- Paperback: 182 pages
- Publisher: Columbia University Press; New Ed edition (9 Jan 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0231106572
- ISBN-13: 978-0231106573
- Product Dimensions: 21.7 x 13.9 x 1.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 793,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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"A new translation of any of the classics... from the hand of Burton Watson is an event to be welcomed with gratitude." -- "Journal for Asian Studies"
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One of the most popular Asian classics for roughly two thousand years, the Vimalakirti Sutra stands out among the sacred texts of Mahayana Buddhism for its conciseness, its vivid and humorous episodes, its dramatic narratives, and its eloquent exposition of the key doctrine of emptiness or nondualism. Unlike most sutras, its central figure is not a Buddha but a wealthy townsman, who, in his mastery of doctrine and religious practice, epitomizes the ideal lay believer. For this reason, the sutra has held particular significance for men and women of the laity in Buddhist countries of Asia, assuring them that they can reach levels of spiritual attainment fully comparable to those accessible to monks and nuns of the monastic order. Esteemed translator Burton Watson has rendered a beautiful English translation from the popular Chinese version produced in 406 C.E. by the Central Asian scholar-monk Kumarajiva, which is widely acknowledged to be the most felicitous of the various Chinese translations of the sutra (the Sanskrit original of which was lost long ago) and is the form in which it has had the greatest influence in China, Japan, and other countries of East Asia. Watson's illuminating introduction discusses the background of the sutra, its place in the development of Buddhist thought, and the profundities of its principal doctrine: emptiness.
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At one time the Buddha was in the Amra Gardens in the city of Vaishali, accompanied by a multitude of leading monks numbering eight thousand. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
At one time the Buddha was in the Amra Gardens in the city of Vaishali, accompanied by a multitude of leading monks numbering eight thousand. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
I think that I couldn't gather good arguments for sunyata from reading this book. I believe that I may not have properly understood some passages in the text. I shall have to read the text again, since the Vimalakirti is considered *the* sutra on emptiness. Especially chapter 9 may be considered a good defense of sunyata. So take the following arguments as you wish.
I believe that the text creates an ambiguity in its defence of emptiness. Sometimes it seems to consider that the world is empty of all characteristics whatsoever, which would fall into a nihilistic view not supported by either conventional reality or the buddhist teachings. At other times it takes emptiness to mean "voidness of inherent existence", or "lack of soul" or "lack of a priori existence", which is indeed the correct understanding of sunyata in buddhist teachings.
I have wondered at times if the two views are one and the same. In some cases the two might seem to overlap. But I think they are quite different. The problem is I think, of putting things in their correct conceptual "boxes". Emptiness of inherent existence is a subset of general nihilistic emptiness, and while the first is true of conventional reality, the second isn't.
I have found The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika to be a much more focused and thorough, but also more demanding, exposition of sunyata. However a different edition of the Vimalakirti Sutra is included in the bibliography of Nagarjuna's book.
As for this book, it has few notes and only an in-house bibliography, but it does contain a glossary and an interesting introduction.
I believe that the text creates an ambiguity in its defence of emptiness. Sometimes it seems to consider that the world is empty of all characteristics whatsoever, which would fall into a nihilistic view not supported by either conventional reality or the buddhist teachings. At other times it takes emptiness to mean "voidness of inherent existence", or "lack of soul" or "lack of a priori existence", which is indeed the correct understanding of sunyata in buddhist teachings.
I have wondered at times if the two views are one and the same. In some cases the two might seem to overlap. But I think they are quite different. The problem is I think, of putting things in their correct conceptual "boxes". Emptiness of inherent existence is a subset of general nihilistic emptiness, and while the first is true of conventional reality, the second isn't.
I have found The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika to be a much more focused and thorough, but also more demanding, exposition of sunyata. However a different edition of the Vimalakirti Sutra is included in the bibliography of Nagarjuna's book.
As for this book, it has few notes and only an in-house bibliography, but it does contain a glossary and an interesting introduction.
Format:Paperback
"One of the most popular Asian classics for roughly two thousand years, the Vimalakirti Sutra [or Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra] stands out among the sacred texts of Mahayana Buddhism for its conciseness, its vivid and humorous episodes, its dramatic narratives, and its eloquent exposition of the key doctrine of emptiness or nondualism. Unlike most sutras, its central figure is not a Buddha but a wealthy townsman, who, in his mastery of doctrine and religious practice, epitomizes the ideal lay believer. For this reason, the sutra has held particular significance for men and women of the laity in Buddhist countries of Asia, assuring them that they can reach levels of spiritual attainment fully comparable to those accessible to monks and nuns of the monastic order.
Esteemed translator Burton Watson has rendered a beautiful English translation from the popular Chinese version produced in 406 C.E. by the Central Asian scholar-monk Kumarajiva, which is widely acknowledged to be the most felicitous of the various Chinese translations of the sutra (the Sanskrit original of which was lost long ago) and is the form in which it has had the greatest influence in China, Japan, and other countries of East Asia. Watson's illuminating introduction discusses the background of the sutra, its place in the development of Buddhist thought, and the profundities of its principal doctrine: emptiness."
