ticketsMember | Make a donation

The Lay Buddhist Vimalakirti

Inscription by Jifei Ruyi (Sokuhi Nyoitsu) Chinese
1665
Not on view
The enlightened lay practitioner Vimalakirti is said to have lived in the ancient city of Vaishali, in present-day India, during the time of the Buddha (sixth or fifth century BCE). He is renowned for his debate with Manjushri (Japanese: Monjū), the bodhisattva of wisdom. Here, Yiran Xingrong, the abbot of Kōfukuji monastery in Nagasaki, portrayed the sage Vimalakirti as if divine. At left, the Ōbaku monk Jifei Ruyi brushed an inscription that reads:

毘耶城裏逢師利　一塵清風洗白雲

In the city of Vaishali, he [Vimalakirti] meets with Manjushri “Within a speck of dust, the untainted breeze purifies the white clouds.”

—Trans. Tim T. Zhang

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 逸然性融筆　即非如一賛　維摩像
  • Title: The Lay Buddhist Vimalakirti
  • Artist: Painting by Yiran Xingrong (Itsunen Shōyū) (Chinese, 1601–1668)
  • Artist: Inscription by Jifei Ruyi (Sokuhi Nyoitsu) (Chinese, 1616–1671)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: 1665
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
  • Dimensions: Image: 13 7/8 × 21 5/8 in. (35.3 × 55 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 49 3/16 × 27 11/16 in. (125 × 70.3 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2024
  • Object Number: 2024.412.11
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Zhou Maoshu Admiring Lotuses, Kaihō Yūsetsu Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on silk, Japan
Zhou Maoshu Admiring Lotuses
Kaihō Yūsetsu
mid-17th century
White Plum Blossoms and Moon, Itō Jakuchū Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, Japan
White Plum Blossoms and Moon
Itō Jakuchū
1755
Jizō Bosatsu Playing a Flute, Kano Tan'yū Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, Japan
Jizō Bosatsu Playing a Flute
Kano Tan'yū
mid-17th century
Beauty of the Kanbun Era, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper, Japan
Beauty of the Kanbun Era
Japan
late 17th century
Portrait of the Great Master Seosan , Unidentified artist, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, Korea

Portrait of the Great Master Seosan

Unidentified artist
late 17th–18th century

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.