Vimalakīrti

Vimalakīrti

དྲི་མེད་གྲགས་པ་

Vimalakīrti is the central figure in the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, one of the most beloved Mahāyāna sutras, and is presented as a lay practitioner and wealthy patron of Gautama Buddha (6th to 5th century BCE). The caves in Dunhuang have multiple depictions of Vimalakīrti in dialogue with Manjushri. Other than the Vimalakīrti Sutra mentioning the city of Vaisali as where the Licchavi Vimalakīrti was residing, there is very little historical information known about him.

Mahāyāna - Mahāyāna, or the Great Vehicle, refers to the system of Buddhist thought and practice which developed around the beginning of Common Era, focusing on the pursuit of the state of full enlightenment of the Buddha through the realization of the wisdom of emptiness and the cultivation of compassion. Skt महायान  Tib ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ།  Ch 大乘  

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