Then, the Buddha said to the crown prince, Mañjuśrī, “Mañjuśrī, go to the Licchavi Vimalakīrti to inquire about his illness.”

Mañjuśrī replied, “Lord, it is difficult to attend upon the Licchavi Vimalakīrti. He is gifted with marvelous eloquence concerning the law of the profound. He is extremely skilled in full expressions and in the reconciliation of dichotomies. His eloquence is inexorable, and no one can resist his imperturbable intellect. He accomplishes all the activities of the bodhisattvas. He penetrates all the secret mysteries of the bodhisattvas and the buddhas. He is skilled in civilizing all the abodes of devils. He plays with the great superknowledges. He is consummate in wisdom and liberative art. He has attained the supreme excellence of the indivisible, nondual sphere of the ultimate realm. He is skilled in teaching the Dharma with its infinite modalities within the uniform ultimate. He is skilled in granting means of attainment in accordance with the spiritual faculties of all living beings. He has thoroughly integrated his realization with skill in liberative art. He has attained decisiveness with regard to all questions. Thus, although he cannot be withstood by someone of my feeble defenses, still, sustained by the grace of the Buddha, I will go to him and will converse with him as well as I can.”

Thereupon, in that assembly, the bodhisattvas, the great disciples, the Śakras, the Brahmās, the Lokapālas, and the gods and goddesses, all had this thought: “Surely the conversations of the crown prince Mañjuśrī and that good man will result in a profound teaching of the Dharma.”

Thus, eight thousand bodhisattvas, five hundred disciples, a great number of Śakras, Brahmās, Lokapālas, and many hundreds of thousands of gods and goddesses, all followed the crown prince Mañjuśrī to listen to the Dharma. And the crown prince Mañjuśrī, surrounded and followed by these bodhisattvas, disciples, Śakras, Brahmās, Lokapālas, gods, and goddesses, entered the great city of Vaiśālī.

Meanwhile, the Licchavi Vimalakīrti thought to himself, “Mañjuśrī, the crown prince, is coming here with numerous attendants. Now, may this house be transformed into emptiness!”

Then, magically his house became empty. Even the doorkeeper disappeared. And, except for the invalid’s couch upon which Vimalakīrti himself was lying, no bed or couch or seat could be seen anywhere.

Then, the Licchavi Vimalakīrti saw the crown prince Mañjuśrī and addressed him thus: “Mañjuśrī! Welcome, Mañjuśrī! You are very welcome! Here you are, without previously having come, been seen, or been heard.

Mañjuśrī declared, “Householder, it is as you say. Who comes, ultimately comes not. Who goes, ultimately goes not. Why? Coming is not really known in coming, and going is not really known in going. What is seen is not to be seen again, ultimately.

“Good sir, is your condition tolerable? Is it livable? Are your physical elements not disturbed? Is your sickness diminishing? Is it not increasing? The Buddha asks about you—if you have slight trouble, slight discomfort, slight sickness, if your distress is light, if you are cared for, strong, at ease, without self-reproach, and if you are living in touch with the supreme happiness.

“Householder, whence came this sickness of yours? How long will it continue? How does it stand? How can it be alleviated?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “Mañjuśrī, my sickness comes from ignorance and the thirst for existence and it will last as long as do the sicknesses of all living beings. Were all living beings to be free from sickness, I also would not be sick. Why? Mañjuśrī, for the bodhisattva, the world consists only of living beings, and sickness is inherent in living in the world. Were all living beings free of sickness, the bodhisattva also would be free of sickness. For example, Mañjuśrī, when the only son of a merchant is sick, both his parents become sick on account of the sickness of their son. And the parents will suffer as long as that only son does not recover from his sickness. Just so, Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva loves all living beings as if each were his only child. He becomes sick when they are sick and is cured when they are cured. You ask me, Mañjuśrī, whence comes my sickness; the sicknesses of the bodhisattvas arise from great compassion.”

Mañjuśrī: Householder, why is your house empty? Why have you no servants?

Vimalakīrti: Mañjuśrī, all buddhafields are also empty.

Mañjuśrī: What makes them empty?

Vimalakīrti: They are empty because of emptiness.