- from the back cover
A fine translation of one of the most popular sutras of East Asian Buddhism. This sutra is particularly applicable to lay students of Buddhism because it teaches that people in the secular life can practice Buddhism as effectively as members of monastic communities. Another fine translation which may be of interest is Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra: Ordinary Enlightenment - A Translation of the "Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra" by Charles Luk.
Burton Watson (b. 1925) is an accomplished translator of Chinese and Japanese literature and poetry. He has received awards including the Gold Medal Award of the Translation Center at Columbia University in 1979, the PEN Translation Prize in 1981 for his translation with Hiroaki Sato of From the Country of Eight Islands: An Anthology of Japanese Poetry, and again in 1995 for Selected Poems of Su Tung-p'o.
Esteemed translator Burton Watson has rendered a beautiful English translation from the popular Chinese version produced in 406 C.E. by the Central Asian scholar-monk Kumarajiva, which is widely acknowledged to be the most felicitous of the various Chinese translations of the sutra (the Sanskrit original of which was lost long ago) and is the form in which it has had the greatest influence in China, Japan, and other countries of East Asia. Watson's illuminating introduction discusses the background of the sutra, its place in the development of Buddhist thought, and the profundities of its principal doctrine: emptiness."
- from the back cover
A fine translation of one of the most popular sutras of East Asian Buddhism. This sutra is particularly applicable to lay students of Buddhism because it teaches that people in the secular life can practice Buddhism as effectively as members of monastic communities. Another fine translation which may be of interest is Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra: Ordinary Enlightenment - A Translation of the "Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra" by Charles Luk.
Burton Watson (b. 1925) is an accomplished translator of Chinese and Japanese literature and poetry. He has received awards including the Gold Medal Award of the Translation Center at Columbia University in 1979, the PEN Translation Prize in 1981 for his translation with Hiroaki Sato of From the Country of Eight Islands: An Anthology of Japanese Poetry, and again in 1995 for Selected Poems of Su Tung-p'o.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
9 reviews
41 of 43 people found the following review helpful
One of the best sutras - intelligent, funny
29 Jan 2001
Format:Paperback
Vimalakirti is not only one of the most popular sutras in Buddhism, but it is also one of the easiest to read, most enlightening and at the same time full of humor. Vimalakirti was a Boddhisattva who decides to pretend he is sick so that others will come to him, learn, and achieve enlightenment. Among those who come along is Sariputra, a disciple of the Buddha, who is treated rather irreverently in the sutra. He just doesn't get anything, and his blindness is used in the sutra as a method for teaching. Thus, when he sees a goddess he asks her why she doesn't get rid of her female form (for a male one, since he thinks that would be better). She answers him by changing herself into a male form and Sariputra into a female form, then she mocks him with his own question. The poor guy is bewildered. She then changes him back and explains how neither male nor female is anything, and thereby helps Sariputra along his way to enlightenment by showing the blindness of his sexism.
The highpoint of the sutra is when all the various boddhisattvas are asked how to understand the non-dual dharma. They spout their wisdom one by one, saying how it is neither this nor that, neither this nor that, etc., until finally it comes to Vimalakirti's turn. At that moment, he says nothing and remains silent. "Ah," says Manjusri, "only when words are overcome can we understand the non-dual dharma."
Well, what can I say. I highly recommend this wonderful sutra. Whether you are a Buddhist or just interested in religious texts, this makes for a great read. If I made it seem just hilarious, it's actually also really deep stuff and it will make you think.
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
The lay person's Way
16 Feb 2000
Format:Hardcover
Vimalakirti is the name of an ordinary householder who managed to achieve the bodhisattva level of enlightenment without ever renouncing his family life. In this sutra, many thousands of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to hear the teachings offered by this maverick sage. His achievements fly in the face of the customary buddhist injunctions to leave the world and take up the monastic life in order to reach enlightenment. This ancient text has always been one of Buddhism's most popular sutras. And it is easy to see why. Not only does Vimalakirti champion the lifestyle lived by the majority of Buddhists--the laity--he delivers his teachings in a way that is often quite humorous, sometimes bordering on a blatent disrespect for the status quo of the buddhist monastic institution. This is a great book to use in classes on Buddhism, as well as those on folk/popular religious traditions. Watson's translation makes for very enjoyable reading!
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
So good you can read it out loud to friends
16 April 2005
Format:Paperback
Although I have a slight preference for the magnificent translation of this very funny and insightful sutra by Columbia University's Robert Thurman, this translation by Burton Watson was the first version that I read. And re-read--many times. Once you enter into the story, it is remarkably funny. One disciple after another declines Lord Buddha's request to go see the "ailing bodhisattva", Vimalakirti. "Why?" they say, why won't they go see Vimalakirti? Each has a different reason, but in short, they won't go because the last time they ran into this fellow, he gave them a very hard time indeed about whatever they were doing, said things that they are still puzzling over, and enlightened many thousands of listeners in the process. Those readers who are familiar with the puzzles of Zen koans will be at home with many of the dichotomies, but this narrative goes much further than just short anecdotes for meditation. The entire way of the Bodhisattva is spelled out in the pages of this book in unforgettable detail. It is one of the earliest and greatest works of Mahayana Buddhism with many of the key ideas that would be developed later schools like the Madhyamika.
I highly recommend both translations to all serious dharma students.
I highly recommend both translations to all serious dharma students.
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