從佛教發展史來看，善巧方便是佛教弘法之必要條件。佛教從佛陀時代的原始佛教演變出部派佛教、大乘佛教，這中間如果沒有善巧方便的涉入，佛教的發展或可能是小乘的自了模式而不會是現代大乘佛教的模式。其次，作為一個外來宗教的傳入中國，面對地域上的差異及文化背景所帶來的衝擊，如果沒有結合當地的元素作為衝突的調和，佛教的發展不會深入當地，更不會是今日所看到的中國化佛教。再者，面對時代的巨變及社會不斷給予的挑戰，佛教也需與時俱進，跟著時代做出適當的調整。由此可見，善巧方便在弘法上扮演著重要的角色。 因此，本研究將從《維摩詰經．方便品》中維摩詰展現的善巧方便，探討其蘊含的方便思想與特性，進一步藉由其思想與特性，論述人間佛教的善巧方便及其所開展出的弘法格局。最後得出人間佛教的善巧方便是秉持佛陀示教利喜的本懷，以契合現代人能接受的方式及多元創新的弘法面向，透過人間化、書香化、平等化、本土化的具體實踐，展示佛法是不離人間的，進一步把傳統的佛教邁向現代的佛教，把經懺的佛教發展成弘法事業的佛教，體現人間佛教是擁抱生命、解決生死、落實生活的佛教。 Looking at the historical development of Buddhism, it is evident that Skillful means is a necessity for dharma propagation. Buddhism from Early Buddhism to Sectarian Buddhism and ultimately Mahayana Buddhism, if the application of skillful means was absent in this development, the prevalence of Mahayana Buddhism would have been Hinayana Buddhism instead. Secondly, entering China as a foreign religion, Buddhism are met with difficulties in geographical and cultural differences. If there was no merging of Buddhism with the local religious elements, we will not witness the vibrancy of Chinese Buddhism today. Furthermore, due to the changing of times and societal challenges, there is a need for Buddhism to make appropriate changes to keep up with times. Therefore this paper aims to study on the Chapter of the ＂Upāya-kauśalya in Vimalakīrtinirdeśa Sūtra＂ to understand the characteristics and the essence of Skillful means which play vital and essential roles in propagation of Dharma. Through Skillful means, Humanistic Buddhism innovates and enhances the ways of Dharma propagation to suit the needs and interests of today's communities. This assured the transformation and modernization of traditional Buddhism which focused merely on Buddhist Chanting and Prayers for the deaths into Humanistic Buddhism that embraces life and resolves human concerns. The importance of Skillful means is also seen in its role of upholding the original intents of The Buddha to teach, instruct , benefit and bring happiness to the human world.