Mañjuśrī: What is “empty” about emptiness?

Vimalakīrti: Constructions are empty, because of emptiness.

Mañjuśrī: Can emptiness be conceptually constructed?

Vimalakīrti: Even that concept is itself empty, and emptiness cannot construct emptiness.

Mañjuśrī: Householder, where should emptiness be sought?

Vimalakīrti: Mañjuśrī, emptiness should be sought among the sixty-two convictions.

Mañjuśrī: Where should the sixty-two convictions be sought?

Vimalakīrti: They should be sought in the liberation of the tathāgatas.

Mañjuśrī: Where should the liberation of the tathāgatas be sought?

Vimalakīrti: It should be sought in the prime mental activity of all living beings. Mañjuśrī, you ask me why I am without servants, but all māras and opponents are my servants. Why? The māras advocate this life of birth and death and the bodhisattva does not avoid life. The outsider opponents advocate convictions, and the bodhisattva is not troubled by convictions. Therefore, all māras and opponents are my servants.

Mañjuśrī: Householder, of what sort is your sickness?

Vimalakīrti: It is immaterial and invisible.

Mañjuśrī: Is it physical or mental?

Vimalakīrti: It is not physical, since the body is insubstantial in itself. It is not mental, since the nature of the mind is like illusion.

Mañjuśrī: Householder, which of the four main elements is disturbed: earth, water, fire, or air?

Vimalakīrti: Mañjuśrī, I am sick only because the elements of living beings are disturbed by sicknesses.

Mañjuśrī: Householder, how should a bodhisattva console another bodhisattva who is sick?

Vimalakīrti: He should tell him that the body is impermanent, but should not exhort him to renunciation or disgust. He should tell him that the body is miserable, but should not encourage him to find solace in liberation; that the body is selfless, but that living beings should be developed; that the body is peaceful, but not to seek any ultimate calm. He should tell him to confess his evil deeds, but not just to escape them. He should encourage his empathy for all living beings on account of his own sickness, his remembrance of suffering experienced from beginningless time, and his consciousness of working for the welfare of living beings. He should encourage him to manifest the roots of virtue, to maintain the primal purity and the lack of craving, and thus to always strive to become the king of healers, who can cure all sicknesses. Thus should a bodhisattva console a sick bodhisattva, in such a way as to make him happy.

Mañjuśrī asked, “‌Noble sir, how should a sick bodhisattva control his own mind?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “Mañjuśrī, a sick bodhisattva should control his own mind with the following consideration: Sickness arises from total involvement in the process of misunderstanding from beginningless time. It arises from the afflictions that result from unreal mental constructions, and hence ultimately nothing is perceived which can be said to be sick. Why? The body is the issue of the four main elements, and in these elements there is no owner and no agent. There is no self in this body, and, except for arbitrary insistence on self, ultimately no ‘I’ which can be said to be sick can be apprehended. Therefore, thinking, ‘ “I” should not adhere to any self, and “I” should rest in the knowledge of the root of illness,’ he should abandon the conception of himself as a personality and produce the conception of himself as a thing, thinking, ‘This body is an aggregate of many things. When it is born, only things are born; when it ceases, only things cease. These things have no awareness or feeling of each other. When they are born, they do not think, “I am born”; when they cease, they do not think, “I cease.” ’

“Furthermore, he should understand thoroughly the conception of himself as a thing by cultivating the following consideration: ‘Just as in the case of the conception of “self,” so the conception of “thing” is also a misunderstanding, and this misunderstanding is also a grave sickness; I should free myself from this sickness and should strive to abandon it.’

“What is the elimination of this sickness? It is the elimination of egoism and possessiveness. What is the elimination of egoism and possessiveness? It is the freedom from dualism. What is freedom from dualism? It is the absence of involvement with either the external or the internal. What is absence of involvement with either external or internal? It is non-deviation, non-fluctuation, and non-distraction from sameness. What is sameness? It is the sameness of everything from self to liberation. Why? Because both self and liberation are void. How can both be void? As verbal designations, they both are void, and neither is established in reality. Therefore, one who sees such sameness makes no difference between sickness and voidness; his sickness is itself voidness, and that sickness as voidness is itself void.

