VIMALAKIRTI SUTRA
Translated by Imperial Edict
Tripitaka Master Kumarajiva of Yao Qin
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Chapter Three
THE DISCIPLES
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At that time, while the elder Vimalakirti lay ill in bed, he thought to himself, “The World-Honored One is greatly compassionate. Will he not show concern for me?”
The Buddha knew his thought and said to Sariputra, “Go to Vimalakirti and inquire after his illness.”
Sariputra said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One, I am not fit to go and ask about his illness. Why? I remember that once I was quietly sitting beneath a tree in the forest. Vimalakirti came and said to me:
“‘Reverend Sariputra, this is not necessarily true sitting. True sitting is not manifesting body and mind within the three realms. True sitting is manifesting all deportments without rising from cessation-concentration. True sitting is not abandoning the path while appearing in the affairs of ordinary people. True sitting is for the mind neither to abide within nor without. True sitting is to remain unmoved amid all views while cultivating the thirty-seven factors of awakening. True sitting is to enter nirvana without cutting off afflictions. One who sits in this way is approved by the Buddha.’
“When I heard this, World-Honored One, I fell silent and could not answer. Therefore I am not fit to go inquire after his illness.”
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The Buddha said to Mahamaudgalyayana, “Go to Vimalakirti and inquire after his illness.”
Maudgalyayana replied, “World-Honored One, I am not fit to go. I remember once entering the great city of Vaisali and teaching Dharma to lay householders in an alley. Vimalakirti came and said:
“‘Reverend Mahamaudgalyayana, when teaching laypeople, one should not teach as you are teaching. One should teach according to Dharma itself. Dharma has no sentient beings, because it is free from the defilements of sentient beings. Dharma has no life-span, because it is free from birth and death. Dharma has no person, because before and after are cut off. Dharma is always quiescent, because all marks are extinguished. Dharma is beyond marks, because there is no object to be grasped. Dharma has no names, because language is cut off. Dharma has no speaking, because it is beyond cognition. Dharma has no form, like empty space. Dharma has no idle theorizing, because ultimately it is empty. Dharma has no “mine,” because it is free from possessiveness. Dharma has no discrimination, because it is free from consciousnesses. Dharma has no comparison, because it is without opposition.
“‘Dharma belongs to no cause, and is not in conditions. Dharma is one with Dharma-nature and enters all dharmas. Dharma accords with thusness and follows nothing. Dharma abides in reality, and the extremes do not move it. Dharma does not waver, because it does not rely on the six sense-objects. Dharma has no coming or going, because it does not abide. Dharma accords with emptiness, follows signlessness, and responds to wishlessness. Dharma is beyond beauty and ugliness. Dharma has no increase or decrease, no arising or ceasing, no place to return. Dharma is beyond eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Dharma has neither high nor low. Dharma is constantly abiding and unmoving. Dharma is beyond all observation and all practices.
“‘Reverend Mahamaudgalyayana, such is the character of Dharma. How can it be spoken? One who teaches Dharma neither speaks nor points anything out. One who hears Dharma neither hears nor obtains. It is like a magician teaching illusory people. First establish this understanding, then teach. Understand well whether beings’ faculties are sharp or dull. Be clear in knowledge and vision, without obstruction. With great compassion, praise the Great Vehicle. Remember to repay the Buddha’s grace and do not let the Three Jewels be severed. Then, and only then, teach Dharma.’
“When he finished speaking, eight hundred laypeople brought forth the mind of unsurpassed, right, and perfect enlightenment. I do not have such eloquence. Therefore I am not fit to go.”
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The Buddha said to Mahakasyapa, “Go to Vimalakirti and inquire after his illness.”
Kasyapa replied, “World-Honored One, I am not fit to go. I remember once begging in a poor neighborhood. Vimalakirti came and said:
“‘Reverend Mahakasyapa, your compassion is not yet universal: you leave the wealthy and beg only among the poor.
“‘Kasyapa, abide in the Dharma of equality and then beg in proper order from house to house. Because one does not eat, one should beg. Because one breaks attachment to compounded forms, one should accept morsel-food. Because one does not receive, one should receive that food. Enter villages while regarding them as empty settlements. What is seen is equal to what a blind man does not see. Sounds heard are equal to echoes. Smells are equal to wind. Tastes are taken without discrimination. Touch is received like wisdom-realization. Know all dharmas as illusions: without own-nature, without other-nature, not originally burning, not now extinguished.
