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.