The Practice of Perfection by Robert Aitken

Author:Robert Aitken [Aitken, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-81747-1
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2012-05-09T04:00:00+00:00

SEVEN

COMPASSIONATE MEANS

The Upāya Pāramitā

Upāya literally means “suited to the place or situation.” It is skillful means, the way of teaching that fits the persons involved, the time, and the place. Though it is sometimes explained as a way that is strategically correct or relatively expedient, the fundamental meaning is “compassionately appropriate.” On the altar of Mahāyāna Buddhist temples, you will find the Buddha Shākyamuni in the center, Mañjushrī, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom on one side, and Samantabhadra, the Bodhisattva of Great Compassionate Action, on the other. Prajñā and Upāya are the two essential qualities of Buddhahood. In the down-to-earth vocabulary of Zen Buddhism, they are the “head” and “tail.”

A monk asked Chiu-feng, “How about when there is a head but no tail?”

Chiu-feng said, “After all, that is not sublime.”

The monk asked, “How about when there is a tail but no head?”

Chiu-feng said, “Trying one’s utmost but having no power.”1

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