Vimalakirti Sutra: Encyclopedia - Vimalakirti Sutra

Vimalakirti Sutra

Vimalakirti Sutra (Chinese 維摩經 wéimó jing, Japanese 維摩経 yuima-gyō, Korean 유마경 yuma-gyeong, Sanskrit विमलकीर्ति-निर्देश-सूत्र Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa-sūtra.) This scripture is considered one of the most profound, as well as literarily excellent of the Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist sutras. The sutra expounds the profound principle of Mahāyāna as opposed to Theravada teachings, focusing on the explication of the meaning of nonduality. A significant aspect of the scripture is the fact that it is a teaching addressed to high-ranking Buddhist disciples through the mouth of the layman bodhisattva Vimalakīrti, who expounds the doctrine of emptiness in depth, eventually resorting to silence. There are three classical Chinese translations extant:

• the 維摩詰所說經 Wéimójié suǒshuō jing (trans. by Kumārajīva ; T 475.14.537a-557b).
• the 說無垢稱經 Shuō wúgòuchēng jing (6 fasc. trans. Xuanzang . T 476.14.557-587)
• the 佛說維摩詰經 Fóshuō wéimójié jing (2 fasc. trans. Lokakṣema . T 474.14.519-536).

In addition to these, earlier translations had been done by Zhiqian (223-228), Dharmarakṣa (308), Upaśūnya (545), and Jñānagupta (591). Of the three extent renditions, Kumārajīva's has traditionally been the most popular.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Vimalakirti Sutra", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki