The Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra or Vimalakirti Sutra is a Mahayana Buddhist sutra. Sometimes used in the title, the word nirdesa means "instruction, advice". The sutra teaches, among other subjects, the meaning of nondualism. It contains a report of a teaching addressed to both arhats and bodhisattvas by the upasaka (lay practitioner) Vimalakirti, who expounds the doctrine of sunyata to them. This culminates with the wordless teaching of silence.