“‘Kasyapa, if one can enter the eight liberations without abandoning the eight wrong paths, enter right Dharma through what appears wrong, and with one meal make offering to all, to all Buddhas and noble sages, only then should one eat. One who eats in this way is neither in affliction nor apart from affliction, neither entering concentration nor leaving it, neither abiding in the world nor in nirvana. Those who give to such a one gain neither great merit nor small merit; there is neither benefit nor harm. This is direct entry into Buddha-path, not dependence on the sravaka way.
“‘Kasyapa, if one can eat thus, then one does not consume a donor’s gift in vain.’
“World-Honored One, hearing this, I experienced what I had never experienced before. I then gave rise to deep reverence for all bodhisattvas and thought: ‘How extraordinary, this householder’s eloquence and wisdom! Who could hear him and not give rise to the mind of unsurpassed enlightenment?’ From then on, I never again urged others toward the sravaka or pratyekabuddha paths. Therefore I am not fit to go.”
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The Buddha said to Subhuti, “Go to Vimalakirti and inquire after his illness.”
Subhuti replied, “World-Honored One, I am not fit to go. I remember once entering his house for alms. He took my bowl, filled it with rice, and said:
“‘Reverend Subhuti, if you can regard food as equal, then all dharmas are also equal. If all dharmas are equal, then food too is equal. Beg in this way, and only then accept food.
“‘If Subhuti does not cut off lust, anger, and delusion, yet is not united with them; does not destroy the body, yet follows the one mark; does not extinguish delusion and craving, yet gives rise to liberation; attains liberation through the signs of the five grave offenses; is neither bound nor unbound; does not see the Four Truths, yet not failing to see them; neither attains fruition nor does not attain it; neither ordinary nor apart from ordinary dharmas; neither noble nor not noble; though accomplishing all dharmas, remains apart from all marks of dharmas, only then may he accept food.
“‘If Subhuti has not seen Buddha and has not heard Dharma, then the six teachers of the non-Buddhists are your teachers. By leaving home under them, if they fall, you too fall. Only then may you accept food.
“‘If Subhuti enters wrong views, fails to reach the other shore, abides in the eight difficulties, cannot be free from them, is one with afflictions and apart from pure Dharma; if your no-contention samadhi is also possessed by all beings; if those giving to you are not a field of merit; if those making offerings to you fall into the three evil paths; if you join hands with demons and become their companion; if you are no different from demons and defilements; if you hold resentment toward all beings; if you slander Buddha, disparage Dharma, do not enter the Sangha, and never attain final nirvana, only then may you accept food.’
“World-Honored One, hearing this I was bewildered, not understanding what he meant, and did not know how to reply. I set down the bowl and intended to leave.
“Vimalakirti said, ‘Reverend Subhuti, take the bowl and do not fear. What do you think? If the Tathagata made illusory people and I questioned them in this way, would they fear?’
“I answered, ‘No.’
“He said, ‘All dharmas are like illusions. You should not fear now. Why? Because all words and speech do not depart from this illusory mark. Even the wise do not cling to letters; therefore there is nothing to fear.
“‘Why? The nature of letters is separation. Where there are no letters, that is liberation. The mark of liberation is precisely all dharmas.’
“When he taught this Dharma, two hundred heavenly sons attained the pure Dharma-eye. Therefore I am not fit to go inquire after his illness.”
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The Buddha said to Purna Maitrayaniputra, “Go to Vimalakirti and inquire after his illness.”
Purna replied, “World-Honored One, I am not fit to go. I remember once teaching newly ordained bhiksus under a tree in a great forest. Vimalakirti came and said:
“‘Reverend Purna, first enter samadhi and observe their minds, then teach Dharma. Do not put impure food into a precious vessel. You should know the thoughts in these bhiksus’ minds. Do not mistake lapis lazuli for crystal. Since you do not know the root sources of beings’ faculties, do not lead them forth with Hinayana Dharma. They have no wounds of their own; do not wound them. They wish to travel the great road; do not point out a narrow path. Do not try to pour the ocean into a cow’s hoofprint. Do not compare sunlight to a firefly’s glow.
“‘Purna, these bhiksus long ago gave rise to Great Vehicle mind, but midway forgot it. How can you teach them with the lesser vehicle? In my view, Hinayana wisdom is shallow, like that of the blind, unable to distinguish beings’ sharp and dull faculties.’