“The sick bodhisattva should recognize that sensation is ultimately nonsensation, but he should not realize the cessation of sensation. Although both pleasure and pain are abandoned when the buddha-qualities are fully accomplished, there is then no sacrifice of the great compassion for all living beings living in the bad migrations. Thus, recognizing in his own suffering the infinite sufferings of these living beings, the bodhisattva correctly contemplates these living beings and resolves to cure all sicknesses.

“As for these living beings, there is nothing to be applied, and there is nothing to be removed; one has only to teach them the Dharma for them to realize the basis from which sicknesses arise. What is this basis? It is object-perception. To the extent that a basis of object-perception is objectified, it is the basis of sickness. What is it that is objectified? The three realms of existence are objectified. What is the thorough understanding of the basis of that object-perception? It is its nonperception, as one does not objectify a thing that is not perceived. What does one not perceive? One does not perceive the two views, the view of the self and the view of the other. Therefore, it is called nonperception.

“Mañjuśrī, thus should a sick bodhisattva control his own mind in order to overcome old age, sickness, death, and birth. Such, Mañjuśrī, is the sickness of the bodhisattva. If he takes it otherwise, all his efforts will be in vain. Just as one is called ‘hero’ when one overcomes all enemies, so, too, one is called ‘bodhisattva’ when one conquers the miseries of aging, sickness, and death.

“The sick bodhisattva should tell himself: ‘Just as my sickness is unreal and nonexistent, so the sicknesses of all living beings are unreal and nonexistent.’ Through such considerations, he arouses the great compassion toward all living beings without falling into any sentimental compassion, but instead, arouses great compassion toward all living beings through striving to eliminate the incidental afflictions. Why? Because great compassion that falls into sentimentally purposive views only exhausts the bodhisattva in his reincarnations. But the great compassion that is free of involvement with sentimentally purposive views does not exhaust the bodhisattva in all his reincarnations. He does not reincarnate through involvement with such views but reincarnates with his mind free of involvement. Hence, even his reincarnation is like a liberation. Being reincarnated as if being liberated, he has the power and ability to teach the Dharma that liberates living beings from their bondage. As the Lord declares: ‘It is not possible for one who is himself bound to deliver others from their bondage. But one who is himself liberated is able to liberate others from their bondage.’ Therefore, the bodhisattva should participate in liberation and should not participate in bondage.

“What is bondage? And what is liberation? To indulge in liberation from the world without employing liberative art is bondage for the bodhisattva. To engage in life in the world with full employment of liberative art is liberation for the bodhisattva. To experience the taste of contemplation, meditation, and concentration without skill in liberative art is bondage. To experience the taste of contemplation and meditation with skill in liberative art is liberation. Wisdom not integrated with liberative art is bondage, but wisdom integrated with liberative art is liberation. Liberative art not integrated with wisdom is bondage, but liberative art integrated with wisdom is liberation.

“How is wisdom not integrated with liberative art a bondage? Wisdom not integrated with liberative art consists of concentration on voidness, signlessness, and wishlessness, and yet it fails to concentrate on cultivation of the auspicious signs and marks, on the adornment of the buddhafield, and on the work of development of living beings—and it is bondage.

“How is wisdom integrated with liberative art a liberation? Wisdom integrated with liberative art consists of concentration on cultivation of the auspicious signs and marks, on the adornment of the buddhafield, and on the work of development of living beings, all the while concentrating on deep investigation of voidness, signlessness, and wishlessness—and it is liberation.

“What is the bondage of liberative art not integrated with wisdom? The bondage of liberative art not integrated with wisdom consists of the bodhisattva’s planting of the roots of virtue without dedicating them for the sake of enlightenment, while living in the grip of dogmatic convictions, passions, attachments, resentments, and their subconscious instincts.

“What is the liberation of liberative art integrated with wisdom? The liberation of liberative art integrated with wisdom consists of the bodhisattva’s dedication of his roots of virtue for the sake of enlightenment, without taking any pride therein, while forgoing all convictions, passions, attachments, resentments, and their subconscious instincts.

