A Detailed Exposition of the Vimalakirti Sutra 

by Grandmaster Lu, Living Buddha Lian Sheng of the True Buddha School 

Translated into English by the True Buddha School Vimalakirti Translation Team 

Discourse 13, 2 July 2022 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)  

Chapter One—Buddhaverse[1] 

Thus have I heard: At one time, the Buddha was in the Amra Garden near the city of Vaisali, accompanied by eight thousand great bhikkus, thirty-two thousand bodhisattvas, and the assembly of virtuous and knowledgeable spiritual practitioners. 

Their attainments of the great wisdom and fundamental conduct were solely due to the divine might of the buddhas. Together they formed a dharma-protecting fortress to uphold the true dharma. Their lion’s roar resounded throughout all ten directions. They took the initiative to deliver sentient beings and felt at ease in any situation. 

They relentlessly hoisted the Three Jewels with grandeur, and subdued maras[2] and all the heretics on deviant paths. They had been completely purified and eternally freed from all obscurations and entanglements. Their minds were in a constant state of unhindered liberation, and with complete upholding of right thought and right meditation, they engaged in debates with eloquence. 

They had perfected their generosity, moral ethics, endurance, diligence, meditative stability, and wisdom, as well as expedient means. They comprehended unattainability and reached the state of unborn endurance. They could smoothly turn the non-regressing wheel following the course of nature. [3]

We will now talk about the Vimalakirti Sutra’s Chapter One—Buddhaverse, on the phrase: complete upholding of right thought and right meditation, they engaged in debates with eloquence. This sutra takes so much effort to expound, and we are moving very slowly. Just to describe the great bhikkus and bodhisattvas, there is much to explain. Who asked me to expound on this sutra?! Should we just talk about a different sutra? [chuckles]

I must explain the terms complete upholding, right thought, right meditation, and eloquent debates.

Right thought is as defined in the noble eightfold path; the great bhikkus and the great bodhisattvas have right thought. We should also have right thought and not wrong, askew, or deviant thoughts.

Meditative stability refers to right meditation, as defined in the noble eightfold path. The great bhikkus and the great bodhisattvas have right thought and right meditation.

What is complete upholding? One of my gurus, Master Pu Fang, built a temple called the Zong Chi Temple [meaning complete upholding in English]. In this context, it means that the great bodhisattvas maintain and increase the upholding of good and stop the upholding of any bad. Good and bad exist in this world, and it is impossible for a human being to be entirely good. Within the good there is the bad, and vice versa.

I have told this story before. There was a group of bandits who were on their way to rob a village. On their way in, they saw a baby crawling at the edge of a well and it was just about to fall in—one leg was already inside the well. Immediately, they rushed forward and saved the baby. And then, they went into the village to rob. Even bandits can give rise to good thoughts. We think of them as bad people and they had bad intention when they went into the village, but they still did a good deed.

Thus, as a human being, a good person is not entirely good, and a bad person is not totally bad. There is bad within the good, and vice versa, good within the bad. Sometimes people do good deeds, and then they do bad deeds. It is not absolute.

Nevertheless, it is different for the great bhikkus and the great bodhisattvas. Complete upholding means they always manage to uphold and enhance the good and refrain from the bad. They will not do anything bad once they know it is bad. They follow the teachings of the Buddha: “Always do good. Keep away from evil.” Only when they can always uphold and increase the good and cease the bad are they called the great bhikkus and great bodhisattvas. This is the meaning of complete upholding.

Sakyamuni Buddha teaches us that Buddhism is primarily about doing good, avoiding all evils, and purifying the mind. Purifying our mind is the key, which means to purify the body, speech, and mind. So, complete upholding means always doing good and avoiding all evils—including bad thoughts.

Vimalakirti will explain right thought later. Sakyamuni Buddha explains right thought as no thought. No thought is right thought. In the True Buddha Sutra, it is written, the key to realizing the Buddha Jewel Sambodhi is a quiescent mind—the state of no thought. When you have no thoughts, you are in meditation—that is the right meditation.

Therefore, right thought and right meditation go together. When you no longer have any thoughts, you are in meditation. The advanced state of meditation is the state of no thought, whereas singlemindedness—which means total concentration—is also a state of meditation.

As the Buddha once said, “Singlemindedness can accomplish anything.” Laozi also said the same thing, “All matters are accomplished through singlemindedness.” Laozi, Confucius, and the Buddha all say the same thing. Furthermore, having no thought is right thought and right meditation.

The other day, a disciple asked me a question I didn’t answer properly. Afterward, the deities told me that my answer was not complete. Lianhua Chunjian asked, “When the last trace of a soul’s subtle energy (qi) finally dissipates, would that be the death of the soul (spirit/ghost)? Does it mean that the spirit has been completely liberated at such a time?” The answer is, “No!”

When the qi completely dissipates, there is no liberation. Previously, I said that after the dissipation they will become microbes or viruses. But there is more to it. According to the concepts spoken by Sakyamuni Buddha, when spirits become extremely weak and dissipate, they will become microorganisms.

