Blackwell Reference Online

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” Uso mo hoben (lying is a skillful means)” is a Japanese phrase often used in defense of a white lie without referencing its original source in Buddhism. To tell a lie is, of course, unethical but also an infraction of Buddhist moral precepts, yet to lie for the sake of awakening the unenlightened is a Buddhist practice of upaya kaushalya (“skill in means”). The premise of upaya kaushalya is a creed that Shakyamuni Buddha's dharma is too profound to understand in its doctrinal essence, and thus requires alternative explanations. Expedient lies in a specific Buddhist context are, therefore, a legitimate didactic technique of Mahayana Buddhism. Inevitably, different skills benefit different kinds of individuals, depending on their preparation and level of understanding. For the sake of illuminating abstract ideas in visual images, paintings, too, serve as useful teaching tools for conveying Buddhist tenets. This essay studies such religious images to explore further what might happen if illustrated expedient lies become taken as truth. In its application, as John Schroeder points out, upaya kaushalya combines compassion and wisdom, which form the essence of Mahayana Buddhism; compassion towards the unawakened and suffering beings, and wisdom to guide them skillfully towards enlightenment. A famous and often-cited example of skillful means is demonstrated in the parable of ... log in or subscribe to read full text