Previous   Next
Home » CPA0007444

China: A painting of the Tibetan king of Dunhuang attending a debate between the Bodhisattva Manjusiri and the layman Vimalakirti. Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, 8th century

China: A painting of the Tibetan king of Dunhuang attending a debate between the Bodhisattva Manjusiri and the layman Vimalakirti. Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, 8th century

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra is a Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtra. Among other subjects, the sutra teaches the meaning of nonduality. An important aspect of this scripture is that it contains a report of a teaching addressed to both arhats and bodhisattvas by the layman Vimalakīrti, who expounds the doctrine of Śūnyatā, or emptiness, to them. This culminates with the wordless teaching of silence.