This follows yesterday’s post, The Bodhisattva’s Illness.

The Vimalakirti Sutra contains a fascinating description of a world in which everything is composed of fragrances (Page 112-115).

At that time Shariputra thought to himself, “It is almost noon. What are all these bodhisattvas going to eat?”

Then Vimalakirti, knowing what was in his mind, said, “The Buddha preached the eight emancipations. You, sir, should undertake to practice them. Why be distracted by thoughts of eating when you are listening to the Law? If you want something to eat, wait a moment. I will see that you get the sort of food you have never had before! ”

Vimalakirti then entered samadhi and, employing his transcendental powers, showed the great assembly a country called Many Fragrances, situated in a region high above, beyond Buddha lands as numerous as the sands of forty-two Ganges. The Buddha named Fragrance Accumulated was at that time present there. The fragrance of his country was finer than the fragrance of all the human and heavenly realms of the Buddha lands of the ten directions. In this land there was not even the term voice-hearer or pratyekabuddha, but only great bodhisattvas, pure and clean, for whom the Buddha preached the Law. All the inhabitants of his world built their halls and towers out of fragrances, strolled the fragrant ground, and had gardens all made of fragrances. The fragrant aroma of their food wafted to immeasurable worlds in the ten directions. At this time the Buddha and the various bodhisattvas were just sitting down together to eat. Heavenly offspring, all named Fragrant Garland, all with their minds set on attaining anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, were serving the meal to the Buddha an the bodhisattvas.

Among the great assembly [gathered at Vimalakirti’s house,] there were none who could not see these things with their own eyes.

Then Vimalakirti addressed the bodhisattvas, saying, “Sirs, who among you can bring us some of that Buddha’s food ?”

Out of deference to Manjushri’s authority and supernatural powers, however, all of them remained silent.

[Addressing Manjushri,] Vimalakirti said, “Sir, a great assembly such as this – this is shameful, is it not?”

Manjushri replied, “As the Buddha has told us, never despise those who have yet to learn.”

Thereupon Vimalakirti, without rising from his seat but in the presence of the whole gathering, conjured up a phantom bodhisattva whose auspicious features, shining brightness, authority and virtue were so superior that they outshone the entire group. Then he announced to this bodhisattva, “You must go to the region high above, beyond Buddha lands numerous as the sands of forty-two Ganges, where there is a country called Many Fragrances. The Buddha, named Fragrance Accumulated, is just now sitting down with his bodhisattvas to a meal. When you arrive in his presence, speak as I instruct you, saying, ‘Vimalakirti bows his head before the feet of the World-Honored One with immeasurable reverence and begs to inquire if in your daily activities your illnesses are few, your worries are few. Does your strength suffice you? He desires to obtain the leftovers from this meal of the World-Honored One so he may carry out the Buddha’s work by dispensing them in the saha world, enabling those who delight in a lesser doctrine to be broadened by the great way, and also to cause the Thus Come One’s fame to be heard on all sides.’ ”

At that time this conjured bodhisattva in the presence of the gathering ascended to the region high above. Everyone in the entire assembly could see him as he departed, and as he arrived in the world called Many Fragrances and made his obeisance at the feet of the Buddha there. And they could hear him say, ‘Vimalakirti bows his head before the feet of the WorldHonored One with immeasurable reverence and begs to inquire if in your daily activities your illnesses are few, your worries are few. Does your strength suffice you? He desires to obtain the leftovers from this meal of the World-Honored One so he may carry out the Buddha’s work by dispensing them in the saha world, ensuring that those who delight in a lesser doctrine will be broadened by the great way, and also that the Thus Come One’s fame may be heard on all sides.”

When the great men [of the country Many Fragrances] saw this conjured bodhisattva, they sighed at seeing what they had never seen before, and said, “Where has this superior being come from? The saha world – where is that? What is this thing he calls a ‘lesser doctrine?’ ”

When they had put these questions to their Buddha, the
Buddha announced to them, “In the lower region, beyond Buddha lands as numerous as the sands of forty-two Ganges, there is a world called saha. The Buddha named Shakyamuni is at present manifesting himself in that evil world of the five impurities in order to expound the teachings of the Way to living beings who delight in a lesser doctrine. He has a bodhisattva named Vimalakirti who dwells in the emancipation Beyond Comprehension and preaches the Law for the other bodhisattvas. He has purposely dispatched this phantom being to come and extol my name and praise this land, so that thereby he may bring increased benefits to those bodhisattvas.”

The bodhisattvas said, “How can this man conjure up a phantom such as this? Does he possess such strength of virtue, such fearlessness, such transcendental powers?”

The Buddha replied, “His powers are great indeed! He dispatches phantoms in all the ten directions to carry out the Buddha’s work and bring enrichment to living beings.”

Then the Thus Come One Fragrance Accumulated took a bowl of many fragrances, filled it with fragrant rice, and gave it to the phantom bodhisattva.

The provisional nature of The Vimalakirti Sutra is underscored by this denigration of voice-hearers or pratyekabuddhas. As is explained in the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra:

For Chih-i, the … differentiation of the coarse and the subtle is for the purpose of reaching non-distinction, since the intention of the Buddha is for universal salvation. Ultimately speaking, the coarseness and the subtlety are all merged in the Lotus Sūtra, for the Buddha made decisive and clear that all of them are dissolved in the subtlety (Chüeh-liao Jumiao). Regardless of whether they are viewed as coarse or subtle, and or neither coarse nor subtle, they all contain the ultimate intention of the Buddha in leading beings to attain Buddhahood. (Vol. 2, Page 105)
The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra: Tien-tai Philosophy of Buddhism

Or as Nichiren writes:

As all Mahāyāna sūtras except one do not preach on the basis of the “revealing the truth and merging all the provisional” doctrine, neither the doctrine of obtaining Buddhahood for the Two Vehicles nor that of attainment of Buddhahood by Śākyamuni Buddha in the eternal past is preached in them. The Lotus Sūtra on the other hand, is expounded on the basis of the “revealing the truth and merging all the provisional” doctrine, thus both doctrines of attaining Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles and the attainment of Buddhahood by Śākyamuni Buddha in the eternal past are revealed in it.

Ken Hōbō-shō, A Clarificaton of Slandering the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 133.

One other link between the Vimalakirti and Lotus sutras is this warning given following the above discussion of the saha world:

At that time the nine million bodhisattvas all spoke out in unison, saying, “We wish to visit that saha world and offer alms to Shakyamuni Buddha. And we also wish to see Vimalakirti and the many other bodhisattvas.”

“You may go,” said the Buddha. “But draw in your bodily fragrances so that you will not cause living beings to be deluded or beguiled by them. And you should put aside your real form so that the persons in that country who are striving to become bodhisattvas will not feel intimidated or ashamed. And you must not look on that land with disdain or contempt or rouse thoughts that obstruct progress. Why? Because all the lands in the ten directions are as empty as the sky. It is just that, since the Buddhas wish to convert those who delight in a lesser doctrine, they do not reveal the full purity of the land.”

Compare that with Pure-Flower-Star-King-Wisdom Buddha’s admonition to Wonderful-Voice Bodhisattva in Chapter 24:

“Do not despise that world! Do not consider it to be inferior [to our world]! Good Man! The Sahā-World is not even. It is full of mud, stones, mountains’ and impurities. The Buddha [of that world] is short in stature! So are the Bodhisattvas [of that world]. You are forty-two thousand yojanas tall. I am six million an eight hundred thousand yojanas tall. You are the most handsome. You have thousands of millions of marks of merits, and your light is wonderful. Do not despise that world when you go there! Do not consider that the Buddha and Bodhisattvas of that world are inferior [to us]! Do not consider that that world is inferior [to ours]!”