Discovering the Four Phases of "Skillful Means" in Buddhism: Dilemmas and Controversies

"Skillful means" is a key concept in Mahayana Buddhist dharma. Scholar Damien Keown has identified four phases in its development, taking us from early Buddhism towards more controversial claims about practice, including deception and even killing.
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✅ Videos mentioned:
Unveiling "Skillful Means" in Buddhism: Early Developments - • Unveiling "Skillful Me...
The Buddhist Doctrine of Two Truths: Origins - • The Buddhist Doctrine ...
Ethical Dilemmas in Early Buddhism? - • Ethical Dilemmas in Ea...
✅ Books referenced:
Robert Buswell (ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, pp. 871-2 amzn.to/3wy78N6
Tsugunari Kubo and Akira Yuyama (trans.), The Lotus Sutra (Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 2007). amzn.to/4bQo1To
Robert Thurman (trans.), The Holy Teaching of Vimalakīrti amzn.to/49SXYcv
Paul Williams, Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations (2nd Ed.) amzn.to/3TdOEKw
Mark Tatz (trans.), The Skill in Means (Upāyakauśalya) Sūtra www.academia.edu/43712615/The...
✅ Papers referenced:
Damien Keown, “Paternalism in the Lotus Sutra.” Journal of Buddhist Ethics (1998) www.academia.edu/599738/Pater...
Asaf Federman, “Literal Means and Hidden Meanings: A New Analysis of Skillful Means.” In Philosophy East & West (2009). - www.jstor.org/stable/40213564
✅ Suttas referenced:
suttacentral.net/iti25/en/sujato
suttacentral.net/an2.21-31/en...
suttacentral.net/dn9/en/sujato
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Thumbnail image: Enthroned Buddha Attended by the Bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani, 10th c. Indonesia, courtesy the Metropolitan Museum.
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00:00 Intro
00:29 First: early Buddhism
01:00 Second: Lotus Sutra
10:35 Third: Vimalakīrti Sutra
13:19 Fourth: Sutra on Skillful Means
17:57 Coming to terms with the development of skillful means
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[@DougsDharma]

🧡 If you find benefit in my videos, consider supporting the channel by joining us on Patreon and get fun extras like exclusive videos, ad-free audio-only versions, and extensive show notes: www.patreon.com/dougsseculardharma 🙂 📙 You can find my book here: books2read.com/buddhisthandbook

[@John.W81]

Everyone dies Doug… even you, even this. You’ll know true happiness when you figure it out. Acceptance of death is the ultimate Parramatta. It’s the very moment we practice for and it’s over in a second maybe even less than a second an entire lifetime worth of practice boil down to a nanosecond. How do you capture that?❤

[@hoangleminh6990]

I'm a keen viewer and your big fan from Vietnam. Being from Vietnam, I'm commenting at this time of the year to draw our brief attention (no matter how fleetingly) to the upcoming anniversary of one of the most significant events in Vietnamese Buddhism in recent history. On June 11th 61 years ago in the Vietnam war, the world witnessed the self-immolation of The Venerable, Monk Thích Quảng Đức (in fact in Vietnam we now call him Bodhisattva Thích Quảng Đức; we have a big monument for him at a major intersection in Hồ Chí Minh City, the same spot where he burned himself). I'm very interested to know what early Buddhism would have to say (if anything) about this act of self-immolation. Keep in mind that, the Burning Monk did not protest against the war per se; he specifically protested against the suppressive policies, carried out against Buddhists by the Catholic regime, supplied by the American government; this act had nothing to do with communism, which was the excuse posted by the American government for their senseless involvement in the war (I don't want to get political; I just want to focus on the dharma). Would the Buddha himself say anything (condemnation of the suicidal act or even commiseration perhaps?), or would he just keep silent, like he did on several occasions? I remember Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh offering a reasonable interpretation of the act, in terms of the latter-day concept of Bodhisattva. For me, I can only offer such a timid suggestion as this comment. From a very humble follower of your channel, cheers! Hoàng Minh Lê.

