The Buddhist Layman Vimalakīrti

Hakuin Ekaku was a Buddhist monk at Shō in-ji, a temple located in modern-day Shizuoka prefecture to the east of Kyoto. He was an amateur painter and calligrapher and used his works to spread the teachings of Buddhism to the masses. Vimalakīrti (in Japanese, Yuima koji) was a wealthy merchant in ancient India who attained a superior level of understanding of Buddhist doctrine that surpassed even that of bodhisattvas. Here, Hakuin depicts him seated in a chair, ready to debate the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī.