink, elixirs, and clothes—these demanding beggars are usually bodhisattvas living in the inconceivable liberation who, through their skill in liberative technique, wish to test and thus demonstrate the firmness of the high resolve of the bodhisattvas. Why? Reverend Mahākāśyapa, the bodhisattvas demonstrate that firmness by means of terrible austerities. Ordinary persons have to power to be thus demanding of bodhisattvas, unless they are granted the opportunity. They are not capable of killing and depriving in that manner without being freely given the chance. [pgph break] Reverend Mahākāśyapa, just as a glowworm cannot eclipse the light of the sun, so, reverend Mahākāśyapa, it is not possible without special allowance that an ordinary person can thus attack and deprive a bodhisattva. Reverend Mahākāśyapa, just as a donkey could not muster an attack on a wild elephant, even so, reverend Mahākāśyapa, one who is not himself a bodhisattva cannot harass a bodhisattva. Only one who is himself a bodhisattva can harass another bodhisattva, and only a bodhisattva can tolerate the harassment of another bodhisattva. Reverend Mahākāśyapa, such is the introduction to the power of the knowledge of liberative technique of the bodhisattvas who dwell in inconceivable liberation” (p55).

[Anthony · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am glad I read this one, it was a good reminder that Buddhism is an organized religion and not just a useful metaphysic framework for navigating consciousness. This is a religious text with very little philosophical value. It's got everything you'd ask for in a religious text - rules and laws you have to accept at face value, supernatural events like fitting 8 million people in a small sick room, feeding those 8 million people with a single bowl of rice (this was 600 years before the New Testament), and tales of reincarnation and supernatural realities. The chief aim of the text is to propel the Mahayana sect of the Buddhist religion, which was prior to that sect, something that only religious devotees and monks had access to. In broader terms, this sutra opened up the religion and its underlying philosophies to anyone who was curious about it.

On the philosophy front, it alludes to the meat and philosophy of the underlying principles of Buddhist thought, but it just names them rather than expounding or making useful logical arguments.

I much prefer the shorter Heart and Diamond Sutras which are beautiful and meaningful, or the texts analyzing buddhist thought by Suzuki or Thich Naht Hahn. This had a place for me, but just to remind me that Buddhism is an actual organized religion, with all the negatives that comes with.

[retroj · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a very curious book. A friend recommended this to me because of my interest in lay Buddhism, or how Buddhism applies to a worldly life outside of the monastic path. There are some interesting teachings here in that regard, but for me the book was mainly a window into how Mahayana differs in profound ways from other Buddhist schools, sometimes surprisingly even at their expense.

Vimalakirti is a mythic presentation of the bodhisattva ideal, a story of Dharma teaching set in the time of the Buddha with Buddha and many familiar disciples as characters, plus Vimalakirti and a host of bodhisattva characters who expound and demonstrate the superiority of the Mahayana way through a series of vignettes and miraculous encounters.

This represents a very religious form of Buddhism which helps me contextualize the Mahayana school. It is also a fairly short work that lays out a concise vision of what it means to be a bodhisattva.

Interesting and also kind of strange, but a window into an important world religion.

[Gazmend Ceno · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting read. You don't have to be a Buddhist to really appreciate the scope of thinking outside the box offered so blatantly in this scripture. Professor Thurman, of course, is an authority on the subject and has made the ancient text smoothly accessible to the western mentality. I do recommend this book to everybody - it offers hope, because without it, life is a tragedy waiting to happen.

[Michelle Wruck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I certainly would not recommend starting with this book if you are hoping to understand Mahayana Buddhism. It will leave you probably quite confused. It's a wonderful book, however, and once you have a sense of some of the underlying philosophical arguments of Mahayana Buddhism, do come back to it.

[Greg Jarmiolowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an amazing book. It seems to teach a sort of Vajrayana view in that you take suffering as the path. It expounds upon the nature of reality, non-duality, and Buddha nature. All while being an entertaining story.

[John Redmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars because of its importance in history, but it’s still very representative of the “separation” that occurred and occurs since Buddha’s spoken words, and separation is an error.

[hoffnarr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully refreshing sutra, can see why this is treated as such a unique text in the tradition. Burton Watson’s translation is as always with his work, a delight to read.

[Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent translation and in my opinion the most practical for the layperson of all the Mahayana sutras I’ve read

[Layla Elqutami]

perfumed rice

[Clyde Long De Lugo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the translation a bit dry and hard to contextualize the sutra.

[Drew Tschirki · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most wondrous texts I’ve had the pleasure (yes, it was a pleasure!) of reading

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a Buddhist woman, this was still a very complicated text. It presents Dharma in a unique way, and I was happy to read and learn from this text. When reading works like this, it truly makes one feel more connected to previous generations of people who have encountered the Holy Teachings. Although various translations have existed throughout time, there is a common message that cannot disappear no matter the bias or efforts of the translator.

Admittedly, this book can be confusing at times. There are some unbelievable supernatural happenings that stretch the mind and its understanding. Coming from a more secularized position, it can seem odd to think of mass enlightenments as occurring simply because of one individual's actions, regardless of how holy he was. Of course, there is significant repetition of phrases, as in many other religious texts.

Truthfully, I found my mind quieting while reading this book, which was almost a meditative experience. Unfortunately, I was reading this for a university Eastern Religions class and feared having a quiz over minor details, and thus it became a headache trying to grasp everything while taking careful notes. I would certainly say that this is a cornerstone to exploring Mahayana Buddhism. Reading it certainly gave me a sense of peace.

Rating: 2 stars, the complexity of this book can be off-putting, but it is a beautiful and spiritual work for Buddhists and non-practitioners alike.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sutras here are kinda funny and cute while being profound. The translation is also wonderful and flows well.

[Yến Hải · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nghe nói nay ngày đẹp nên khai bút trên goodreads :))
Cuốn này là Kinh Duy Ma Cật, bản tiếng Việt rất dễ kiếm trên mạng. Mình biết và đọc kinh này là do hôm mùng 4 đi chúc tết sư ông Sơn được sư ông chỉ cho. May quá có thứ dứt mình ra khỏi chuỗi ngày tự kỉ với An Ni Bảo Bối, tiện thể khai sách đầu năm luôn :)))

Cuốn này đáng đọc, bất kể bạn có phải một Phật tử hay không. Theo mình kinh Duy Ma Cật là một bản kinh phản ánh đúng tinh thần Phật giáo, trí tuệ và an nhiên. (Dùng tạm vài từ để mô tả thôi chứ kinh Phật hay ho hơn nhiều, mỗi tội khó tả T_T, như kinh nói là "không thể nghĩ bàn"). Đọc kinh này để thấy rằng đạo Phật không phải là đạo chỉ có vái lạy, cũng không phải khơi khơi nhàn nhạt như nhiều người vẫn nói, và trên hết là đây là thứ "tài sản chung" cần được tìm hiểu, giống như nhiều tác phẩm kinh điển khác. Nếu là Phật tử thì càng nên đọc, vì bạn học Phật vì điều gì thì kinh này sẽ gợi mở cho bạn cái đó.

Cụ thể chút thì kinh này có nhiều chỗ mang tinh thần của Tâm kinh Bát Nhã Ba la mật :) Mình đọc bản dịch của Đoàn Trung Còn, Nguyễn Minh Tiến thấy chi tiết và có thể hiểu được, có thể tin tưởng được bản dịch này. *Thích kiểu chú thích dã man, đã bao nhiêu lâu YH mới lại được đọc sách có kiểu chú thích vi diệu như thế :"( *

Điều kiện duy nhất là bạn thích tư duy, vì đây là kinh nói về một vị Bồ Tát - quả vị giải thoát cao thứ hai, chỉ sau Phật nên nó hơi cao siêu một tí (một tí thôi, vì dốt như mình vẫn đọc được, tức là đa số sẽ đọc được).
Lúc đọc cuốn này mình chẳng mong đợi điều gì, sư ông khuyên đọc thì đọc thôi. Đọc xong mới thấy may mà nghe sư ông :)))

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deceivingly dense Mahayana scripture, it'll likely blow over the heads of most people who fixate on the preposterous tales of supernatural powers which make up half the book and the incredibly dense and lengthy doctrines which predate modern paraconsistent logic, while echoing it's principles into a remarkable moral philosophy.

