The kulapati ‘lay Buddhist’ culture was flourished by the spread of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra (also known as the Weimojiejing) and reached its peak in the Song dynasty. It is interesting how the struggle between secularity and monasticism is solved with the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa image. Master Yin-Shun (12 March 1906 - 4 June 2005) believes that the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra belongs to the Mañjuśrī dharma practice. Inspired by this, the author examines the kulapati image from the perspective of ekavyūha-samādhi ‘meditative consciousness of one practice’ and looks for kulapati practices that follow the purpose of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra. Su Shi (8 January 1037 - 24 August 1101) learned from Master Zhao-Jue of the Huanglong Branch of the Linji School and received a formal confirmation from Master Fo-Yin (1032~1098) of the Yunmen School. He usually wore a patched robe and attended daily ceremonies with a saṁghāti under his court dress. This shows his efforts and persistence in carrying out the practice of ekavyūha-samādhi. According to the investigation of this study, Su Shi’s practice of ekavyūha-samādhi was accomplished through the practice of the prajñā thoughts in Huayen Buddhism and Zen Buddhism. On this account, this study first explores the dharma practice of ekavyūha-samādhi in the prajñā thoughts and identifies that Su Shi’s practice of ekavyūha-samādhi was a part of the emptiness observation in the prajñā thoughts. It then scrutinizes Su Shi’s life and thought, reveals how he realizes ekavyūha-samādhi, and finally confirms with his poetry his realization from the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra that “the secular and the sacred are equal.” Su Shi’s writings on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra show his kulapati image of Vimalakīrtinirdeśa in the Song dynasty. He realized its significance through the practice of the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra and achieved the state of liberation with abhijñā-vikurvaṇa in the mortal world. His most profound realization of Vimalakīrtinirdeśa image is about the following two (a) “Vimalakīrtinirdeśa’s illness is gone when the secular is well” and (b) “The heavenly immortal disperses petals.” Indeed, Su Shi is the best example of kulapati practitioners.
