Upaya, Upaya

The implication is that even if a technique, view, etc., is not ultimately "true" in the highest sense, it may still be an expedient practice to perform or view to hold; i.e., it may bring the practitioner closer to true realization anyway. The exercise of skill to which it refers, the ability to adapt one's message to the audience, is of enormous importance in the Pali Canon. It is true that the term translated 'skill in means', upaya-kausalya , is post-canonical, but the exercise of skill to which it refers, the ability to adapt one's message to the audience, is of enormous importance in the Pali Canon. How Buddhism Began, Richard F. Gombrich, Munshiram Manoharlal, 1997, p. 17. Note; the term may occur in the Canon after all, see the Sangiti Sutta of the Digha Nikaya; found in Thus Have I Heard: the Long Discourses of the Buddha , tr M. Walshe, Wisdom Pubns, 1987, page 486.

In some Mahayana texts, such as the Lotus Sutra, this is used as a polemic device against prior Buddhist traditions; it is said that the Buddha gave them various upayas rather than revealing the ultimate truth, for which they were not ready.

Source: Wikipedia > Upaya