![Vimalakirti debating Manjusri, Tang Dynasty](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Vimalakirti_debating_Manjusri%2C_Tang_Dynasty.jpg)
Vimalakīrti ( sa, विमल ' "stainless, undefiled" + ' "fame, glory, reputation") is the central figure in the ',
which presents him as the ideal
Mahayana Buddhist upāsaka ("lay practitioner") and a contemporary of
Gautama Buddha (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. 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 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, rather than mythic or legendary, and as such Vimalakīrti is not commonly venerated on altars or in
tantric rituals,
but as a prehistoric
zen, i.e., chan preacher.
See also
*
Wang Wei
References
External links
Vimalakīrti portraitat
Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
Indian Buddhists
6th-century BC people
Bodhisattvas
Buddhist spiritual teachers
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