Vimalakīrti Sūtra Commentary (維摩經義疏)

A single pure reality is called Non-Duality. The ultimate truth that can serve as a guide is called the Dharma. Its subtle and all-pervading nature is called the Gate. Realizing this principle is called Entering.

This teaching is the essential归宿 of all Buddhist doctrines and the profound source shared by all sages. It is the original intention behind Vimalakīrti's manifesting illness and the reason for Mañjuśrī's inquiry about his health. Why is this so? Because by embodying the principle of Non-Duality, one develops the contemplation of Non-Duality; through this contemplation, one can respond to beings without limitation; and through this limitless response, one leads all beings back to this very truth. Thus, the Lotus Sūtra says, "Ultimate nirvāṇa is the constant mark of tranquility, ultimately returning to emptiness." Emptiness is the principle of Non-Duality, the ground where all six realms of beings find refuge and where all sages merge in silent understanding.

Question: If Non-Duality is the fundamental principle, why wasn't it taught at the very beginning of the sūtra?

Answer: All the teachings given from the start of the sūtra are meant to help beings awaken to Non-Duality. They are skillful means that lead to the principle. Furthermore, one then wishes to use this Non-Duality to give rise to its two functions, which is why chapters like "The Gift of Food" appear—using the principle to establish teachings. Because it is taught between these two aspects, it can gather functions back into the essence and then arise from the essence to function. Therefore, it could not be taught at the very beginning.

The chapter is divided into two parts: first, the teaching on entering the gate of Non-Duality; second, the realization of the gate of Non-Duality. The teaching is further divided into three: first, Vimalakīrti asks the assembly to speak; second, the assembly asks Mañjuśrī to speak; third, Mañjuśrī asks Vimalakīrti to speak. The three sections clarifying Non-Duality are fully explained in the Profound Meaning. In the first, the various bodhisattvas all dissolve duality and illuminate Non-Duality, but they have not yet clarified that the principle of Non-Duality is beyond words. In the second, Mañjuśrī clarifies that the principle of Non-Duality is beyond words, yet he still speaks about Non-Duality. In the third, Vimalakīrti silently reveals that the principle of Non-Duality is beyond words and can be silent about Non-Duality. This demonstrates the three levels from shallow to profound, though the principle of Non-Duality itself has no depth or shallowness.

"At that time, Vimalakīrti said to the bodhisattvas in the assembly: 'Good sirs! How does a bodhisattva enter the gate of Non-Duality? Each of you should speak according to your own understanding.'"

Why does Vimalakīrti not speak himself but asks the assembly to speak? Because the host-guest questions and answers have already demonstrated the virtues of the two protagonists. Now he wishes to reveal the virtues of all the bodhisattvas, so he asks each to speak. Moreover, practitioners open their minds in different ways and awaken differently—some contemplate arising and ceasing to enter reality, others realize tranquility through existence and non-existence. Though their paths differ, their convergence is the same. Therefore, he draws on the common understanding of the assembly to certify the great purpose of this sūtra.

"In the assembly, there was a bodhisattva named Dharma Self-Mastery who said: 'Good sirs! Arising and ceasing are two. Since dharmas originally do not arise, there is no ceasing now. Attaining this patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'"

This is the second section—responding to the command and speaking. "Neither arising nor ceasing" can have three meanings: First, because there is no inherent nature in real arising and ceasing, we say there is no arising or ceasing—this is the worldly truth gate without arising and ceasing. Second, dependent arising and ceasing is itself non-arising and non-ceasing—this is the ultimate truth gate without arising and ceasing. Third, because worldly truth has existence, we call it arising; because ultimate truth has non-existence, we call it ceasing. What is neither mundane nor ultimate is the true principle, called non-arising and non-ceasing. Now, examining the intent of the sūtra, it clarifies the latter meaning. This non-mundane, non-ultimate is the principle of Non-Duality. By awakening to this principle, one attains the contemplation of Non-Duality, called the patient acceptance of non-arising—this is called entering.

