In all worldly situations, whether good or evil,
Pleasant or ugly, friendly or hostile,
And when faced with provocative, critical,
Oppressive and quarrelsome language,
All this should be treated as empty.
All thoughts of retaliation should
Be dismissed.
Instant after instant, one should not
Think of the past, because if past, present and future
Thoughts succeed one another without
Interruption, this is bondage.
If there are no thoughts abiding in anything,
This is freedom from bondage.
Therefore, non-abiding is set up
As the fundamental of this Dharma door.
Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa (1st c. BCE-), The Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa (sometimes referred to as the Vimalakīrti Sūtra or Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra) is a Buddhist text which centers on a lay Buddhist meditator who attained a very high degree of enlightenment considered by some second only to the Buddha's. The word nirdeśa in the title means "instruction, advice", and Vimalakīrti is the name of the main protagonist of the text, and means "Taintless Fame".