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Vimalakīrti (Sanskrit: विमल vimala "stainless, undefiled" + कीर्ति kīrti "fame, glory, reputation") is the central figure in the Vimalakirti Sutra,^[1] which presents him as the ideal Mahayana Buddhist upāsaka ("lay practitioner")^[2] and a contemporary of Gautama Buddha (6th to 5th century BCE).^[1] There is no mention of him in Buddhist texts until after Nāgārjuna (1st century BCE to 2nd century CE) revived Mahayana Buddhism in India.^[3] The Mahayana Vimalakirti Sutra also spoke of the city of Vaisali^[4] as where the lay Licchavi bodhisattva Vimalakirti was residing.^[5]

As a Zen Patriarch

The Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra characterizes Vimalakīrti as a wealthy patron of Gautama Buddha.^[6] Unlike many other figures of the Mahayana literature, such as Avalokiteśvara, he is generally taken to be a historical figure like Gautama Buddha, rather than mythic or legendary, and as such Vimalakīrti is not commonly venerated on altars or in tantric rituals,^[7] but as a prehistoric zen, i.e., chan preacher.^{[citation needed]}