"Bodhisattva Virtue Guard said: 'Self and what belongs to self are two. Because there is a self, there are things belonging to self. If there is no self, then there is nothing belonging to self. This is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'"

"Self and what belongs to self" also has two aspects: first, the concept of a real self and its possessions, as held by outsiders; second, the conventional, nominal self and its possessions. Now, without these two kinds of self and possessions, it is called the gate of Non-Duality.

"Bodhisattva Unwavering Gaze said:" Unwavering gaze has three aspects: First, like the celestial eye—the celestial eye does not blink. The Nirvāṇa Sūtra says, "Even the wheel-turning king's eyes still blink, distinguishing him from the celestial lord." Second, with love and reverence for the Buddha's body, one gazes steadily without blinking. Third, with a mind free of defilement, the wisdom eye is constantly open.

"Receiving and not receiving are two." First, in terms of causes, ordinary beings grasping and attaching is called receiving; sages without grasping or attaching are called not receiving. Second, in terms of results, the polluted five aggregates are called receiving; the unpolluted are called not receiving. Third, in terms of the nine categories, not receiving the other two, as explained in the Abhidharma. Here we follow the first meaning.

"If a dharma is not received, then it cannot be obtained. Because it cannot be obtained, there is no grasping and no rejecting, no creating and no acting. This is entering the gate of Non-Duality." "If a dharma is not received" means the mind has nothing it receives or attaches to. Originally, because of receiving, there is not-receiving. Since there is no receiving, there is also no not-receiving—hence it is said, "cannot be obtained." Previously, one did not see a not-receiving that could be grasped; now, one also does not see anything to reject—hence "no grasping and no rejecting." With no grasping and no rejecting, one does not create deeds of birth-and-death—hence "no creating." With no creating, the conditions of birth-and-death cease. When the conditions of birth-and-death cease, even right contemplation is forgotten—hence "no acting." By this point in the passage, there are three levels of meaning.

"Bodhisattva Summit of Virtue said: 'Impurity and purity are two. Seeing the true nature of impurity, there is no aspect of purity—accord with the aspect of cessation. This is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'"

"Bodhisattva Good Abode said: 'Movement and thought are two. Without movement, there is no thought. Without thought, there is no discrimination. One who understands this is called one entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" A subtle stirring of the deluded mind is called movement; deeply grasping at appearances is called thought. They differ only in beginning and end. Now, dissolving these two is called Non-Duality.

"Bodhisattva Good Eye said: 'One mark and no-mark are two. If one knows that one mark is itself no-mark, and also does not grasp no-mark, one enters equality. This is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" One mark refers to existing dharmas; no-mark refers to empty dharmas. For example, a pillar has a round mark; without roundness, it is called no-mark. Also, emptiness is one mark, and since the empty dharma itself has no mark, it is called no-mark. Now we dissolve these two.

"Bodhisattva Wondrous Arm said: 'The bodhisattva mind and the voice-hearer mind are two. For one who contemplates the nature of mind as empty like an illusion, there is no bodhisattva mind and no voice-hearer mind. This is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" In the past, through giving, his hands could produce endless treasures like four flowing rivers; hence the name Wondrous Arm. Some might think the voice-hearer mind is solely for self-benefit while the bodhisattva mind benefits others. Now we dissolve this—the inherent nature of mind is empty, never large or small.

"Bodhisattva Puṣya said: 'Good and not-good are two. If one does not give rise to good or not-good, enters the realm of no-mark, and understands this, this is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" Among the twenty-eight lunar mansions, the ghost star is called Puṣya, named after the star present at birth. The ten good deeds are good; the ten not-good deeds are not-good. In this case, from ordinary beings who initiate the ten goods up to the Buddha, all are good; the rest are not-good. This encompasses all dharmas. Also, accord with the path of transcendence is good—that is, the three vehicles' sages; opposing transcendence is not-good. All three natures of ordinary beings are not-good. Also, seeking the lesser vehicle is not-good, seeking the greater vehicle is good. Also, seeking both lesser and greater is also not-good; Non-Duality is called good. Here we follow the first meaning.

