『維摩經』의 禪觀 및 수행체계 연구

Abstract

The Vimalakirti Sutra is a sutra of early Mahayana Buddhism, and it is one of the sutras containing the idea of prajna. This sutra was not authored or preached by the Buddha, but lay Buddhist Vimalakirti formed it. It is based on practicing the idea of Emptiness (sunyata in Sanskrit). The Vimalakirti Sutra, in theory, contains the ideas of primitive Buddhism such as impermanence, no self, no form, the pure-clear heart-mind of self-nature, the thought of enlightenment, and the thought of prajna (profound wisdom), while, in practice, it consists of the way of developing the idea of the Emptiness of Mahayana Buddhism. In other words, the Vimalakirti Sutra combines doctrine and Zen at the same time. The main stream of the sutra is the way of developing the idea of Emptiness, and the developing form is the idea of non-duality. Being based on the idea of non-duality, the mundane and supramundane, truth and skillful means, purity and defilement, form and emptiness,ignorance and enlightenment, and so on, are not two things. That means defilements are another name for enlightenment. After the Vimalakirti Sutra was introduced in China, it came to have a deeper relationship with Zen schools than doctrinal schools, and this sutra became considered a sutra dealing with Zen, and Vimalakirti as a Zen Master. By accepting these ideas positively, Zen schools developed them into daily Zen practicing actions, saying each action is the very action of the Buddha. In other words, daily actions like walking, standing, lying, or sitting down, and talking, being silent, moving, or being calm can be actions practicing Zen, so they did not insist on only sitting meditation.