Title

upāyakauśalyaparivartaḥ

Upāya: Means, method, expedient

Kauśalya: Skillful, clever

Other Recommended Readings

Upāyakauśalya Sūtra

• 1. Mark Tatz trans., The Skill in Means Sūtra, 2001.

  2. Buddhist Association of the United States trans., ed. by Garma C. C. Chang, A Treasury of Mahāyāna Sūtras, 1983. Last chapter.

Technical Terms and Names

• • koṭi: ten million (modern: krore/karor)

  • kalpa: aeon (as long as it takes to dissolve a mountain with a cloth)

  • Śāriputra (Pāli: Sāriputta): The Buddha’s foremost disciple, renowned for his comprehension wisdom. His name means “Son of Śāri” his mother, given name was Upatissa. Was converted by Aśvajit (Assaji), one of the Buddha’s first five disciples along with Mahāmaudgalyāyana (Moggallāna).  Died shortly before the Buddha.

Key Teaching

In order to lead limited beings to the nature of the Dharma on the one Buddha vehicle, which they will reject at first hearing, the Buddha has to employ teaching devices, known as skillful means, namely, the three vehicles.

Summary

• 1. The Buddha arises from Samadhi and addresses Śāriputra. (23) He teaches:

     1. Wisdom of the Buddha is profound but Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas cannot fully understand it because they were taught with skillful means. (23)

     2. The Buddha employs skillful means to help them with their particular attachments and gladden their hearts, but the full teaching of the Buddha can only be understood by a buddha. (23-26)

     3. Only bodhisattvas on the one buddha vehicle have the willingness to understand the Lotus Sūtra’s Dharma. (25)

  2. The assembly is confused, they thought they already “attained the Dharma and achieved nirvana.” (26)

  3. Śāriputra, understanding this confusion, asks the Buddha to explain this. (26-7)

  4. The Buddha says there is no need to speak further, then Śāriputra requests twice more: a “threefold-request,” which is always given a reply. The Buddha teaches the purport of the teaching he has given in five sections (according to Taosheng (Kim trans., 388-9) (28)

• • 1. Distinguishing between the true and false. (30)

       1. Five thousand people withdraw from the scene. Twigs and leaves removed from the scene, only a great trunk remains.

       2. Those with arrogance cannot accept different teachings.

    2. Becoming one at the foundation. (30-1)

• • • 1. The Buddha teaches with one purpose (great trunk):

      2. To cause beings to realise the Buddha’s knowledge.

      3. All three vehicles are used for thus, but ultimately there is only the one buddha vehicle.

• • 3. The natures of the buddhas in the three times are identical. (31-2)

• • • 1. All buddhas preach in the same sequence: three vehicles first, then the one is revealed.

• • 4. The three vehicles are not the Buddha’s intent, but a necessity. (32)

• • • 1. The buddhas “appear in the trouble world of the five defilements.”

      2. This kalpa is one of defilement:

         1. Defilement of desire’s confusion

         2. Defilement of sentient beings

         3. Defilement of views

         4. Defilement of lifespan

            1. False views over one’s lifespan make it difficult to encounter the path.

• • 5. Those who understand the Buddha and those who do not.

• • • 1. True arhats or pratyekabuddhas are actually on the Bodhisattva path (32), those who do not listen to the Bodhisattva path are neither truly arhats or pratyekabuddhas (still on the level of expedients).

      2. Hence, technically, there are no arhats or pratyekabuddhas, only bodhisattvas. (32)

• • 6. The Buddha then elaborates on the same five points in verse form. (32-46)

• • • 1. First theme: first four verses.

      2. Second theme: next thirty five verses.

      3. Third theme: next seventy-five verses.

      4. Forth theme: next two verses.

      5. Fifth theme: final five verses.

      6. The verse also includes discussion of

         1. How sentient beings are born frail like foetuses, only the dharma-body is great.

         2. Phenomena are without their own nature.

         3. Conditions give rise to the seed for buddhahood.

         4. The Buddha didn’t teach for three weeks, until he was begged by Brahma.

Skillful Means as Taught Elsewhere

Brahma's Request (SN I.6.i.(1))

When the Buddha was begged by Brahma to teach, it was emphasized that beings are of different capacities.

"Rise up, O hero, victor in battle!

O caravan leader, debt-free one, wander in the world.

Teach the Dhamma, O Blessed One:

There will be those who understand."

    Then the Blessed One, having understood Brahma's request, out of compassion for beings surveyed the world with the eye of a Buddha. As he did so, the Blessed One saw beings with little dust in their eyes and with much dust in their eyes, with keen faculties and with dull faculties, with good qualities and with bad qualities, easy to teach and difficult to teach, and a few who dwelt seeing blame and fear in the other world. Just as a pond of blue or red or white lotuses, some lotuses might be born in the water, grow up in the water, and thrive while submerged in the water, without rising up from the water; some lotuses might be born in the water and grow up in the water, but would rise up from the water and stand without being soiled by the water—so too, surveying the world with the eye of a Buddha, the Blessed One saw beings with little dust in their eyes and with much dust in their eyes. with keen faculties and with dull faculties, with good qualities and with bad qualities, easy to teach and hard to teach, and a few who dwelt seeing blame and fear in the other world.

    Having seen this, he answered Brahma Sahampati in verse:

Open to them are the doors to the Deathless:

Let those who have ears release faith.

Foreseeing trouble, O Brahma, I did not speak

The refined, sublime Dhamma among human beings."

    Then Brahma Sahampati, thinking, "The Blessed One has given his consent [to my request] regarding the teaching of the Dhamma," paid homage to the Blessed One and disappeared right there.

Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta (DN 16, 3.22)

The Buddha explains that he adjusts his teaching methods to the audience. What might this teach us about localization of Buddhism in the west?