"Bodhisattva Lion said: 'Transgression and merit are two. If one penetrates the nature of transgression, it is no different from merit. With the diamond wisdom, clearly deciding this mark—no bondage and no liberation—is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" Transgression and merit differ from good and not-good in that the essence is the same but the meaning differs. Benefit and harm are good and not-good; karmic retribution is transgression and merit. Transgression and merit mostly refer to results—doing good reaps abundant rewards called merit; doing evil incurs disastrous retribution called transgression. The diamond wisdom is like a worldly diamond: whether placed on a mountain top or flat ground, it passes straight through without obstruction, only stopping when it reaches the diamond bedrock. The wisdom of true reality, placed on the mountain of merit or the flat ground of transgression, passes straight through without obstruction, only stopping when it reaches the dharma-nature where transgression and merit share the same nature.

"Bodhisattva Lion's Intention said: 'Outflow and no-outflow are two. If one attains equality among all dharmas, one does not give rise to thoughts of outflow or no-outflow, does not attach to thoughts, and also does not abide in no-mark. This is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" A lion crossing water must cut straight across; if it zigzags, it cannot cross. This great being uses the wisdom of true reality to deeply penetrate all dharmas and cross directly to the other shore—hence the name. The Satyasiddhi treats the mind that loses principle and grasps at marks as outflow, and the mind that attains principle and forgets marks as no-outflow. The Abhidharma generally calls all afflictions "outflow"; without them, there is no outflow. Now, understanding these two as non-dual is called entering the gate of Non-Duality.

"Bodhisattva Pure Understanding said: 'Conditioned and unconditioned are two. If one departs from all enumeration, the mind is like space. With pure wisdom, nothing obstructs—this is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" "Conditioned and unconditioned"—"conditioned" means "made." Apart from dharmas, there are four marks that can create dharmas, hence called "made." Because dharmas have this making, they are called conditioned. Eternal dharmas have no making, hence called unconditioned. This is the relative pair of existence and non-existence. Next, according to the view that the four marks are inherent in dharmas—as when a dharma arises, it is called birth, hence "made"—the dharma itself has this making; it is not a making apart from the dharma. Just as for non-existent dharmas, the dharma itself has this non-making; it is not a non-making apart from the dharma. The former is the Abhidharma view, the latter is the Satyasiddhi view—both are dual views, and both are Non-Duality.

"Bodhisattva Nārāyaṇa said: 'The world and the transcendence of the world are two. The emptiness of the world's nature is itself the transcendence of the world. In this, there is no entering and no leaving, no overflowing and no scattering. This is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" Before seeing the path is called the world; from seeing the path onward is called transcendence of the world. Also, from the perspective of ordinary beings and sages, a mind that grasps at marks is the world; a mind without grasping at marks is transcendence of the world. Master Kumārajīva says, "The world is the three realms. Transcendence of the world is all the unconditioned and conditioned noble path factors." "No entering and no leaving"—there is no entering birth-and-death, hence "no entering." Since the world has no leaving birth-and-death and no transcendence of the world—if there is entering, there is leaving; if there is leaving, there must be overflowing; if there is overflowing, there must be scattering. This is the constant pattern within the mundane.

"Bodhisattva Good Intention said: 'Birth-and-death and nirvāṇa are two. If one sees the nature of birth-and-death, there is no birth-and-death, no bondage and no liberation, no burning and no extinguishing. One who understands thus is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" Above, conditioned and unconditioned were mentioned to encompass nirvāṇa, but since nirvāṇa is the supreme dharma among the three unconditioned, it is discussed separately. Also, conditioned and unconditioned mostly refer to lesser-vehicle nirvāṇa; great-vehicle nirvāṇa is neither conditioned nor unconditioned—hence it is discussed separately.

