I thought it might be a good idea to have a discussion on the
notion of "skilful" in terms of the modern Theravada practice.
In the suttas, the term most commonly translated as "skilful" is
kusala . Kusala is alternatively translated as wholesome, and it
points towards the wholesome roots (mula) underlying wholesome
actions of body, mind and speech. These skilful roots are alobha
(non-greed, generosity), adosa (non-hatred, goodwill), amoha
(non-deluded, wisdom). Thus (if the Pali Canon is anything to go
by) in the early days of Theravada, "skilful" primarily
pertained to cetana (intention), which is kamma. However, it was
not exclusively so. In the Digha Nikaya, we see that "skilful
means (upàya kusala) is a teacher’s willingness to adapt him or
her self to the interests, needs and level of understanding of
others in order to be able to successfully communicate the
Dhamma to them" (Source:
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Skilful_means Skiful
means was picked up by the Mahayana tradition and became o