As written in The Investiture of the Gods, after the Lady of the Turtle Spirit was eradicated by Chan Jiao, she became microbes that were harmful to human beings. Amitabha Buddha asked Padmakumara to descend upon the world to capture and bring back all the harmful microbes. Amitabha gave Padmakumara a bag, which he threw open to the sky. The bag opened wide and vast so that all the microbes that were of the Lady of the Turtle Spirit were captured in it. Then he went on his way back to Sukhavati to meet Amitabha Buddha. Along the way, he felt tired and was nodding off, during which some microbes got out from the bag and ate up three of the twelve levels of lotus births. Originally, there were twelve levels of lotus births in Sukhavati, and now, there are only nine. Germs are quite powerful.

Although their subtle energy (qi) has gone, they still exist as microbes or microorganisms. My answer previously was right, but it was not complete. Some people think that when one is gone, one is liberated, just like what Lianhua Chunjian said. Many deviant path followers say, “Once a human being dies, nothing is left. Even souls do not exist. Things that you do not see do not exist. Therefore there’s no vital energy, no souls, no heavens, no hells—nothing at all!” 

My father held this view and disagreed with me. Once on New Year’s Eve dinner, we got into a really heated debate. It should’ve been a happy family reunion. Instead, my father and I argued; my father slammed the table, and I jumped and got worked up. He argued, “Once a human being dies, nothing is left.” To which I contended, “How can there be nothing? There is a soul, heaven, and hell.” He demanded, “Show me!” “Well,” I said, “I cannot show you, but it is written in the Buddhist sutra and Taoist doctrine.” He retorted, “Those were just written by human beings, so that doesn’t count. You have to let me see in order for me to believe.” 

That was what we argued about. So my father said that when a human being dies, everything is gone—so that is liberation, isn’t it? Of course not! That is a nihilistic view. When the subtle energy is gone, of course, they will fall into intractable emptiness. But even when it is amid intractable emptiness, there is still cause and effect. 

One will never completely disappear [or be liberated] this way. Depending on one’s karma, one will be reborn accordingly. When one has no more subtle vital energy, one becomes microorganisms like a virus or bacteria because one cannot become another human being, or fall into hell, or the three lower realms. Viruses are also a kind of lifeform. 

What Lianhua Chunjian said was similar to what my father said, who claimed liberation is achieved when one dies because there is no heaven, hell, or reincarnation. This is not right.

According to the Buddha’s right realization: A buddha must have the right realization, which is related to bodhicitta—the mind of enlightenment for the sake of sentient beings. This is what Vimalakirti also says: benefit sentient beings, and do so without any motive.

Whatever I do is to benefit sentient beings, and I do so unconditionally. I don’t do it for any reason, but whatever I do benefits sentient beings. This is called doing unconditionally or unconditioned action. “Unconditionally” means I don’t do it for anything at all. However, I still do—or act—and it benefits sentient beings. 

The unconditioned dharma spoken by the Buddha means one does things unconditionally without any motives. It is spoken in the Vajra Sutra. And this is the phrase the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng, heard [which awakened him]. The phrase is: …give rise to the mind which does not dwell on anything. It means doing unconditionally, without any reasons or expectations. Giving rise to the mind means to do or act. And does not dwell on anything means unconditionally. Doing unconditionally means you do it for no reason at all, not for fame, benefits, looks... But whatever you do benefits sentient beings. This is doing unconditionally.

This is the right realization of the Buddha. You cannot say that once you die, you are liberated, or when the subtle energy of the ghost completely dissipates, that is liberation. It is wrong because such things have no benefit whatsoever for sentient beings. If you say that death is liberation, then that is a deviant concept.

Therefore, the most important thing for a human being is to have bodhicitta and to implement the bodhicitta without any motives. Because only by giving rise to the mind of enlightenment for the benefit of sentient beings can you become a bodhisattva, a buddha, a great bhikkhu, and go to the realm of the four sagely realms. That is the reason.

This requires a detailed explanation; there are a lot of details here. You think when there is nothing left, that is liberation, but that would be too easy. In such a case, suppose a comet were to hit the Earth, triggering a mass destruction, all human life would cease. Would everybody be liberated then? No! Cause and effect, or karma, still exists.

If you think death by annihilation or death by dissipation is liberation, you imply that karma or cause and effect does not exist anymore. If you say that there is nothing left after a human being dies, that means there is no cause and effect. So why are we talking about karma then?! As it is stated: karma is inconceivable!

This Vimalakirti Sutra is very challenging to expound, as it has been stated in the title as The Inconceivable Sutra of Liberation spoken by Vimalakirti. It is inconceivable and way beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Therefore, this sutra is truly difficult to explain.

So this phrase means to completely uphold right thought and right meditation by maintaining and enhancing the good while stopping the bad altogether. I hope I have explained it clearly.

…they engaged in debates with eloquence. Like when I was debating with my dad, I debated with eloquence. My father was a nihilist. At that time, my father said that after a person dies, there is nothing left. But that is not liberation because karma still exists. Your soul will either go to the three upper realms or the three lower realms. You will still transmigrate within the six realms of samsara.