"Bodhisattva Direct Vision said: 'Exhaustion and non-exhaustion are two.'" Some say that forgetting and ceasing is exhaustion, and truly attaining constancy is non-exhaustion. Master Kumārajīva says, "Impermanence is the initial gate of emptiness. When the devouring of dharmas is incomplete, it is called non-exhaustion. When ultimate emptiness devours dharmas completely, it is called exhaustion." Master Sengzhao says, "Conditioned dharmas are illusory and impermanent, hence exhaustion. True reality is the unconditioned path, eternal, hence non-exhaustion."

"If a dharma is ultimately exhausted or not exhausted, both are aspects of non-exhaustion. The aspect of non-exhaustion is emptiness. Emptiness has no aspects of exhaustion or non-exhaustion. One who enters thus is entering the gate of Non-Duality." Following the earlier interpretation, "ultimately exhausted" refers to the above meaning of exhaustion, distinguishing it from the exhaustion of impermanent arising and ceasing—hence "ultimate." "Not exhausted" refers to the above non-exhaustion, which is true constancy. "Both are non-exhaustion"—the previous two are both empty; the empty principle is eternal, hence "non-exhaustion." Also, the empty principle has no dharma to remove, also called "empty exhaustion." Following Master Sengzhao's explanation, if one takes exhaustion as exhaustion and non-exhaustion as non-exhaustion, both are dual. If one can awaken to the non-exhausting aspect of both exhaustion and non-exhaustion, one enters the single emptiness of the Non-Duality gate.

"Bodhisattva Universal Guard said: 'Self and non-self are two. Since self cannot be obtained, how can non-self be obtained? One who sees the true nature of self no longer gives rise to duality. This is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" Sustained by myriad virtues is called Universal; protected by all sages is called Guard.

"Bodhisattva Lightning Heaven said: 'Illumination and ignorance are two. The true nature of ignorance is itself illumination. Illumination also cannot be grasped. Departing from all enumeration, being equal and non-dual within it—this is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" The ten-ground masters say that true and deluded share the same essence; merging delusion into truth is called Non-Duality. Like stirring water into waves—waves and water share the same essence; calming waves back into water is called Non-Duality. Now, I say this is not so. The text says, "Illumination also cannot be grasped"—this is abandoning both, not merging into one. If one clearly awakens to the true nature of ignorance, that is abandoning illumination—hence "Non-Duality." If one sees illumination and ignorance, that itself is ignorance—therefore, we know illumination also cannot be grasped.

"Bodhisattva Joyful Vision said: 'Form and form-emptiness are two. Form is itself emptiness—it is not that form is extinguished and then becomes empty. The nature of form is originally empty. Likewise, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness—consciousness and emptiness are two. Consciousness is itself emptiness—it is not that consciousness is extinguished and then becomes empty. The nature of consciousness is originally empty. One who penetrates this is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" When we say emptiness and form are non-dual, we do not mean that neither emptiness nor form is called Non-Duality. We only clarify that emptiness and form have no dual essence—hence "Non-Duality." "Form is itself emptiness" points to the great-vehicle teaching that emptiness and form are non-dual. "Not that form is extinguished and then becomes empty" distinguishes this from what ordinary beings see. Ordinary beings, not understanding, think that after form is destroyed, it then becomes empty. Thus, we clarify that it is not that after form is extinguished it then becomes empty. "The nature of form is originally empty" distinguishes this from the lesser-vehicle teaching. Like a mirage of water—its nature is originally empty; it is not that the four elements break down the water element and then it becomes empty.

"Bodhisattva Illuminating Marks said: 'The four elements being different and the space element being different are two. The nature of the four elements is itself the nature of space—just as the past and future are empty, so the present is also empty. One who thus knows the natures of all elements is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" The four elements are earth, water, fire, and wind; the space element is space. These five each have great power, hence called "great." They are the cause of forming sentient beings, hence called "elements." Also, these five things differ in kind, hence called elements. Understanding that the existence of the four elements is no different from the space element is called entering the gate of Non-Duality. Hence, "no three times"—the space element has no three times; the four elements are space, so they also have no three times.

