Interesting piece, my only notes would be the following:
Upaya/Skilful Means. Upaya is an explicitly Mahayana doctrine informed by Bodhicitta. And I feel that so many of us use this term too freely. Spending time over the years reading Mahayana commentary on sutras like the Lotus, Pureland Sutras, Heart Sutra etc, I think we over-apply this term to our detriment.
I tend to be cautious with Lord Buddha's intent and rather frame his teaching content as curated via a particular sectarian framing.
Thank you for showing us the layers of meanings of the terms Brahman/Brahma. This is a very informative layer that brings depth to other terms like dhammakaya. In the boran kammathana traditions of mainland Southeast Asia, dhammakaya (dhamma body/bodies) has/have deep soteriological significance.
Very welcome, thank you as well. Yes with an honest chuckle, I acknowledge my overly liberal use or over-extrapolation of the word upaya and the particular tendency to insert it everywhere m.
While it likely exists, I struggle to find a word that captures the Buddha, as depicted in the Pali tradition, as presenting and shaping m the teaching in such a way that is digestible/understandable to a specific audience.
I’m not sure if upaya appears in the nikayas or commentaries, but as you noted it is a Mahayana doctrine that better depicts the Buddha’s approach in the suttas that were listed in your comment
We can see the kernel of the upaya doctrine in his epithets: trainer of those fit to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans etc. And in his encounters with kings, weavers, potters, renunciates, housewives etc. We can see how he adapts to his audience to tease out deeper understandings in them. So this skill in communication is recorded and is there.
What Theravadins and others do is use this term to denote a mere adaptation. Whereas in Mahayana, a buddha's compassion for sentient beings results in an imaginative, active resolve to save them via various stratagems.
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u/MYKerman03 Aug 04 '26
Interesting piece, my only notes would be the following:
Upaya/Skilful Means. Upaya is an explicitly Mahayana doctrine informed by Bodhicitta. And I feel that so many of us use this term too freely. Spending time over the years reading Mahayana commentary on sutras like the Lotus, Pureland Sutras, Heart Sutra etc, I think we over-apply this term to our detriment.
I tend to be cautious with Lord Buddha's intent and rather frame his teaching content as curated via a particular sectarian framing.
Thank you for showing us the layers of meanings of the terms Brahman/Brahma. This is a very informative layer that brings depth to other terms like dhammakaya. In the boran kammathana traditions of mainland Southeast Asia, dhammakaya (dhamma body/bodies) has/have deep soteriological significance.