To escape the rebirth cycle, you must act unconditionally or should give rise to the mind which does not dwell on anything as written in the Vajra Sutra. Only then you can become an arhat, a bodhisattva, a pratyekabuddha, and ultimately a buddha. That is the concept in the Buddhist sutras.

Talking about debates with eloquence, I applied the Buddhist sutras to argue with my father back then. My father said that once a human dies, they are completely gone. So, why do you care whether you do good or bad? Even if I do bad things, there will be nothing after I die. And likewise for the good. Because of this, I debated with him until our faces became red with rage, and he slammed the table, threw the chair, and left for Kaohsiung. I also went to Kaohsiung since my classmate was there. On the side, my mother heard us and said, “Father and son argued and quarreled, yet both went to Kaohsiung. Who knows, they might see each other there!”

The next phrase is on the six perfections of the bodhisattva. The six perfections or paramita are generosity, moral ethics, endurance, diligence, meditative stability, and wisdom. I have explained these six perfections before.

What is generosity? It is complete upholding—upholding and increasing the good while refraining from the bad. All good deeds are considered giving or generosity.

Precepts or moral ethics is abstaining from all that is bad and not allowing the bad to arise.

What is endurance? I have started to cultivate endurance ever since I was very young. I was beaten by my father with a pole and many other things. I was beaten whether I disobeyed or obeyed, whether my grades were good or bad, or whether he drank alcohol or not. I endured. I know now that my perfection of endurance was instilled by him. I still respect him—and my parents. Without him earning a living for all of us, I would not have grown up. Even when he beat me up, he still raised me and let me eat three times a day. Therefore, I respected him.

I understand now that his beatings allowed me to cultivate endurance. Of course, I never dared to hit him back. I have continued the endurance cultivation until now. Additionally, because I experienced so much suffering in getting beaten, I decided never to beat anyone nor get into a fight. This is the education I learned from my father, and I owed him gratitude. I never beat Fo-Ching and Fo-Chi either. There was only one incident when I was sitting in meditation, and they were fooling around and so disturbing that I pulled them aside. Yet, they always remember that incident. So, you need to endure!

I have also perfected my diligence! Every day I practice the dharma, write, paint, and do whatever I am supposed to do. This way, I have peace of mind. I am very diligent. One must be diligent in everything one does. Things that need to get done today must be done today. Otherwise, if you don’t do anything meaningful today, you have wasted today’s life. This is how I think. Living a day is to be diligent for the day. If you are not diligent today, you wasted your life today.

Meditative stability refers to the right meditation, anytime and anywhere. According to Vimalakirti, meditation is not just about sitting idly. Meditation is maintained while walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. Every spoken word and action taken should be in meditation. Only that would be true meditation.

Lastly, I will discuss wisdom—the wisdom of no birth and no death and the state of unborn endurance. When you truly attain the highest wisdom, that kind of wisdom is called the wisdom of no birth and no death. Do you understand that there is no birth and no death; and no arising and no ceasing? It is stated in the Vajra Sutra. 

This human world is just a dream, a hundred-year-long dream. You are just dreaming! Actually, you are not in this human world, and neither are you apart from this human world. You have no birth and no death. How come? You might think that there is birth and death because you see that one is alive one moment and then they die. How come I say that there is no birth and no death?

It has been stated in the verse of the Song of Enlightenment by Master Yongjia: The Six Realms are so distinctly real in dreams, yet, upon awakening, the universe is nothing but emptiness. It is very important. It means that the six rebirth realms exist in the dream, however, upon waking up, the dream burst—everything is empty, and the six realms are all gone. What is written here is the wisdom of no birth and no death. Only this kind of wisdom is called the great wisdom.

What is the great wisdom? It is the wisdom of the buddha or tathagata. The epithet “tathagata” means seemingly comes to this human world and seemingly goes [from this human world]. A tathagata seems to come, but he actually does not come. And he seems to go, but he actually does not go. 

I wrote about this wisdom in my book entitled Life is But a Dream[4]—the dreamlike and illusory life. As stated in the Vajra Sutra, …just like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow. Human life is a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow; it is dreamlike and illusory. This refers to this great wisdom. Read my book Life is But a Dream carefully because this is the wisdom being discussed! 

That’s all for today. Om mani padme hum. 

[1] Buddhaverse or buddha universe, is a novel and very appropriate term coined by Dr. Robert Thurman for 佛國, which has normally been translated as buddhaland, buddha-field, buddha realm, or buddha world from the Sanskrit word buddhaksetra. 

Next discourse on the Vimalakirti Sutra: Discourse 14, 3 July 2022 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)

Previous discourse on the Vimalakirti Sutra: Discourse 12, 26 June 2022 - Chapter One—Buddhaverse (Continued)

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Full webcast of 2022.07.02 Medicine Buddha Group Practice (Ling Shen Ching Tze Temple, Redmond, USA) and dharma discourse with English interpretation: https://youtu.be/LyXl-H7hix4