Buddhist hermeneutics

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Buddhist hermeneutics refers to the interpretative frameworks historical Buddhists have used to interpret and understand Buddhist texts and to the interpretative instructions that Buddhists texts themselves impart upon the reader. Because of the broad variety of scriptures, Buddhist traditions and schools, there are also a wide variety of different hermeneutic approaches within Buddhism.

Buddhist scriptural exegesis has always been driven by the soteriological needs of the tradition to find the true meaning (artha) of Buddhist scriptures. Another important issue in Buddhist hermeneutics is the problem of which sutras are to be taken to be 'Buddhavacana', "the word of the Buddha" and also which sutras contain the correct teachings.

The Early Buddhist texts such as the Sutta Pitaka and the Agamas distinguish between Buddhist suttas that contain clear meaning (Pāli:Nītattha; Sanskrit: nītārtha) and those that require further interpretation (Pāli: neyyattha; Sanskrit: neyartha). This later developed into the two truths doctrine, which states there is a conventional truth and an ultimate truth. The Buddhist concept of Upaya (skillful means) is another common theme in Buddhist Hermeneutics, and holds that the Buddha sometimes taught things that were not literally true as a skillful teaching strategy, and also taught many different things to different people, depending on their ability to understand.^[1]