Vimalakirti

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Vimalakirti, 8th century wall painting, Dunhuang

Vimalakīrti (Sanskrit: विमल vimala "stainless, undefiled" + कीर्ति kīrti "fame, glory, reputation") is the central figure in the Vimalakirti Sutra,[1] which presents him as the ideal Mahayana Buddhist upāsaka ("lay practitioner")[2] and a contemporary of Gautama Buddha (6th to 5th century BCE).[1] There is no mention of him in Buddhist texts until after Nāgārjuna (1st century BCE to 2nd century CE) revived Mahayana Buddhism in India.[3]

Vimalakīrti is characterized as a wealthy patron of Gautama Buddha.[4] Unlike many other figures of the Mahayana literature, such as Avalokiteśvara, he is generally taken to be a historic, rather than mythic, figure and is not commonly venerated on altars nor in tantric rituals.[5]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>