爾時文殊師利問維摩詰言 菩薩云何觀於衆生 維摩詰言 譬如幻師 見所幻人 菩薩觀衆生爲若此 如智者見水中月 如鏡中見其面像 如熱時焰 如呼聲響 如空中雲 如水聚沫 如水上泡 如芭蕉堅 如電久住 如第五大 如第六陰 如第七情 如十三入 如十九界 菩薩觀衆生爲若此 時維摩詰室有一天女 見諸大人聞所說法 便現其身 卽以天花散諸菩薩大弟子上
ěr shí wén shū shī lì wèn wéi mó jié yán pú sà yún hé guān yú zhòng shēng wéi mó jié yán pì rú huàn shī jiàn suǒ huàn rén pú sà guān zhòng shēng wéi ruò cǐ rú zhì zhě jiàn shuǐ zhōng yuè rú jìng zhōng jiàn qí miàn xiàng rú rè shí yàn rú hū shēng xiǎng rú kōng zhōng yún rú shuǐ jù mò rú shuǐ shàng pào rú bā jiāo jiān rú diàn jiǔ zhù rú dì wǔ dà rú dì liù yīn rú dì qī qíng rú shí sān rù rú shí jiǔ jiè pú sà guān zhòng shēng wéi ruò cǐ shí wéi mó jié shì yǒu yī tiān nǚ jiàn zhū dà rén wén suǒ shuō fǎ biàn xiàn qí shēn jí yǐ tiān huā sàn zhū pú sà dà dì zǐ shàng
Key Message
The bodhisattva possesses both the wisdom that penetrates the emptiness of beings and the compassion that does not abandon them. A mind without attachment is clung to by nothing.
▸The 'Chapter on Contemplating Sentient Beings' (觀衆生品) is the chapter in which Mañjuśrī asks Vimalakīrti, 'How does a bodhisattva contemplate sentient beings?' Vimalakīrti replies that the bodhisattva contemplates sentient beings as: an illusory figure created by a magician, the moon's reflection in water, a face reflected in a mirror, a heat-shimmer, an echo, clouds in the sky, froth gathered on water, bubbles on water, and so forth.
The 'Chapter on Contemplating Sentient Beings' (觀衆生品) is the chapter in which Mañjuśrī asks Vimalakīrti, 'How does a bodhisattva contemplate sentient beings?' Vimalakīrti replies that the bodhisattva contemplates sentient beings as: an illusory figure created by a magician, the moon's reflection in water, a face reflected in a mirror, a heat-shimmer, an echo, clouds in the sky, froth gathered on water, bubbles on water, and so forth. This means seeing beings with the wisdom that knows their existence as empty (空) of inherent nature, yet, while knowing their illusoriness, practicing compassion without abandoning them. The most famous scene in this chapter is the 'heavenly maiden scattering flowers' (天女散花). When the heavenly maiden in Vimalakīrti's room scatters flowers, the flowers do not cling to the bodhisattvas, but stick to Śāriputra and the other Hīnayāna disciples and cannot be shaken off. When Śāriputra tries to remove the flowers with his supernormal power but cannot, the heavenly maiden teaches: 'Flowers do not cling to the bodhisattvas who are free from attachment; they cling to those in whom attachment remains.'