China: The Tibetan king of Dunhuang attending a debate between the Bodhisattva Manjusri and the layman Vimalakirti. Hanging scroll painting, Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, 8th century. The Vimalakīrti Sutra is a Mahayana Buddhist sutra. Among other subjects, the sutra teaches the meaning of nonduality. An important aspect of this scripture is that it contains a report of a teaching addressed to both arhats and bodhisattvas by the layman Vimalakīrti, who expounds the doctrine of Sunyata, or emptiness, to them. This culminates with the wordless teaching of silence.

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