“Then Vimalakirti immediately entered samadhi and enabled those bhiksus to recall past lives. They remembered having planted roots of virtue before five hundred Buddhas and dedicated them to unsurpassed enlightenment. At once they awakened and recovered their original resolve. They bowed at Vimalakirti’s feet.
“He then taught them further Dharma, and regarding unsurpassed enlightenment they no longer regressed. Since then I have thought: a sravaka who does not examine beings’ faculties should not teach Dharma. Therefore I am not fit to go.”
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The Buddha said to Mahakatyayana, “Go to Vimalakirti and inquire after his illness.”
Katyayana replied, “World-Honored One, I am not fit to go. I remember once the Buddha briefly explained key points of Dharma to bhiksus, and later I elaborated their meanings: impermanence, suffering, emptiness, no-self, and quiescent extinction.
“Vimalakirti came and said:
“‘Reverend Katyayana, do not use a mind of arising and ceasing to explain the Dharma of true reality.
“‘Katyayana, all dharmas ultimately do not arise and do not cease: this is the meaning of impermanence. The five aggregates of appropriation are thoroughly empty, with nothing that can arise: this is the meaning of suffering. All dharmas are ultimately without possession: this is the meaning of emptiness. Self and no-self are not dual: this is the meaning of no-self. Dharmas were never burning in the first place, and now are not extinguished: this is the meaning of quiescent extinction.’
“When he spoke thus, those bhiksus’ minds were liberated. Therefore I am not fit to go.”
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The Buddha said to Aniruddha, “Go to Vimalakirti and inquire after his illness.”
Aniruddha replied, “World-Honored One, I am not fit to go. I remember once, while walking meditation, a Brahma king named Adorned Purity came with ten thousand Brahmas, emitting pure light, bowed, and asked me: ‘Aniruddha, how far does your divine eye see?’
“I replied: ‘Noble one, I see this Buddha-land of Sakyamuni, the three-thousand great-thousand world-system, as clearly as seeing an amalaka fruit in the palm of my hand.’
“Then Vimalakirti came and said: ‘Reverend Aniruddha, what the divine eye sees, is it a conditioned mark or an unconditioned mark? If conditioned, then it is equal to the five superknowledges of non-Buddhists. If unconditioned, then it is non-acting, and there should be no seeing.’
“World-Honored One, I then remained silent. Those Brahmas, hearing him, marveled at what they had never heard, bowed to him, and asked: ‘Who in this world truly has the divine eye?’
“Vimalakirti said: ‘Only the Buddha, World-Honored One, has the true divine eye. Constantly abiding in samadhi, he sees all Buddha-lands without relying on dual marks.’
“Then Brahma king Adorned Purity and his retinue of five hundred Brahmas all brought forth unsurpassed enlightenment. After bowing at Vimalakirti’s feet, they suddenly disappeared. Therefore I am not fit to go.”
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The Buddha said to Upali, “Go to Vimalakirti and inquire after his illness.”
Upali replied, “World-Honored One, I am not fit to go. I remember once two bhiksus had violated discipline. Ashamed, they dared not ask the Buddha, so they came to me and said: ‘Reverend Upali, we have broken precepts and feel ashamed. We do not dare ask the Buddha. Please resolve our doubts and remorse so we may be freed of this fault.’ I then explained according to the rules.
“At that moment, Vimalakirti came and said:
“‘Reverend Upali, do not increase these two bhiksus’ offense. Remove it directly at once; do not disturb their minds. Why? The nature of offense is not within, not without, and not in between. As the Buddha has said: when mind is defiled, beings are defiled; when mind is pure, beings are pure. Mind too is not within, not without, and not in between. As with mind, so with defilement; as with defilement, so with all dharmas: none depart from thusness.
“‘Reverend Upali, when you gain liberation through mind’s true mark, is there any defilement?’
“I answered, ‘No.’
“He said, ‘The mind-mark of all beings is likewise without defilement.
“‘Reverend Upali, deluded thought is defilement; non-deluded thought is purity. Inversion is defilement; non-inversion is purity. Grasping at self is defilement; not grasping at self is purity.
“‘Upali, all dharmas arise and cease without abiding, like illusion, like lightning. Dharmas do not wait for one another; even in a single instant they do not stay. All dharmas are false appearances, like dreams, like flames, like moon in water, like images in a mirror, born from deluded imagination. One who knows this is truly one who upholds precepts. One who knows this is one who truly understands.’
“Then the two bhiksus said, ‘How sublime this wisdom! Upali cannot compare. Though foremost in discipline, he cannot teach like this!’