[@John.W81]

非常感謝您的分享！ 我是一名美國軍方的退伍軍人，我只是碰巧在這裡，與此同時，我只是想說我很抱歉，我的天啊，我們對你們都很刻薄，太可怕了。 ❤我希望你能原諒我們。 我很抱歉，這很糟糕。 我們一團糟。 我們才剛剛開始弄清楚。 我們不知道這是一個代際問題，但天哪，這是有益的，而且有些奇怪。 不過對你來說很好。謝謝你回來，謝謝你關注我們，沒有永遠憎恨我們，讓我們開始和結束。 我下載了梅花村應用程式。 這太有幫助了。 我現在一直在使用它。 我必須冥想。 我得走了，對不起，謝謝你，我希望你讀這個。 希望這能帶來快樂。 ❤❤❤☸️💓💎🙏🏼🧘‍♀️ 非常感謝你的分享！ 我是一名美國軍方的退伍軍人，我只是碰巧在這裡，與此同時，我只是想說我很抱歉，我的天啊，我們對你們都很 刻薄，太可怕了。 ❤我希望你能原諒我們。 我很抱歉，這很糟糕。 我們一團糟。 我們才剛剛開始弄清楚。 我們不知道這是一個代際問題，但天哪，這是有益的，而且有些奇怪。 不過對你來說很好。 謝謝你回來，謝謝你關注我們，沒有永遠憎恨我們，讓我們開始和結束。 我下載了梅花村應用程式。 這太有幫助了。 我現在一直在使用。 我必須冥想。 我走了，對不起，謝謝你，我希望你讀這個。 希望這能帶來快樂。 ❤❤❤☸️💓💎🙏🏼🧘‍♀️

[@meetontheledge1380]

I didn't see Prof. Smith's video until today (6/23) and only then saw your post. I had no idea of the significance of June 11th. I am, of course, familiar with the event it marks as well as the issues surrounding it. As a child of that era, I have spent a lifetime coming to grips with the actions of the US gov. in S.E. Asia. Some of my earliest memories are of hearing the nightly network newscasts and trying to grasp the bitter controversy which nearly tore the US apart (and from which some of us have never recovered). I, too, wish to avoid the politics but still to send you and the Vietnamese people all of my meta and the wish that you be safe, healthy and happy. I also wanted to thank you for pointing out the great significance of June 11th. In the future, I will be aware and that awareness is made all the more powerful in light of the subsequent (and current) actions of the US gov. Bodhisatva Thich Quang Duc's action speaks as powerfully today as it did 61 years ago. I practice at a Thai Wat near to my home. I have MANY times pondered (despite the fact that I am not even nearly old enough to have been personally involved), how I would feel (or if I would have even had the nerve to go in) at a Vietnamese, Cambodian, or Laotian Wat. Kindness and compassion being paramount in both Theravada and Mahayana, I believe I would be welcome, but.....well, I have MANY times wondered. I have 50 some years of sorrow for what was done. June 11th will be an appropriate reminder.

[@graydensnyder2173]

I think that perhaps many have gone astray from the stream by forgetting Upekkha (Equanimity). All brahmaviharas if practiced rightly exist in balance with each other. Mara traps us forever in Samsara if we get pulled astray by every wave that washes the shore. There is no greater good that can be done for the world than to break free ⛓️‍💥. I once asked my teacher Luangpi Tim what he thought of the trolly problem. And he said that as a monk he would have to accept the fate of the people on the tracks as their kamma rather than to parajika. I know how this can be very difficult to accept/understand, but it’s important that we try and have faith in the original teaching of the Buddha, and not think we always know right as worldlings🙏🙏🙏

[@badbuda]

serene equanimity, thank you

[@saralamuni]

The three rivers Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra all flow into the great Indian Ocean.

[@lelandstronks319]

“Skillful Means”, what a wonderful topic.😉 Thank you for your teaching. I think as followers of the Dharma, we are just looking for the most positive out come. Even if we need to fudge no the rules a little bit.☸️🤓 Be Well Doug.

[@LexFrelsari]

I love deon vs teleological thought experiments and this has been a particularly interesting one. Thank you, Doug.

[@gutsbadguy50]

Very interesting talks. The discussion of the murder on the ship reminds me of the trolley problem. Buddhism is truly a deep, and sometimes very difficult to comprehend philosophy.

[@DougsDharma]

Yes, well also there are different "Buddhisms", different ways to interpret the dharma.