"Bodhisattva Wondrous Intention said: 'Eye and form are two. If one knows the nature of the eye, one is not greedy, hateful, or deluded toward form—this is called still extinction. Likewise, ear and sound, nose and smell, tongue and taste, body and touch, mind and dharmas are two. If one knows the nature of the mind, one is not greedy, hateful, or deluded toward dharmas—this is called still extinction. Abiding therein is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" Seeing eye and form as two, one gives rise to the three poisons—toward pleasant forms, greed arises; toward unpleasant forms, hatred arises; toward neither pleasant nor unpleasant, ignorance arises. If one knows the fundamental emptiness, the three poisons do not arise. Since the four elements form the eye, there is no single eye-essence. Without an eye-essence, there are no four elements—hence we know there is no eye. With what does one see form and give rise to the three poisons? Also, it is not that one deliberately contemplates—form being empty has no self-nature, so there is no form.

"Bodhisattva Inexhaustible Intention said: 'Giving and dedicating to all wisdom are two. The nature of giving is itself the nature of dedicating to all wisdom. Likewise, morality, patience, vigor, meditation, and wisdom, and dedicating to all wisdom are two. The nature of wisdom is itself the nature of dedicating to all wisdom. One who enters the single mark within this is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" Giving is the cause, all wisdom is the result—hence cause and result are two. Dedicating the cause toward the result, both cause and result are empty—called Non-Duality. Also, transforming cause into result is called Non-Duality. For example, in the bodhisattva mind it is called prajñā; in the Buddha mind it becomes sarvajñā—so there are no two separate things. Thus we know Non-Duality.

"Bodhisattva Deep Wisdom said: 'Emptiness, marklessness, and wishlessness are two. Emptiness is itself marklessness; marklessness is itself wishlessness. If emptiness, marklessness, and wishlessness—then there is no mind, consciousness, or mentation. Within one liberation gate being the three liberation gates is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" This refutes lesser-vehicle practitioners who consider the three emptinesses as sixteen practices with separate essences. Here, in terms of object and wisdom, the three gates are one essence. In terms of the object, Non-Duality means that the single true reality, according to its characteristics, is divided into three—there is no separate three essences—hence Non-Duality. In terms of contemplation, the single right contemplation, free of three graspings, is three but has no three essences. "No mind, consciousness, or mentation"—the former ends conditions, now contemplation ceases.

"Bodhisattva Still Roots said: 'Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are two. Buddha is itself Dharma; Dharma is itself Sangha. These three jewels are all unconditioned marks, equal to space. All dharmas are likewise. One who follows this practice is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" This clarifies the meaning of the three jewels as one essence—hence Non-Duality. But the one-essence three jewels are discussed in three places. First, on a single Buddha-fruit, all three are present: the aspect of awakening is Buddha, the aspect of being a guide is Dharma, the aspect of harmony is Sangha—this is common to both great and lesser vehicles' scholastic traditions. Second, the three jewels are all empty—also common to both vehicles, but not found in the Abhidharma. Third, the one-essence three jewels exists only in the great vehicle. Question: What is one Buddha? Answer: The Nirvāṇa Sūtra texts differ. According to the meaning of Nirvāṇa, the three jewels all take nirvāṇa as their essence. Thus the sūtra says, "The bodhisattva contemplates: How are the three things one with me? The Buddha himself explains: I say the three things are the great nirvāṇa." Hence "one essence." According to the Buddha-nature treatise on the three jewels, the three jewels share Buddha-nature as their essence. Thus the sūtra says, "These three refuges are my nature." According to ultimate truth, the three jewels share ultimate truth as their essence. Thus the sūtra says, "If one can contemplate the three jewels as eternal, abiding in the same ultimate truth." According to constancy, the three jewels share constancy as their essence. Thus the sūtra says, "I also do not say there is no difference among Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—I only speak of differences within constancy." These are all spoken according to context without contradiction. Now this text clarifies that the three jewels have no different essence—precisely because they share the same unconditioned nature, hence Non-Duality.

