A Variety of Bodhisattvas Depicted in the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa

Abstract

The Vimalakīrtinirdeśa is certainly one of the most popular early Mahāyāna sūtras and, compared to what is considered as the tradition, has a quite unique narrative style and a story setting. Just like the unorthodoxy of this sūtra, bodhisattvas depicted in the story are not only many and various but also very unusual and remarkable. Surprisingly, and despite its popularity, hardly any prior studies have shed light on this topic. There are few previous researches that discussed the bodhisattva doctrine expounded in the sūtra. Their focus, however, is placed mainly on Vimalakīrti himself as the ideal of a Mahāyāna bodhisattva.

Therefore, in this paper, it is intended firstly to outline such diversity of bodhisattvas, including those from other Buddha Lands, and secondly to examine the two bodhisattva types (mudrā) of this world described in the text, by comparing them with the four stages of bodhisattva development seen in the early Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.