[@BasedAndBasic]

Thanks for covering this Doug. Skillful means is something I've both admired and been highly critical of in Buddhism. Enlightenment, despite it's many descriptions, is notoriously hard (if not fundamentally impossible) to identify empirically. That's a problem. If skillful means is used to justify unconventional teaching methods in the pursuit of enlightenment, but enlightenment is deeply ambiguous, then we make room for situations where teachers can easily abuse their power. We've seen this a lot in the west since buddhism's introduction. Anyway, I think it's an extremely crucial problem and, in my opinion, really forces us downstream to address the ambiguity around just what enlightenment is and how buddhism aught to orient itself around it. I'm curious if you have any thoughts here. Cheers for the video.

[@DougsDharma]

Thanks yes I agree. A related problem is that enlightenment is very, very difficult -- maybe impossible -- to truly witness in another person. We can always be misled. So this argues for a certain degree of skepticism and awareness in our dealings with teachers.

[@CuongNguyen-do6qs]

Fascinating discussion on some rarely discussed topics, especially on the participation of violence on the basis of compassion. In his most recent book "Christian Atheism" Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek's harsh critique of Buddhism (borderline polemical) precisely on this controversy. His point is that compassion is essentially the desire for eliminating the collective suffering which simply eliminates individual accountability for one's moral action that is fundamental to christian ethics. I do not want to create any religious divide, but this critique may have negative implication on people's understanding of buddhism as a system of ethics.

[@Giantcrabz]

brilliantly argued on an intellectual tightrope 😅. I love videos combining 'western' philosophy and buddhism

[@SnakeAndTurtleQigong]

🙏

[@John.W81]

Day 1~{❤} - {…} = 💎💗☸️

[@ThankyouJohn]

🙏🙏🙏

[@crypticnomad]

I would call the parable of the cart both deceptive and not deceptive depending on the perspective taken on it. I think that it is important to consider the concept of the "Framing effect" which is a basic cognitive bias that pretty much everyone has to some degree or another. Typically when someone describes the framing effect they usually say something like that it is a bias that causes us to decide between options based on whether the options are presented with positive or negative connotations but there is more to it than just that. We have a modern mindset and a modern worldview and I think if a buddha were around today the framing would certainly be different but the charrot would still be the same. In some ways it might be analogous to someone who is world class at maths trying to describe a complicated concept to someone who has only studied basic arithmetic. They may be able to understand bits and pieces but not everything and not because they are lacking in anything except that specific experience. Since it is an ineffable experiential type of understanding it is the kind of thing the kids just have to step out of the house to understand. Since it is ineffable, any words used to get them out of the house are going to be untrue in some sense. I don't mean that in the gaslighting way that you mentioned but rather "if everything I'm going to say is going be untrue in at least some sense I might as well use the most efficient untrue words I can so they can experience the truth for themselves with the least number of untrue words possible"

[@ndril]

It's kind of a shame that we use such a jargon term like "skillful means." In Chinese, they translate it to 方便 fangbian, which seems to be a very common word, something like "suitable" or "appropriate."

[@DougsDharma]

"Skillful means" is a direct translation out of the Pāli/Sanskrit “upāyakosalla”/“upāya-kauśalya”. Upāya = way/means, kosalla/kauṡalya = competence, proficiency, skill.

[@alaksoglossian8456]

It seems to me that the precepts are a guide and not commandments set in stone. From my limited understanding of the Dhamma wisdom and compassion are what’s important for me. I use wisdom to inform my compassion, and compassion to inform my wisdom. So I would say a single act of compassion is more powerful than a million prayers or mantras. 🙏🏼

[@DougsDharma]

Yes they aren't commandments because they aren't "commanded" by anyone. They are simply skillful and beneficial ways to live.

[@lustgarten]

@@DougsDharma A commandment can be slippery. No one commands you to earn a living but you will be pretty miserable if you don't. A commandment can be when we're presented with few options. the nature of a commandment is that there is a consequence for not following it as there are in life choices such as those presented by Buddhism.

[@joltee9317]

So would it be accurate to say that from the Burning House story, compassion became the focus underlying the skillful means? This made thr bodhisattva ideal the one true path in Mahayana buddhism.