"Bodhisattva Unobstructed Mind said: 'Body and the extinction of body are two. The body is itself the extinction of body. Why? One who sees the true nature of the body does not give rise to the view of a body or the view of extinction of body. Body and extinction of body are non-dual and without distinction. Not being startled or frightened within this is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" This refutes the lesser-vehicle distinction between remaining and no-remaining nirvāṇa. "Body" refers to the five-aggregate body; "extinction of body" is nirvāṇa. The body originally does not arise—what is there to extinguish now? Neither arising nor ceasing—hence Non-Duality. "Not startled or frightened"—lesser-vehicle practitioners are startled upon first hearing this and frightened at accepting this principle. When dharmas arise, they arise empty; when they cease, they cease empty. What difference does the body's presence or absence make, that one should harbor startlement or fear?

"Bodhisattva Supreme Good said: 'Body, speech, and mind deeds are two. These three deeds all have the mark of non-creation. Body's non-creation mark is itself speech's non-creation mark; speech's non-creation mark is itself mind's non-creation mark. The non-creation mark of the three deeds is itself the non-creation mark of all dharmas. One who follows the wisdom of non-creation thus is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" Some might think the three deeds each have their own fabrication, hence they differ. The three deeds are originally empty, sharing the same non-creation mark—called Non-Duality.

"Bodhisattva Field of Merit said: 'Meritorious deeds, transgressive deeds, and immovable deeds are two. The true nature of the three deeds is emptiness. In emptiness, there are no meritorious deeds, no transgressive deeds, and no immovable deeds. Not giving rise to these three deeds is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" The Great Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra says, "Doing the ten not-good deeds and receiving the three lower realms' retribution is transgressive deeds. Doing the ten good deeds and being born in the desire realm's human and heavenly states is called meritorious deeds. Cultivating the four dhyānas and being born in the form and formless realms is called immovable deeds." The Satyasiddhi says, "From the desire realm to the third dhyāna is called meritorious deeds. From the fourth dhyāna through the formless realm is called immovable deeds—because from the fourth dhyāna onward, one is not moved by the three calamities or four consciousness-receptions, hence 'immovable.'" Not giving rise to the three deeds, one enters the gate of true reality—called Non-Duality.

"Bodhisattva Adorned with Flowers said: 'Arising duality from self is two. One who sees the true nature of self does not give rise to two dharmas. If one does not abide in two dharmas, there is no consciousness and nothing known. This is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" Because of self, there is other—hence the name "two" arises. Seeing the true nature of self, the consciousness of self and other has no ground to arise.

"Bodhisattva Treasure Store said: 'The mark of attainment is two. If there is no attainment, then there is no grasping and no rejecting. No grasping and no rejecting is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" Internally attaining a self and externally grasping at marks—hence called two. Both internal and external are empty—called Non-Duality.

"Bodhisattva Moon Rising said: 'Darkness and light are two. No darkness and no light—then there is no duality. Why? Just as entering the concentration of cessation of feeling and perception has no darkness or light, so too are the marks of all dharmas. One who enters equally within this is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" When lesser-vehicle practitioners enter the concentration of cessation, they forget outer seeing and hearing and extinguish inner consciousness and knowing. Though days and nights pass, they do not notice darkness or light. This is used as a metaphor for the bodhisattva's mind being unconcerned with light and dark. Question: When entering the concentration of cessation, all mental functions are absent—why specifically mention feeling and perception? Answer: Feeling develops the dhyānas, perception develops the formless realms. Entering the concentration of cessation primarily extinguishes the minds of the two upper realms, hence feeling and perception are specifically mentioned. Also, feeling gives rise to much craving and perception gives rise to much views—since both are the root of transgression, they are specifically mentioned.

