“However innumerable sentient beings may
be, I vow to save them all; however inexhaustible afflictions may be, I vow to
eradicate them all; however immeasurable the teachings may be, I vow to study
them all; and however difficult the unsurpassed Buddhahood Path may be, I vow
to attain it.” These are the four vast and magnificent vows that bodhisattvas
make when they first take refuge in the Three Jewels.
The first two vows express their
determination to cultivate the bodhisattva path toward Buddhahood: They must
vow to liberate all sentient beings and eliminate all afflictions of greed,
hatred, and delusion to attain purity and liberation. The process of hearing
and being permeated by the bodhisattva precepts, cultivating and studying them,
and finally upholding them in practice is a necessary and effective method for
counteracting afflictions.
However, sentient beings possess vastly
different capacities and faculties, and the conditions for their liberation
vary greatly. How, then, can bodhisattvas liberate all sentient beings without
exception while remaining faithful to the prohibitions established by the
bodhisattva precepts they uphold? This touches on the spirit and principles
underlying the bodhisattva precepts, and the matter of skillful means employed
by bodhisattvas.
Skillful means, also called expedient
methods, refer to the wholesome and ingenious or flexible and adaptive
expedient methods one has the ability to employ when facing particular
individuals or special circumstances, enabling the other party to accept the
teaching or resolving difficult situations. Buddhist scriptures contain
numerous accounts of Buddhas and bodhisattvas who skillfully devised expedient
means according to the capacities and karmic conditions of sentient beings,
thereby succeeding in guiding them onto the Buddhahood Path.
For example, the Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra (Sutra of the Great Treasure
Collection) records a story in which the Venerable Ānanda reported to
Śākyamuni Buddha that when he was going on an alms round among the residents of
Śrāvastī City, he saw King of the Honored Multitude Bodhisattva sitting with a
woman on the same seat. This prompted him to report to the World-Honored One that
King of the Honored Multitude Bodhisattva had violated the precept against
sexual misconduct. However, this accusation proved unfounded.
The World-Honored One instead praised King
of the Honored Multitude Bodhisattva, saying that he had already realized and taken
refuge in the mind of all knowledge, attained the wisdom to face all
circumstances without any obstruction, and possessed the ability to employ all
kinds of skillful and expedient means to liberate and guide sentient beings.
The World-Honored One further bestowed a prophecy upon the woman who had been
sitting with King of the Honored Multitude Bodhisattva, declaring that in the
coming ninety-nine kalpas, she would make offerings to hundreds of thousands of
immeasurable and incalculable Buddhas of the ten directions, and would then
fully accomplish all Buddha Dharmas and attain Buddhahood. (Part 1)
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