“Mañjuśrī, thus should the sick bodhisattva consider things. His wisdom is the consideration of body, mind, and sickness as impermanent, miserable, empty, and selfless. His liberative art consists of not exhausting himself by trying to avoid all physical sickness, and of applying himself to accomplish the benefit of living beings, without interrupting the cycle of reincarnations. Furthermore, his wisdom lies in understanding that body, mind, and sickness are neither new nor old, whether considered simultaneously or sequentially. And his liberative art lies in not seeking pacification or cessation of body, mind, or sicknesses.

“That, Mañjuśrī, is the way a sick bodhisattva should concentrate his mind; he should live neither in control of his mind, nor in indulgence of his mind. Why? To live by indulging the mind is proper for fools and to live in control of the mind is proper for the disciples. Therefore, the bodhisattva should live neither in control nor in indulgence of his mind. Not living in either of the two extremes is the domain of the bodhisattva.

“Not the domain of the ordinary individual and not the domain of the arhat, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the world yet not the domain of the afflictions, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. Where one understands liberation, yet does not enter final and complete liberation, there is the domain of the bodhisattva. Where the four māras manifest, yet where all the works of māras are transcended, there is the domain of the bodhisattva. Where one seeks the gnosis of omniscience, yet does not attain this gnosis at the wrong time, there is the domain of the bodhisattva. Where one knows the four noble truths, yet does not realize those truths at the wrong time, there is the domain of the bodhisattva. A domain of introspective insight, wherein one does not arrest voluntary reincarnation in the world, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. A domain where one realizes birthlessness, yet does not become destined for the ultimate, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. Where one sees relativity without entertaining any convictions, there is the domain of the bodhisattva. Where one associates with all beings, yet keeps free of all afflictive instincts, there is the domain of the bodhisattva. A domain of solitude with no place for the exhaustion of body and mind, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the triple world, yet indivisible from the ultimate realm, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of voidness, yet where one cultivates all types of virtues, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of signlessness, where one keeps in sight the deliverance of all living beings, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of wishlessness, where one voluntarily manifests lives in the world, such is the domain of the bodhisattva.

“A domain essentially without undertaking, yet where all the roots of virtue are undertaken without interruption, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the six transcendences, where one attains the transcendence of the thoughts and actions of all living beings, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the six superknowledges, wherein defilements are not exhausted, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of living by the holy Dharma, without even perceiving any evil paths, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the four immeasurables, where one does not accept rebirth in the heaven of Brahmā, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the six remembrances, unaffected by any sort of defilement, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of contemplation, concentration, and absorption, where one does not reincarnate in the formless realms by force of these concentrations and absorptions, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the four foci of mindfulness, where body, sensation, mind, and things are not ultimately of concern, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the four right efforts, where the duality of good and evil is not apprehended, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the four bases of magical powers, where they are effortlessly mastered, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the five spiritual faculties, where one knows the degrees of the spiritual faculties of living beings, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of living with the five powers, where one delights in the ten powers of the tathāgata, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of perfection of the seven factors of enlightenment, where one is skilled in the knowledge of fine intellectual distinctions, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of living by the eightfold path, without even perceiving any evil paths, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the cultivation of the aptitude for mental quiescence and transcendental analysis, where one does not fall into extreme quietism, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of the realization of the unborn nature of all things, yet of the perfection of the body, the auspicious signs and marks, and the ornaments of the Buddha, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of manifesting the attitudes of the disciples and the solitary sages without sacrificing the qualities of the Buddha, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain of conformity to all things utterly pure in nature while manifesting behavior that suits the inclinations of all living beings, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. A domain where one realizes that all the buddhafields are indestructible and uncreatable, having the nature of infinite space, yet where one manifests the establishment of the qualities of the buddhafields in all their variety and magnitude, such is the domain of the bodhisattva. The domain where one turns the wheel of the holy Dharma and manifests the magnificence of ultimate liberation, yet never forsakes the career of the bodhisattva, such is the domain of the bodhisattva!”

When Vimalakīrti had spoken this discourse, eight thousand of the gods in the company of the crown prince Mañjuśrī conceived the spirit of unexcelled, perfect enlightenment.