“I replied, ‘Aside from the Tathagata, no sravaka or bodhisattva can suppress his delight-in-speaking eloquence. His wisdom is this clear.’
“At that time the two bhiksus’ doubt and remorse were immediately removed, and they brought forth unsurpassed enlightenment, vowing that all beings might attain such eloquence. Therefore I am not fit to go.”
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The Buddha said to Rahula, “Go to Vimalakirti and inquire after his illness.”
Rahula replied, “World-Honored One, I am not fit to go. I remember once sons of elders from Vaisali came to me, bowed, and asked: ‘Reverend Rahula, you are the Buddha’s son. You renounced the position of wheel-turning king and left home to practice the Way. What benefits are there in leaving home?’
“I then taught them, according to Dharma, the merits and benefits of renunciation.
“Then Vimalakirti came and said:
“‘Reverend Rahula, you should not speak of the merits and benefits of leaving home. Why? Leaving home is precisely no-benefit and no-merit. In conditioned dharmas one may speak of benefit and merit. But leaving home is an unconditioned dharma. In the unconditioned there is no benefit and no merit.
“‘Rahula, to leave home is to be without this side, without that side, and without middle. It is to depart from sixty-two views and abide in nirvana. It is what the wise receive and the noble practice. It subdues all demons, crosses the five destinies, purifies the five eyes, obtains the five powers, establishes the five faculties, does not trouble others, leaves all mixed evils, destroys non-Buddhist paths, transcends false names, emerges from mire, is without bondage, without “mine,” without grasping, inwardly unconfused, rejoicing in protecting others’ minds, following meditative concentration, and apart from all faults. If one can do this, that is true leaving home.’
“Then Vimalakirti said to the elder sons: ‘You should all together leave home in right Dharma. Why? Because meeting a Buddha in the world is difficult.’
“They said, ‘Householder, we have heard the Buddha say that without parents’ consent one may not leave home.’
“Vimalakirti said, ‘That is so. Then you should now bring forth the mind of unsurpassed enlightenment. That itself is leaving home. That itself is complete ordination.’
“At that time, thirty-two elder sons all brought forth unsurpassed enlightenment. Therefore I am not fit to go.”
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The Buddha said to Ananda, “Go to Vimalakirti and inquire after his illness.”
Ananda replied, “World-Honored One, I am not fit to go. I remember once when the World-Honored One was slightly ill and needed cow’s milk. I took a bowl and stood at the gate of a great brahmin’s house.
“Then Vimalakirti came and asked: ‘Reverend Ananda, why are you standing here with a bowl so early in the morning?’
“I answered: ‘Householder, the World-Honored One is slightly ill and needs cow’s milk, so I have come here.’
“Vimalakirti said: ‘Stop, stop, Ananda, do not say such words! The Tathagata’s body is vajra-like. All evil has been cut off; all good fully gathered. How could there be illness? How could there be affliction?
“‘Go silently, Ananda. Do not slander the Tathagata. Do not let outsiders hear such coarse speech. Do not let mighty devas or bodhisattvas from pure lands of other directions hear this.
“‘Ananda, even a wheel-turning sage king, with only little merit, still has no illness. How much more the Tathagata, whose immeasurable merit surpasses all!
“‘Go, Ananda. Do not let us suffer this shame. If non-Buddhist ascetics hear this, they will think: “How can this be called a teacher? He cannot cure his own illness, yet claims to cure others!” Leave quickly and quietly; do not let anyone hear.
“‘Know this, Ananda: the bodies of all Tathagatas are Dharma-body, not bodies born of desire. Buddha is honored in the world, transcending the three realms. Buddha-body is without outflows; all outflows are ended. Buddha-body is unconditioned, not subject to categories. How could such a body have illness?’
“World-Honored One, at that time I felt deeply ashamed and thought perhaps I had wrongly heard despite being near the Buddha. Then I heard a voice in space saying: ‘Ananda, what the householder says is true. It is only because the Buddha appears in the evil world of five turbidities that he manifests this method in order to liberate beings.
“‘Go, Ananda. Receive the milk and do not be ashamed.’
“World-Honored One, Vimalakirti’s wisdom and eloquence are like this. Therefore I am not fit to go inquire after his illness.”
Thus the five hundred great disciples, one by one, each told the Buddha his former encounter and recounted Vimalakirti’s words. All said, “We are not fit to go inquire after his illness.”