VIMALAKIRTI SUTRA
Translated by Imperial Edict
Tripitaka Master Kumarajiva of Yao Qin
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Chapter Two
SKILLFUL MEANS
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At that time, in the great city of Vaisali, there was an elder named Vimalakirti. He had already made offerings to immeasurable Buddhas, had deeply planted wholesome roots, attained the patience of non-arising, possessed unobstructed eloquence, freely sported in spiritual powers, upheld all dharanis, and obtained fearlessness. He subdued demonic enemies, entered profound Dharma gates, excelled in wisdom and liberation, fully understood skillful means, and fulfilled great vows. He clearly knew the tendencies of beings’ minds and could distinguish sharp and dull faculties.
For a long time on the Buddha-path his mind had been mature, firmly resolved in the Great Vehicle. In whatever he did, he reflected well and acted with discernment. He abided in the Buddha’s dignified conduct, and his mind was vast like the sea. He was praised by all Buddhas and respected by disciples, by Sakra, by Brahma, and by the lords of the world.
Wishing to liberate people, he lived in Vaisali through skillful means. With boundless wealth he gathered in the poor. With pure moral discipline he gathered in those who broke precepts. With patience and gentleness he gathered in the angry. With great vigor he gathered in the lazy. With one-pointed meditative stillness he gathered in the scattered. With decisive wisdom he gathered in the ignorant.
Though a layman in white robes, he upheld the pure discipline of a sramana. Though living at home, he was unattached to the three realms. Though appearing to have wife and children, he constantly cultivated pure conduct. Though appearing to have relatives and companions, he was always inclined toward renunciation. Though adorned with jewels, he took the marks of excellence as his true adornment. Though he ate and drank, he took the joy of meditation as his flavor. If he went to gambling houses, he used them to transform people. Though he studied non-Buddhist teachings, he did not destroy right faith. Though well versed in worldly texts, he delighted in Buddhadharma.
He treated everyone with respect and regarded making offerings as paramount. He upheld the Right Dharma and gathered in both elders and youth. In every business enterprise, though he gained worldly profit, he took no delight in it. At crossroads and public places, he benefited beings. Entering political affairs, he protected all people. In debate halls, he led others through the Great Vehicle. In schools, he instructed and opened the minds of children. In brothels, he revealed the faults of sensual desire. In taverns, he established wholesome aspiration in those present.
Among elders, he was honored, and so he taught them supreme Dharma. Among householders, he was honored, and so he cut off their greed and attachment. Among ksatriyas, he was honored, and so he taught them patience. Among brahmins, he was honored, and so he removed their arrogance.
Among great ministers, he was honored, and so he instructed them in righteous governance. Among princes, he was honored, and so he taught them loyalty and filiality.
Among palace officials, he was honored, and so he guided the women of the inner court toward uprightness. Among common people, he was honored, and so he enabled their blessings and strength to flourish.
In Brahma realms, he was honored by Brahma gods and instructed them in supreme wisdom. In the heaven of Sakra, he was honored by the gods there and demonstrated impermanence and decay. In the realms of the world-protecting kings, he was honored by the Four Heavenly Kings and protected all beings.
With immeasurable skillful means such as these, the elder Vimalakirti benefited sentient beings. By skillful means he manifested himself as ill. Because he was ill, kings, ministers, elders, householders, brahmins, princes, officials, and innumerable gods and humans all went to inquire after his health. To those who came, Vimalakirti used his illness as the occasion to teach Dharma extensively:
“Noble friends, this body is impermanent, without strength, without power, without solidity. It is a swiftly decaying thing and cannot be relied upon. It is suffering, it is affliction, a place where all diseases gather.
“Noble friends, such a body cannot be depended on by the wise. This body is like clinging foam, impossible to grasp. This body is like a bubble, unable to endure. This body is like a flame, born of craving thirst. This body is like a plantain trunk, with no firm core inside. This body is like an illusion, arising from deluded inversion. This body is like a dream, seen through false appearances. This body is like a shadow, manifest from karmic conditions. This body is like an echo, dependent on causes and conditions. This body is like a drifting cloud, changing and vanishing in an instant. This body is like lightning, not abiding even moment to moment.
“This body has no owner, like earth. This body has no self, like fire. This body has no lasting life, like wind. This body has no personhood, like water. This body is unreal, a house made of the four elements. This body is empty, apart from self and what belongs to self. This body has no knowing, like grass, wood, tile, and stone. This body does nothing by itself; it is moved by the force of the winds.
“This body is impure, filled with filth and corruption. This body is false and deceptive; though temporarily washed, fed, and clothed, it still ends in decay and destruction. This body is disaster, burdened with one hundred and one afflictive illnesses. This body is like a mound over a well, oppressed by old age. This body is unstable and must eventually die. This body is like a venomous snake, like an enemy thief, like an empty settlement, merely assembled from skandhas, sense-fields, and elements.
“Noble friends, this body is something to fear and to weary of; you should delight in the Buddha-body. Why? Because the Buddha-body is precisely the Dharma-body. It is born from immeasurable merit and wisdom; from morality, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge-and-vision of liberation; from loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity; from giving, morality, patience, gentleness, diligent vigor, meditative concentration, liberation samadhi, broad learning, wisdom, and all perfections; from skillful means; from the six superknowledges; from the three knowledges; from the thirty-seven factors of awakening; from calming and contemplation; from the ten powers, four fearlessnesses, and eighteen unique qualities; from cutting off all unwholesome dharmas and gathering all wholesome dharmas; from truthfulness; from non-negligence. From such immeasurable pure dharmas the Tathagata’s body is born.
“Noble friends, if you wish to attain the Buddha-body and end all the illnesses of sentient beings, you should bring forth the mind of unsurpassed, right, and perfect awakening.”
In this way, the elder Vimalakirti taught those who came to ask about his illness, according to what was appropriate, causing innumerable gods and humans to generate the mind of unsurpassed, right, and perfect awakening.