Buddha Lands
A Commentary on Chapter 1 of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra
Sutras often begin with the phrase, “Thus have I heard.” These words indicate that what follows is a recollection, traditionally attributed to Ananda, the Buddha’s attendant and foremost disciple in memorization. The Vimalakīrti Sūtra also opens this way, signifying that what we’re about to hear is a direct transmission of the Buddha’s teaching, remembered and recorded with reverence.
But in Chapter One, we don’t meet the layman Vimalakīrti yet. Instead, we are immersed in a vivid portrayal of bodhisattvas and the nature of their world—a realm known as the Buddha land.
What is a Buddha Land? A Buddha land refers to a realm shaped by the vows and mind of a Buddha, manifesting a pure environment for teaching and liberation. It reflects the capacities and karma of the beings within it, and the realization of the Buddha or bodhisattva who creates it.
The scene opens in the city of Vaishali. The Buddha is staying in the Amra Gardens, accompanied by eight thousand leading monks. More strikingly, he is surrounded by thirty-two thousand bodhisattvas. These advanced spiritual beings had fulfilled the foundational practices of wisdom. They were upheld by the power of the Buddhas, guarding the Dharma, and offering comfort and companionship without being asked.
They were described as spotless and pure, long free of obstructions, dwelling constantly in a state of unhindered emancipation. Their powers were many: mindfulness, meditation, eloquence, and the ability to give, practice forbearance, keep the precepts, and use skillful means. They had fully internalized the insight that there is nothing to grasp and no fixed view to hold.
They responded skillfully to the needs of others and turned the wheel of the Dharma fearlessly. They were experts in understanding the characteristics of all phenomena and the diverse capacities of beings. Their wisdom and merit had purified countless Buddha lands. They were so accomplished that no one could hear or see them without benefit, and no action of theirs was ever in vain.
This is how we are introduced to the bodhisattva path. In describing these beings, the Mahayana offers us a poetic and powerful vision of spiritual potential. These bodhisattvas have deeply realized the wisdom taught in the Heart Sutra: that form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. They no longer grasp at things or hold fixed views. In this way, they nearly match the freely exercised wisdom of the Buddha himself.
After describing the bodhisattvas, the sutra offers an elaborate list of their names—including Avalokiteśvara (Perceiver of the World’s Sounds), Mañjuśrī (Dharma Prince), and Maitreya (the Buddha of the Future). The scene grows even larger: ten thousand Brahma kings, twelve thousand Indras, dragons, spirits, asuras, and a vast assembly of monks, nuns, laypeople, and celestial beings. The stage is set for something momentous.
And then, a miracle occurs.
Five hundred wealthy young men offer jeweled parasols to the Buddha. With his supernatural powers, he merges them into one great parasol that stretches over the thousand-millionfold world. Within it, everything is visible: mountains, rivers, palaces, and even the Buddhas of the ten directions. The entire cosmos appears within this one symbolic canopy.
The miracle is dazzling, but it’s also a teaching. The Buddha uses this moment to illustrate that appearances, like the many parasols, can be seen as one when perceived with awakened eyes. And he goes further, he teaches us that “An upright mind is the pure land of the bodhisattva.”
In other words, a pure land begins in the mind. The Buddha proceeds to describe sixteen such “pure lands,” including qualities like a deeply searching mind, a mind aspiring to awakening, the practice of the Six Pāramitās (generosity, morality, forbearance, effort, meditation, wisdom), and the use of skillful means.
These are not otherworldly places; they are states of being. And by cultivating them, the bodhisattva brings forth a world where beings are aided on the path to liberation.
Toward the end of the chapter, we meet Shariputra, one of the Buddha’s chief disciples and a frequent stand-in for the Śrāvakayāna (the path of individual liberation). He wonders: if a pure mind produces a pure land, and the Buddha’s mind is surely pure, why does this world appear so defiled?
The Buddha, perceiving Shariputra’s thought, responds with a metaphor: “Are the sun and moon impure because the blind cannot see them?” The problem lies not in the Buddha’s land, but in the perception of beings. To prove this, the Buddha touches the ground with his toe, and instantly, the world is transformed. It becomes adorned with jewels and radiant lotuses. The entire assembly gasps. Everyone sees themselves seated on lotus thrones.
“My Buddha land has always been pure like this,” the Buddha explains. “But I make it appear impure in order to teach those who are still bound by delusion.” What we see, in other words, reflects the state of our minds.
The chapter ends with a flourish. Upon seeing the Buddha land’s true purity, five hundred young men attain insight into the unborn nature of reality. Thousands more set their minds on enlightenment. Some leave the world, others gain the pure Dharma eye. This is the fruit of seeing clearly: liberation begins with vision, and vision begins with mind.
In Chapter One of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra, we are given a grand view of the Buddha’s world—not as fantasy, but as a reflection of our own mind. In the Mahayana view, form and perception are inseparable: the world appears pure or impure according to the state of our consciousness. What we see is shaped by how we see. Thus, the purification of the world begins not with changing it, but with transforming our own hearts. This is the upright mind.
If we can dwell with that same upright mind, with the same patience, wisdom, and compassion of the bodhisattvas, then the Buddha land is not far away.
Thank you for reading. In the next post, we’ll meet the remarkable layman Vimalakīrti. Dharmic mischief will begin.