As one of the most popular Buddhist texts in medieval Chinese society，Vimalakirtinirdesa-sutra (Wei-mo-chieh ching) played a consistent and vital role in attracting lay people，the educated elite in particular，to accept Buddhist teaching as well as shaping the religious lifestyle of lay believers. The doctrine of Non-Duality，which was articulated through the voice of Vimalakirti，was incorporated into theological frameworks of many Buddhist schools, including Ch'an Buddhism. Yet with the increasing popularity of Pure Land Buddhism in the Sui and T'ang society，how to reconcile the theological differences between the teaching of Vimalakirti Sutra and Pure Land belief became an urgent and difficult task for many Buddhist thinkers during this period.
In terms of theological framework，the basic doctrine of Vimalakirtinirdesa-sutra was a sharp contrast to the teaching of the Pure Land Buddhism. The theological position of this sutra gained strong support from Ch'an School，which happened to be the main opponent of the Pure Land School. At the popular level，however，examples from medieval Buddhist art suggested that scenes of Vimalakirtinirdesa-sutra were interpreted and represented in the way close to the Pure Land tradition. This paper provides a detailed examination of various attempts made by medieval Buddhist thinkers, especially Pure Land thinkers, to incorporate the teaching of Vimalakirti into the Pure Land system，as well as a discussion of the relationship between Pure Land belief and the artistic representation of Vimalakirtinirdesa-sutra.