[@DougsDharma]

Yes I'd say it was definitely framed in terms of compassion.

[@joltee9317]

@@DougsDharma that's very interesting. I have always thought the lotus sutra diverged from earlier texts somewhat. Especially, the whole nichiren Buddhist stuff which sprang from it evetually; some of the nichiren sects barely seem Buddhist to me. Also, the notion that the boddhisattva ideal is the one true path to buddhahood, but that arhats who thought they were fully liberated, actually weren't, concerned me. It seemed to be casting doubt on the Theravada path. Not suggesting the boddhisattva path isn't important but does it really lead to a better attainment; this question I've struggled with. Thank you for another great video. I really enjoy your videos

[@smlanka4u]

You can find another version of that story in Theravada Buddhism.

[@DougsDharma]

I assume you mean the third phase story. It wouldn't surprise me if a version of the same point exists in later Theravāda as well, where is it exactly?

[@smlanka4u]

@@DougsDharma, The burning house. As I know, the man promises to give gifts. The gift was saving the children, and it is enough.

[@DougsDharma]

@@smlanka4u Where is this found?

[@smlanka4u]

@@DougsDharma, It means the utmost pleasure of Nirvana (Nibbhanan Paraman Sukam).-Ven. Watagoda Maggavihari thera.

[@hammersaw3135]

If you lied to save children lives from a burning building, this is the trickster archetype, a global storytelling phenomenon. "Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. Good words are not persuasive; persuasive words are not good." Tao Te Ching

[@sonamtshering194]

I think I said this earlier, but Buddhist precepts are not absolute. They are more of a guideline on moral and ethical conduct. Hence the analogy of violating the letter of the law to keep its spirit applies here. I was also reminded of the documentary I watched about the Late Ganju Lama who was awarded the Victoria Cross for a great act of valour during World War 2. While a Devout Buddhist himself, Mr. Lama said that he believed in peace but he won't hesitate to take up arms again if it is to fight for his country. Samsara is itself imperfect and flawed. In absolute sense not everyone follows the precepts since even the small harmless lies told in jest do count as breaking the precept of being truthful/honest based on a technicality. Ultimately, I guess everything depends on context

[@DougsDharma]

Perhaps so, though good to recall that in early Buddhism the precepts were in essence absolute in that the arahant was said to be literally incapable of violating them. See for example AN 9.7: "A mendicant with defilements ended can’t deliberately take the life of a living creature, take something with the intention to steal, have sex, tell a deliberate lie, or store up goods for their own enjoyment like they did as a lay person." suttacentral.net/an9.7/en/sujato

[@sonamtshering194]

@@DougsDharma Then I guess it is not absolute for the lay people and monastics who are yet to be enlightened

[@bodhisattvaFM]

I hesitate to ask Doug Buddhism's position on surprise parties after this one 🎉😂 There's another perspective from which the Lotus Sutra's Skillful Means parable doesn't address deception at all. This layer of interpretation focuses on the need to suit teachings to particular ears and needs. Imafine a student so materialist the ignore the Buddha when he says the house (the senses, let's say) are burning and so entitled that the Buddha's offer to accept him into the assembly is rejected because he instead demands a private teaching with all his favorite pet gods and doctrines and superstitions that got him burning in the first place. You see how the focus isn't the Buddha's ethics but his great compassion in promising that which will liberate and viewing them as little children rather than leave the most petty, stubborn, entitled frustrating human beings imaginable to suffer from their own understanding. Don't judge Buddha too harshly. These are the Buddha's Sweathogs!

[@DougsDharma]

Yes, I'll approach some of that in my next video. 🙏

[@radoskan]

It's obvious that the differentiating between being a monk/nun and a layperson is invalid on a deep level. Why should it matter? It's a manmade and artificial difference. Karma is intention, you can do anything as far as you don't have an evil intention. It's the only way to see it if you take the statement "karma is intention" seriously. (Of course the statement of mine is not right either because as Doug said it's language, it's clinging, it's craving to become)

[@zesky6654]

Where did "Karma as intention" come from? I always interpreted "Karma as consequence".

[@DougsDharma]

It's from AN 6.63, "Cetanāhaṁ, bhikkhave, kammaṁ vadāmi." "By karma I mean intention" or, "It is intention that I call karma."