When I first came across Buddha’s teachings, the terms he used for living ethically or morally—“skillful” (kusala) and “unskillful” (akusala)—seemed a bit unusual to me. These words might be new to you or so familiar that you don’t think about them anymore. Nonetheless, they are a unique way to discuss morality.
Typically, we describe ethical actions as good or bad, right or wrong, and good or evil. These are the terms most of us grew up with.
While Buddha did use terms like “merit” (puñña) for good and “bad” or “evil” (pāpa) in certain contexts, especially when speaking poetically or to those less educated, he opted for “skillful” and “unskillful” when addressing serious Dharma practitioners such as monks, nuns, and dedicated householders.
So why did Buddha choose these terms? Let’s break down what it means to have skill. Being skilled means you can achieve a challenging task you set out to accomplish. For instance, a skilled carpenter plans to make a beautiful coffee table, and through their skill, that exact table comes into existence. Similarly, a skilled potter can create a specific kind of pot because of their extensive practice and knowledge. When someone lacks skill, they can’t achieve these outcomes.
Buddha applied the idea of skill to ethics. Ethics is part of practice, and Buddha talked about “the threefold training” which includes ethics, meditation, and wisdom. Training in these areas is essentially developing skills.
What’s the goal of this practice? The aim is to free ourselves from suffering and find greater happiness, contentment, and meaning in life. It’s also about helping others experience these benefits. These are the skills we are developing.
It might sound strange to say ethics isn’t about being good, but in Buddhism, it’s a valid perspective. Buddha didn’t tell us to abandon greed, hatred, and delusion because they are evil; he said to abandon them because they cause suffering. If they didn’t cause suffering, he wouldn’t advocate giving them up. Therefore, ethics in Buddhism is about reducing suffering.
Just as a carpenter is skillful in creating a beautiful piece of furniture, we are ethically skillful when our actions aim to reduce suffering and are successful in doing so. We are unskillful when our actions, meant to reduce suffering, actually cause pain and confusion.
When discussing ethics, Buddha noted that there are two trends in the mind. One operates based on selfish craving, hatred, or ignorance and leads to suffering; he called these “unskillful.” The other acts with mindfulness and qualities like patience, courage, kindness, empathy, and compassion, which lead to peace and happiness; he called these “skillful.”
We act skillfully when we use these positive qualities to move closer to the goal of freeing ourselves from suffering. We act unskillfully when negative states of mind cause suffering.
This perspective on ethics as a skill might seem unusual at first, but it offers an insightful way to think about our actions. We may have been taught to see things in terms of good and bad, but Buddha’s approach focuses on the skillfulness of actions rather than labeling people as good or bad.
Everyone has a mix of skillful and unskillful qualities. Spiritual training is about strengthening the skillful qualities and letting go of the unskillful ones. The most important aspect of Buddha’s ethical language is that skills are meant to be practiced and refined. Our everyday actions and even our thoughts are opportunities to train and improve.
Learning from our mistakes, such as actions that cause suffering, helps us refine our skills and brings us closer to living a life with peace, joy, and meaning.