The Origins of ‘Skilful Means’ in Early Buddhism
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The early Buddhist scriptures (Pali suttas) record that at the time of his enlightenment (c. 450 B.C.E.) – when Siddhattha Gotama attained nirvana and therefore freed himself from the wheel of death and rebirth (samsara) – he initially recoiled at the prospect of teaching his experience to other people.1. The Buddha, or ‘Awakened One,’ as he was henceforth known, feared that his teaching (dhamma) was too difficult for a generation that ‘delights in worldliness’ to understand, and that its realization lay beyond their spiritual grasp:
‘Those dyed in lust, wrapped in darkness,
Will never discern this abstruse Dhamma
Which goes against the worldly stream,
Subtle, deep, and difficult to see.’
At this point, however, the god Brahma, who feared the world would ‘be lost’ if the Buddha chose to pass into nirvana without teaching his path, descended from heaven and appeared before him. He then eloquently urged the Buddha, on behalf of all suffering beings, that his teaching was desperately needed and that he should remain in samsara:
‘Just as one who stands on a mountain peak
Can see below the people all around,
So, O Wise One, All-seeing Sage,
Ascend the Palace of the Dhamma.
Let the Sorrowless One survey this human breed,
Engulfed in sorrow, overcome by birth and old age.
Arise, victorious hero, caravan leader,
Debtless one, and wander in the world.
Let the Blessed One [i.e. the Buddha] teach the Dhamma,
There will be those who will understand.’
Moved by Brahma’s passionate plea, the Buddha surveyed the world with his spiritual eye and saw that there were indeed people of different predilections – ‘some with little dust in their eyes and with much dust in their eyes, with keen faculties and with dull faculties … easy to teach and hard to teach.’ His deep compassion (karuna) stirred by this vision, the Buddha resolved to remain in the world and accept Brahma’s request to teach the dhamma to all:
‘Open for them are the doors to the deathless,
Let those with ears now show their faith …’
Setting aside the obvious mythological overtones, all Buddhist traditions accept the historical basis of this story. That is, they believe the Buddha experienced enlighten-ment at Gaya, initially despaired of communicating it, but after some weeks of deliberation resolved to teach his dhamma to the world. However, having taken this decision, the Buddha was faced with the daunting task of rendering the dhamma accessible to everyone – of devising a teaching strategy which could equally accommodate pupils ‘with keen faculties and with dull faculties.’ His solution to this problem was the practice of ‘skilful means’ (upaya-kosalla). Starting from the conviction that nirvana was beyond thought and linguistic expression, the Buddha asserted that his spiritual teaching was only a useful ‘pointer’ to the truth – not the truth itself. This meant that the dhamma – because merely provisional - was neither fixed nor dogmatic. Rather, being an expedient ‘means’ (upaya) to an end, this teaching was – like Socrates’ celebrated dialectical method - dynamic and contextual. This pragmatic philosophical stance gave the Buddha enormous flexibility – it meant he was free to adjust or change his teaching to suit the level of his audience.
In its basic form, ‘skilful means’ appears in the early Buddhist texts as simply a progressive or ‘gradual instruction’ (anupubbi katha) on the dhamma. When teaching to spiritually mature pupils, the Buddha directly explains complex philosophical aspects of his doctrine.3. To beginners, however, he offers preparatory lessons on general spiritual virtues before moving to advanced topics. This process is clearly illustrated in the account of his teaching to Upali:
‘Then the Blessed One gave the householder Upali progressive instruction, that is, talk on giving, talk on virtue, talk on the heavens; he explained the danger, degradation, and defilement in sensual pleasures and the blessing of renunciation. When he knew that the householder Upali’s mind was ready, receptive, free from hindrances, elated, and confident, he expounded to him the teaching special to the Buddhas: suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.’ 4.
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