'I remember well, Ananda, many hundreds of assemblies of Khattiyas that I have attended; and before I sat down with them, spoke to them or joined in their conversation, I adopted their appearance and speech, whatever it might be. And I instructed, inspired, fired and delighted them with a discourse on Dhamma. And as I spoke with them they did not know me and wondered: "Who is it that speaks like this—a deva or a man?" And having instructed them, I disappeared, and they still did not know: "He who has just disappeared—was he a deva or a man?"

Skillful Means Sutra (Chang, 442-457)

The Buddha employs skillful means of deed as well as word, both as a Bodhisattva and as a Buddha.

    ... The Buddha replied to Bodhisattva Increasing Virtue, "Good man, do not doubt Tathagatas or Bodhisattvas. Why? Because Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have achieved inconceivable ingenuity, and they abide in all kinds of ingenuity to teach and convert sentient beings. Good man, heed my words and think well about them. There is a sutra named The Paramita of Ingenuity, which I shall explain to you and shall reveal to you a few of the skillful means which the Bodhisattva has devised gradually since the era of Dipankara Buddha.

    "Good man, the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva acquired the Realization of the Non-arising of Dharmas as soon as he saw Dipankara Buddha. From then on he has never made a mistake; been frivolous, unmindful, or distracted; or become less wise. ...

    "Why did the Bodhisattva reach the bodhi-tree when he had eaten and was full of energy, not when he was emaciated and weak? Good man, the Bodhisattva could have attained supreme enlightenment even if he had eaten and drunk nothing and so had become feeble, let alone when he had taken a grain of sesame or rice [daily]. At that time, out of pity for sentient beings of the future, the Bodhisattva ate the wonderful food [offered to him]. Why? Because if sentient beings who wish to seek the path when their good roots are still immature suffer hunger and thirst as a result of eating and drinking nothing, they cannot obtain wisdom; but if they practice [the Dharma] peacefully and happily, they can obtain wisdom. In order to make it clear that  the Dharma does not demand austerities, the Bodhisattva showed sentient beings that he obtained wisdom by practicing [the Dharma] peacefully and happily. Also, out of pity for the future sentient beings, the Bodhisattva wished to cause them to take good food, as he had; therefore, he [appeared to] achieve the thirty-seven ways to bodhi and to attain supreme enlightenment only after having eaten the food given to him by the woman Sujata. This woman also achieved the [thirty-seven] ways to bodhi. Furthermore, the Bodhisattva was blissful even when in the first dhyana, and could abide in it without taking food for hundreds of thousands of kalpas. This was the ingenuity practiced by the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva." ...

    The Buddha told Bodhisattva Superior Wisdom further, "Good man, in the era of Dipankara Buddha, there were five hundred traders who went to the ocean to seek precious treasures. Good man, with the five hundred traders, there was a wicked man who was treacherous and often did evil things remorselessly. He was skilled at devising strategies. This robber constantly deprived others of their possessions, though he looked like a trader. When he was in the same ship with the other traders, he thought, 'These traders have acquired many precious treasures. I should kill them and return alone to Jambudvipa with the loot.' With this thought in mind, he decided to kill them. Good man, at that time, there was a man named Great Compassion, who was the leader of those traders. In a dream, a sea-god appeared to him, saying, 'Among your people, there is a wicked man with a certain appearance who is a robber and often steals from others. Now he has the evil intention to kill these five hundred men and return alone to Jambudvipa with the precious treasures. If this wicked man carries out his intention to kill these five hundred men, he will perform an extremely evil karma. Why? Because all these five hundred men are Bodhisattvas who do not regress from their advance toward supreme enlightenment. If this wicked man kills the Bodhisattvas, for this grave offense he will remain in hell for as long as the period of time from the moment these Bodhisattvas brought forth bodhicitta to the moment they will attain supreme enlightenment. You are their leader. You may devise a skillful means to prevent this wicked man from falling to the hells, and also to save the lives of these five hundred Bodhisattvas.'

    "Good man, Great Compassion, the leader, then thought, 'What skillful means should I devise to prevent that wicked man from falling to the hells and save the lives of the five hundred Bodhisattvas?' Though he thought in this way, he told nobody about it.

    "At that time, they were waiting for the wind, which was expected to come in seven days to bring them back to Jambudvipa. After seven days had passed, he thought, 'There is no way to save the lives of these five hundred persons except to put this wicked man to death.' Then he thought further, 'If I tell these five hundred people about him, they will hate this wicked man and kill him themselves, and then they will fall to the miserable planes of existence.'

    "Good man, Great Compassion, the leader, then thought, 'I should kill him myself. Though I may fall to the miserable plane of hell and undergo sufferings for hundreds of thousands of kalpas because of killing him, I am willing to bear those sufferings, but I will not let this wicked man kill these five hundred Bodhisattvas and suffer in hell for that evil karma.'

    "Good man, at that time the leader Great Compassion took pity on that wicked man and devised a skillful means. Thinking to himself, 'I will kill this wicked man because I want to protect these five hundred people,' he killed the wicked man with a spear. In the end, the traders returned to Jambudvipa safe and sound.

    "Good man, you should not harbor any doubt. The leader at that time was no other than myself, and the five hundred traders were the five hundred Bodhisattvas of the Worthy Kalpa who will attain supreme enlightenment during this kalpa.

    "Good man, because I used ingenuity out of great compassion at that time, I was able to avoid the suffering of one hundred thousand kalpas of samsara, and that wicked man was reborn in heaven, a good plane of existence, after death.

    "Good man, now you should know this was only a display of the power of the Bodhisattva's ingenuity. Do not think that the Bodhisattva could receive obstructive karmic retributions and yet avoid the suffering of hundreds and thousands of kalpas of samsara."