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Vimalakīrti ( sa, विमल ' "stainless, undefiled" + ' "fame, glory, reputation") is the central figure in the ', which presents him as the ideal
Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
upāsaka Upāsaka (masculine) or Upāsikā (feminine) are from the Sanskrit and Pāli words for "attendant". This is the title of followers of Buddhism (or, historically, of Gautama Buddha) who are not monks, nuns, or novice monastics in a Buddhist order, ...
("lay practitioner") and a contemporary of
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
(6th to 5th century BCE). There is no mention of him in
Buddhist texts Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts a ...
until after (1st century BCE to 2nd century CE) revived Mahayana Buddhism in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The Mahayana Vimalakirti Sutra also spoke of the city of
Vaisali Vaishali district is a district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is a part of Tirhut division. Vaishali is known for being the birthplace of Mahavira of the Jain religion. Hajipur, its largest city and district headquarters, is known for its ...
as where the
lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...
Licchavi
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...
Vimalakirti was residing.


As a Zen Patriarch

The Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra characterizes Vimalakīrti as a wealthy patron of Gautama Buddha. Unlike many other figures of the Mahayana literature, such as , he is generally taken to be a historical figure like
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
, rather than mythic or legendary, and as such Vimalakīrti is not commonly venerated on altars or in tantric rituals, but as a prehistoric
zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
, i.e., chan preacher.


See also

* Wang Wei


References


External links


Vimalakīrti portrait
at Tricycle: The Buddhist Review Indian Buddhists 6th-century BC people Bodhisattvas Buddhist spiritual teachers {{Mahayana-stub