Appropriate Means as an Ethical Doctrine in the Lotus Sūtra

ISSN:1076-9005
Volume 5 1998

Appropriate Means as an Ethical Doctrine in the Lotus Sūtra

Gene Reeves
Rikkyo University

In this paper I claim that upāya or hōben in the Lotus Sūtra, contrary to how it has often been translated and understood, is an ethical doctrine, the central tenet of which is that one should not do what is expedient but rather what is good, the good being what will actually help someone else, which is also known as bodhisattva practice. Further, the doctrine of hōben is relativistic. No doctrine, teaching, set of words, mode of practice, etc. can claim absoluteness or finality, as all occur within and are relative to some concrete situation. But some things, doing the right thing in the right situation, can be efficacious, sufficient for salvation.

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