Paraconsistent arguments typically work backwards of modern logic. Rather than provide complimentarly suppositions which lead to a definitive conclusion, paraconsistency provides the conclusion first, then provides seemingly conflictive justifications which unwind your logical mind, allowing you to grasp the point of the argument intuitively (without words). If you don't have much training in silencing your mind through meditation, the arguments are unlikely to stir you. Still, the points this book makes can be profound and even trance-inducing to the properly prepared reader.

[Me · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a strange book which was on a college course reading list. It is a classic of Mahayana ancient Buddhism and written about about a knowledgeable yet slightly annoying householder. The book starts off with the householder, Vimalakirti being obnoxious and injecting his unsolicited thoughts into others experiences.

It is not a modern dharma book and as such has mythological literary devices. I will not spoil the book for those who wish to read it, but I will say there are few dharma gems in it. In one passage on sickness, I found a very valuable way to look at illness.

Some of the book seems a little crazy and at times and seems almost thrown together from other stories and books. It has dharma phrases I had never heard before such as the "Buddha-field", which was an interesting dharma expression.

Overall, not my favorite dharma book but I liked it. If you like classic Buddhist text, this is definitely work the read.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent new translation of the "Laughing Buddha" sutra by the living master of such translations. An Indian counterpart to R.D. Liang's "Knots," both explore and expose dualistic thinking and how embracing paradox creates a better mind/consciousness. Not as humorous as its common title, it is funny that when the local master of the art of living takes ill, a zillion of his emulators say why they are not the one to visit him and wish him good health--inevitably he has taught them something so profound in the past that they can not imagine being more than a burdensome student. But eventually all who care do become his audience and try not just for healing the sick, but for the work of earning enlightenment.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The teachings here are puzzling in what seems to be a very deliberate manner. The holy sage Vimalakirti enjoys his mystical mischief -- at one moment playing with gloriously absurd allegories of space travel, at others engaging in almost Nagarjunian analyses that lead, ultimately, to the absence of condition and voidness. He moves from inconceivable vastnesses to inconceivable voidness, and it all winds up being a little disturbing. Where Nagarjuna is comfortingly logical, Vimalakirti's reductionism is goading. As soon as I approach understanding him (or think I'm doing so), off he flies off to Sarvadghandasughanda (where the bodhisattvas feed on fragrance) and gets all cosmicomical... Fascinating, a little maddening, but something I think I will return to after a while.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thurman's is the standard translation, but it's good to get as many translations as possible, and while I'm not a close enough reader to comment on this translation, I'm glad it exists.

I don't think, as someone commented, that it's really about lay Buddhists, though if you draw inspiration from that, that's not horrible. I think the dualism of lay versus monastic is something Vimalakirti would perhaps laugh at, and Mahayana is a reaction to rigid monasticism, so as I say, get that message if you want.

I think with Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara, the Lotus Sutra, the Lankavatara Sutra and The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava, you can get yourself a well rounded Mahayana feel. I could read these 5 texts over and over again.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book that I read in college. This one I really enjoyed. I remember there were debates as to whether this scripture unfairly represented women, but I fell on the side of the argument that viewed the descriptions of women as purely a form of expedient means in addressing lust to male monks. In other words, the descriptions of the female form as disgusting and fowl should be understood within a very specific context.

Apparently, since it's been a few years since I've read this, the stuff about women is the only thing I really remember. I have this one on the shelf at home, I think I'll give it another look.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very profound Mahayana sutra. Robert Thurman has 3 glosseries of sanskrit terms, technical terms, and numerical categories. WARNING: Not an easy read but very profound if you can get through it. (A must for EVERY buddhist scholar or practicing buddhist.)

[Cory · Rating 4 out of 5]

So packed full of references, many of which went right over my head... I feel I'll need to return to this text after learning more of the topic. This is definitely a text that will need multiple read-throughs, separated by much other reading on the topic.