Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c6.s9.4

c6.s9.4

(ii) The second statement is that Buddha does not preach the Truth in a uniform manner.¹ After observing the mental proclivities and capabilities of the persons to whom he desired to impart religious lessons he selected discourses appealing to their minds, and thus initiated them into the Truth. To a householder, he would first preach the dānakathā, sīlakathā, saggakathā, kāmānam ādīnavam okāram saṃkilesam, nekkhamme ānisaṃsam (discourses on almsgiving, moral precepts, heavens, perils, corruptions, impurities of desires and the blessings of retirement). He would prepare the mind of a brahmin student by holding conversation with him on topics relating to sacrifice, caste-system and the like, and would deliver the Truth in a form suited to the mentality of the brahmin. To a husbandman he would preach the Truth through similes or topics relating to the tilling of lands, and so forth.² It was only when he perceived that the minds of his hearers were sufficiently prepared that he would deliver the higher teachings, viz., dukkha, samudaya, nirodha, magga (misery of beings; how it originates, *i.e.*, the theory of causation; how it can be destroyed; and the various practices to which one must resort for achieving the goal), which, according to the Hinayānists, were the highest and the most profound (sāmukkamsikā dhammadesanā) teachings of Buddha.¹