The Vimalakīrti Sūtra

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Motilal Banarsidass, 1999 - Mahayana Buddhism - 168 pages
The Vimalakirti Sutra, one of the most influential works of the Mahayana Buddhist canon, is of particular importance in the Ch'an or Zen sect. Originally written in sanskrit, probably in the first century C.E., it claims to record events of more than four hundred years earlier. Noted for its eloquent, orderly exposition of the basic tenets of Mahayana, the text is also remarkable for the liveliness of its episodes and frequent touches of humor, rarities in a religious work of this type. The Vimalakirti Sutra is unusual in that its central figure is not a Buddha or Buddhas, but a wealthy townsman, Vimalakirti, who epitomizes the ideal lay believer. For this reason, and because of the Sutra's enduring literary appeal, it has been particularly popular among lay Buddhists in China, Japan, and the other Asian countries where Mahayana doctrines prevail, and has exercised a marked influence on literature and art. Beautifully translated by Burton Watson from the Chinese version of Kumarajiva, The Vimalakirti Sutra is the first-ever translation into englishfrom the popular Chinese version. Including notes to the translation and a glossary, as well as a brief history of early. Buddhism and an introduction to the doctrine of nondualism-a key tenet in Mahayana thought -this translation will delight not only those familiar with the text but also a new generation of readers.

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Contents

Translators Note
1647
15
1709
4
1737
Copyright

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About the author (1999)

Burton DeWitt Watson was born in New Rochelle, New York on June 13, 1925. When he was 17 years old, he dropped out of high school and joined the Navy. He experienced Japan through his weekly shore leaves while stationed at Yokosuka Naval Base in 1945. After returning to the United States, he received a bachelor's degree in Chinese in 1949 and a master's degree in Chinese in 1951 from Columbia University. He spent time learning Japanese as a graduate student at Kyoto University before receiving a doctorate in Chinese in 1956 from Columbia. He has taught English at Doshisha University in Kyoto and Chinese at Stanford University and Columbia. He became a translator of Chinese and Japanese literature and poetry. His numerous translations included Cold Mountain: 100 Poems by the Tang Poet Han-shan, Han Fei Tzu: Basic Writings, The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu, and The Tso Chuan: Selections from China's Oldest Narrative History. His collections included Early Chinese Literature, Chinese Lyricism: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century, From the Country of Eight Islands: An Anthology of Japanese Poetry, and The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry: From Early Times to the 13th Century. He received Columbia University's Translation Center's Gold Medal Award in 1979, the PEN Translation Prize in 1981 and 1995, and the Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation in 2015. He died on April 1, 2017 at the age of 91.

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