"Bodhisattva Precious Seal Hand said: 'Delighting in nirvāṇa and not delighting in the world are two. If one does not delight in nirvāṇa and does not reject the world, then there is no duality. Why? If there is bondage, then there is liberation. If there is originally no bondage, who seeks liberation? No bondage and no liberation—then there is no delight and no rejection. This is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says, "Birth-and-death is not chaotic—how can one reject it? Nirvāṇa is not tranquil—how can one delight in it?"

"Bodhisattva King Pearl Top said: 'The right path and the wrong path are two. One who abides in the right path does not discriminate right from wrong. Departing from these two is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" The eight wrongs are the wrong path; the eight rights are the right path. Also, lesser-vehicle views are the wrong path; great-vehicle true contemplation is the right path. The sūtra says that right view means not seeing wrong and not seeing right—neither wrong nor right is truly called right. One who abides in the right path sees wrong outside right and right outside wrong—both wrong and right are all called wrong.

"Bodhisattva Delighting in Reality said: 'Real and unreal are two. One who truly sees does not even see the real, much less the unreal. Why? It is not seen by the flesh eye; only the wisdom eye can see it. But this wisdom eye has no seeing and no not-seeing. This is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'" True reality is the real; delusion is the unreal. One who awakens to true reality does not see the real, much less the unreal. What is seen is neither real nor unreal; what sees is also neither seeing nor not-seeing. Neither real nor unreal—provisionally called "real" in words; neither seeing nor not-seeing—also forcibly named "seeing." Thus, object and contemplation remain vividly present, yet object and wisdom are both still.

"After each of the bodhisattvas had spoken, they asked Mañjuśrī: 'What is the bodhisattva's entry into the gate of Non-Duality?' Mañjuśrī said: 'According to my understanding, with regard to all dharmas—no words, no speech, no showing, no knowing—departing from all questions and answers, this is entering the gate of Non-Duality.'"

This is the second section—the bodhisattvas asking Mañjuśrī to explain Non-Duality. First the request, then the explanation. The passage has three clauses: first, both truths are spoken; second, both truths are not spoken; third, worldly truth is spoken, ultimate truth is not spoken. Here we follow the latter two. The thirty-one above all have six activities: having vocal sound is "words"; using words to reveal the Non-Duality dharma is "speech"; revealing the Non-Duality dharma appropriately to the listener is "showing"; causing the audience to awaken and understand is "knowing"; Vimalakīrti commanding them to speak is "question"; the bodhisattvas responding about Non-Duality is "answer." All these use words to break dharmas but have not yet stilled the words that break dharmas. Mañjuśrī wishes to still the words that dissolve dharmas—hence he declares the absence of these six activities.

"Then Mañjuśrī asked Vimalakīrti: 'We have each spoken. Sir, what is the bodhisattva's entry into the gate of Non-Duality?' At that time, Vimalakīrti remained silent, without words."

This is the third section—Mañjuśrī asking Vimalakīrti to explain Non-Duality. First the request, then the response, then the praise. The bodhisattvas used words to dissolve dharmas; Mañjuśrī used words to dissolve words; Vimalakīrti used silence to dissolve Mañjuśrī's use of words. The principle of Non-Duality is the same, yet there are differences in depth and shallowness.

"Mañjuśrī praised: 'Excellent! Excellent! To have no words, no speech at all—this is truly entering the gate of Non-Duality.'"

This is the third section—Mañjuśrī's praise. Since Vimalakīrti had already silently demonstrated, Mañjuśrī should also silently acknowledge. But because the audience of that time needed to awaken, he praised with words. This also shows that wordlessness does not conflict with words—hence he praises wordlessness with words.

"When this teaching on the gate of Non-Duality was spoken, in this assembly, five thousand bodhisattvas all entered the gate of Non-Duality and attained the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas."

This is the second part—the five thousand bodhisattvas attaining entry into the gate of Non-Duality.