維摩經義記卷第四 4.22

4.22

於是文殊問維摩已下。第三段明淨名以無言遣文殊之言。文殊歎言善哉者。嘆於淨名無言會理。上身子默然而被呵詰。今淨名無言。何故致嘆。但身子不能即言以會空理故在空妨言。所以被呵詰。而淨名解言說體空即是無言。雖復默然。不妨言說稱理之解。所以致歎。宜以默然遣文殊之言事須默然。

From "Thereupon Mañjuśrī asked Vimalakīrti" downward is the third section, explaining how Vimalakīrti dispatched Mañjuśrī's words with wordlessness. When Mañjuśrī praised him, saying, "Excellent!", he was praising Vimalakīrti's wordlessness conforming to the principle. Above, Śāriputra was silent and was rebuked; here, Vimalakīrti is wordless, so why does he elicit praise? It is simply that Śāriputra was unable to realize the principle of emptiness directly through words, and so in staying in emptiness he obstructed words; for this reason he was rebuked. Vimalakīrti, however, understood that the essence of speech is empty, which is itself wordlessness; although silent, it did not obstruct the understanding that conforms to the principle through speech. That is why it elicited praise. It was fitting to dispatch Mañjuśrī's words through silence; the matter required silence.