Vimalakīrti Preaching

The original painting this piece of embroidery was adapted from is based on the Mahayana Buddhist classic Vimalakīrti Sūtra. According to this sutra, Vimalakīrti, a knowledgeable, virtuous and eloquent man, was a layman Mahayana practitioner. One day, Sakyamuni sent a group of his disciples headed by Mañjuśrī to inquire about Vimalakīrti’s health as the latter claimed he was sick. After all the guests were seated in his home, Vimalakīrti ordered the fairy maids to sprinkle petals up into the sky. As some of the petals fell down to Sariputra, he rushed to flick the petals off his garment. Seeing this, Vimalakīrti immediately pointed that Sariputra still had secular concerns on his mind and then took the opportunity to expound the Buddhist doctrines, leaving the others fully convinced.
On the image, the protagonist, lying in bed, is talking in high spirit, while Mañjuśrī who sits opposite to Vimalakīrti with her hands closed and feet resting on a lotus flower, shows heartfelt conviction and admiration. The curvaceous Mañjuśrī looks calm and poised, just like a lady from a noble family in real life. As a comparison to the pious looks on the bodhisattva and arahants, the maids display a sense of liveliness amid dutiful respect. The inclusion of worldly emotions as shown on the maids in a religion-themed artwork has make itself more approachable and appealing.
This embroidery piece employed silk threads in ink-related colors, which have better set off the curvy, flowing and powerful lines on the image. The use of simple embroidery techniques and plain colors, while successfully portraying characters in various poses and expressions, coincides the Buddhist belief that “the world itself is void, and vice versa”( 空即是色，色即是空).