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Jul 2, 2022
Martin Goodson

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra | Martin Goodson

Stories Retold

The Zen Gateway re-tells this dream like sutra for the modern reader.

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The Holy Scripture of Vimalakirti

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
Our retelling of the Vimalakirti Nirdesa returns. In this episode, the Buddha shows an assembled crowd a vision of cosmic proportions.

The Purification of the Buddha Field

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
If the Buddha field is the pure and luminous aspect of the mind, how can impurities exist within it? The Buddha explains in this episode of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra.

Introducing the Man Himself: Vimalakīrti

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
Having sensed the presence of the Buddha, the Bodhisattva, businessman and lay practitioner Vimalakirti, sets in motion a crafty plan to teach the Dharma to all.

Vimalakirti Diagnoses his Illness

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
The Bodhisattva’s sudden illness even has the King worried, what is Vimalakirti up to?

The Reluctance of Visitors | Part 1

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
Having heard news of Vimalakirti’s illness, the Buddha sends his top men to find out what’s wrong with the Boddhisatva, but all the Arhats seem suspiciously reluctant to go.

The Reluctance of Visitors | Part 2

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
All the Buddha’s disciples are too scared face Vimalakirti’s Dharma power, surely the future Buddha Maitreya will have what it takes to speak with the Boddhisatva. 

Vimalakirti Does Some Spring Cleaning

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
The magical powers of the Boddhisatva's are now on full display, but where do these miracles come from?

Sariputra Wants a Chair and Gets a Throne

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
In this episode the essence of what the Zen masters taught is revealed.

The Family of the Tathagatas

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
The Buddha committed murder in one of his previous lives. How could committing such a heinous act help deliver beings into full Buddhahood?

The Dharma Door of Non-duality

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
Bodhisatva’s gather from all four corners of the universe to explain how to reach the ‘door of non-duality’ and how to step through it.

The Perfume Feast

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
Why does the ‘taxing’ nature of our world make it possible to achieve Buddhahood in one lifetime? Find out in this week’s episode of the Vimalikirti Sutra.

Sermon on the Destructible and the Indestructible

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
In this episode, the Buddha explains how Bodhisattvas can live fully in the worlds of suffering and death, without suffering themselves.

A Vision of the Universe: Abhirati and the Tathagata Akshobhya

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
If looking for the Buddha nature is impossible then how do we find it?
Next

The Family of the Tathagatas

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra
From the series

The Family of the Tathagatas

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra

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Further reading

Verses from the Dhammapada 6

Zen training offers the opportunity to become familiar with death from moment to moment, eventually bringing peace to the mind.

Verses from the Dhammapada 184

Patience means throwing out all expectations, whether positive or negative. When we wholeheartedly give ourselves away, the boundless energy of choiceless awareness tirelessly sees and responds to all. Compassion flows.

Verses from the Dhammapada 96

The Search for Peace
In freeing the lion from its thorn, Androcles frees himself—fear becomes friendship.

The Heart that Doesn’t Settle Anywhere

A Celebration of the Buddha’s Birthday
In the more northern climes of the Buddhist world, spring is a natural time of year to celebrate a birth/re-birth as the world comes alive after the dark, cold winter months.