Buddhist Teachings of Vimalakirti

Buddhist wisdom transported to some new key

THE STORY of the enlightened layman Vimalakirti is remodelled below. For the source text, see the end part of the page.

THE ENLIGHTENED One once visited a great garden. He was attended by a major gathering. Among them were seven thousand holy minstrels that had attained the utmost perfection of every form of mind control.

Of near-experts there were more than thirty-four thousand. They were considered to be great spiritual warriors and heroes and universally acclaimed. They were dedicated through the penetrating activity of their great superknowledges and were sustained by the grace of the Enlightened One. Without having to be asked, they were natural spiritual benefactors of many living beings. They maintained unbroken the succession of the Four Mugs, conquering devils and foes and overwhelming all critics. They had attained the intuitive tolerance of the ultimate incomprehensibility of all things, except this study.

And they were stamped with the insignia of signlessness.

They were expert in knowing the spiritual faculties of all living beings. They were brave with the confidence that overawes all assemblies. Their voices were perfect in diction and resonance, and versatile in speaking all languages. They had penetrated the profound principle of relativity and had destroyed the persistence of the instinctual mental habits underlying all convictions concerning finitude and infinitude. They were the best captains at sea, fit for discovering the treasures of right dealings. They were expert in modern ways of right dealings, which are straight, peaceful, subtle, gentle, and much caressing may be hard to see and come by.

They had the wisdom that's able to understand the thoughts of living beings. They could think out and resolve to go for right dealings appropriately.

They were inexhaustible mines of limitless virtues, and they conferred great benefit when seen, heard, or even approached.

There were also gathered there ten thousand Creators, at their head King Gnosis, who had come from the subtle universe to see, estimate, maybe venerate and serve the Enlightened One carefully and full well to hear of right dealings from his own lips. There were twelve thousand mighty entities and other powerful beings. It goes too far to name them all - shan't we say that?

Finally, there were such as laywomen.

The Enlightened One sat among these living entities, sat on a majestic lion-throne where he often shone, radiated and glittered as a jewel in the flesh.

Suddenly the ten thousands of parasols given to him there became one too many, became transformed into a single precious canopy so great that it formed a covering for this entire billion-world galaxy -

Things turned ready for jolly good teachings of right dealings. Through the supernatural power of the Enlightened One, the entire host was ecstatic, enraptured, and withdrew to one side with palms pressed together, and gazed on him with fixed attention. One of those who were there, praised him with the following hymn.

Pure are your eyes,
You affirm the path of peace:
Be no puppet.

Bull of men, we behold your miracle revealed.
Your extensive spiritual teachings should lead to immortality.

You value fair dealings of all living beings close to your heart.
Expert in the deep analysis of things, you teach their ultimate meaning.
What more can I say?

Things arise, they're phenomena.
In many a sense they're pretense-playthings,
neither good or evil.
That's quite a teaching.

You delved into the fountain of youth and meant to bottle it somehow.
These existential exploits are nowhere realized by wogmims.
You brought out incredible jewels to help mankind -
Puff! Bad holdup-men arrested your ends,

Let there be more feelings, thoughts and mental processes.
Then, hail!

It may pay be remain rather unmoved by sordid surroundings, honour or scorn,
Doing one's "thing" anyway.
Poised in equanimity, that advancing sky inside.
Honour such a precious jewel of a being?

Great sage, your countenance sincere in faith,
Acts of speaking dries the lips,
Some merely develop an instinct for teaching, other win more,
And few living beings win realization of how things are done in favourable mean-strokes,
Perhaps in full accordance with the way of Laotse -

Hail to you who have cut the bondage, gone beyond on firm ground!
Mind is liberated from space -
Hail to the one who stands seemingly nowhere,
Quite like infinite space we often think of.

The Enlightened One,

"Good, good, young man! Your question looks good. So listen well and remember! The instinctive field is replete with brave fathers - not just of mature folks. It's a field deep inside, and peopled with special sorts of living beings.

"It pays to be well allied with the magnificent and minds that matter. When someone attains enlightenment, living beings who are actually participating in his surroundings nearby, can or should be found to "swim" inside his instinct field, and maybe they contribute there in some unwelcome ways too.

"A thinker's instinct field is a field of generosity and great tolerance. When he attains enlightenment, living beings with the transcendences of tolerance, discipline of warm-hearted meditation and leads into super wisdom.

"It helps to live by love, compassion, joy, and impartiality of transcendent unification a little bit.

"Besides, much depends on one's skill in some all right liberative technique.

"There are many good aids to enlightenment. Living beings who devote their efforts to cultivating proper, fit mindfulness and other supreme efforts tied in with it, can and should win enlightenment, and the eight branches of dedication.

"Right doctrine can be found to eradicat many kinds of adversities, and some seem to lie inside his instinct field.

"A thinker's instinct field is maintained by personal observance of sound norms of living, and some such norms come in the garb of precepts.

"One should not blame others to one's heart's content for their transgressions. Maybe the word 'crime' or 'terror' should never be mentioned.

"Ten virtues make a difference and may be found to matter:

1. To remain steady or secure in long life often helps us on;
2. To remain great in wealth often helps: For the lack of wealth some flounder and others turn mean and ugly - of not depraved;
3. It's very fit and appropriate to behave nicely and much chaste in conduct;
4. True and fit speech is found to be appropriate and often favourable;
5. To be soft-spoken tames none;
6. One should try to remain free from divisive intrigues and excel in things better;
7. Enlightening conversations is a boon;
8. One should do one's best, no matter what others decree at times;
9. A fare free from envy and malice is quite much;
10. Having rather perfect and not obsolete views is a boon more often than not.

"Thus, noble son, be productive, very productive, and attain to and preserve positive thought. Much depends on happy, successful and sane application - it can be termed virtuous application.

"Further know the value of high resolve: Aim high enough. Others may want you otherwise. That doesn't matter. Be determined to accomplish your golden (handy) aims, and steady in your meted out practice towards that. Go as far as you can; it often matters. If your dedication doesn't flounder, try to stick to hidden, liberative techniques you come across, or make a blend of the best ones - or the good ones if best help is absent for the time. It often happens.

"Truly liberative techniques are found to develop living beings in some ways. They should purify inside our instinct field in that ongoing process. Then, it doesn't help to be absent.

"The purity of his instinct field reflects the purity of living beings; the purity of his gnosis and his doctrine; these things are often related to one's transcendental practice which in turn tends to depend on or mirror the advancing purity of the deep-layered mind inside."

Thereupon, magically influenced by the Viking forefather, the thinker Adroit saw: "How could this very pure, tender-hearted instinct field appear to be impure?"

The Buddha, knowing telepathically the thought, said to him,

"Mind is deep. Thought is shallow. Be careful so that you don't break your back. What? Do you think, Sariputra? No, it's not so. Think "Thinking is done to me from deep down inside" instead.

"The fault lies with those that are blind and try to blind the goodness of others. Some living beings don't behold the splendid display of virtues.

"Say that the instinct field of the Tathagata is "impure is pure" - like Highest Heaven inside a piece of wood - I see the instinct field of the Enlightened One as equal to the spendour of highest heaven and those who live there. I see this great earth, this spendour - a display of medleys as there has never been before.

"That instinct field is always rather pure, it's a precious vessel that contains the conformative intolerance and at times tolerance of ultimate birthlessness of born beings immersed in but magical creations after all, unexcelled - can it be called unrivalled dream-stuff? I should say no and I should say so."

Literature  

Thurman, Robert A. F., tr. Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti: Mahayana Scripture. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1976. [www3.l0pht.com/~gil/vimlkrti.html]



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