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Throughout its long history Buddhism discovered several unique hermeneutical methods in order to interpret the dharma within the different cultural environments. Among these methods the idea of upāa is the most unique one.
Upāa is most commonly understood as a sort of expedient method invented for the purpose of teaching people of low capability.
However, Upāa is not merely a simple technique of teaching or a type of magic performed by the Buddhas it is rather the hermeneutic foundation for the interpretation of the dharma from a comprehensive perspective. Paradoxically, although it is considered to be the truth, it is also utilized in order to interpret the truth, which cannot be explained in its ultimate sense through language.
The meaning of upāa as such in the Lotus Sūtra is based on the metaphysical assumption of the transcendence of the truth. Again, this metaphysical assumption represents the fundamental ontological basis for the entire content of Mahāāa Buddhist thought, which promises universal salvation for all sentient beings.
The spirit of upāa in the Lotus Sūtra serves to free human reason from dogmatism. Upāa is not an absolute truth but represents provisional and partial truths which are designed for specific people in specific circumstances. Therefore, a upāa in one circumstance may not be the truth when preached for someone else in different circumstances.
The Lotus Sūtra posits that language cannot be a mechanical carrier of the truth. Since the truth is absolute truth, it cannot be reflected through any particular words. While the truth possesses numerous faces and incorporates the contradictions of diverse phenomena, language interprets it through a reflection of the perspective of an individual self. Thus, the one truth can be revealed in numerous ways, complying to the various natures of an individual.
The Buddha preached in different languages, as languages differ depending on people's cultural traditions. People understand differently not only due to their different cultural heritages but more likely due to their varying natures. Thus, the Buddha must have preached in various languages not only because his listeners lived in different countries, different cultures, different times, and on different intellectual levels, as has been explained in Early Buddhism, but also because they possessed different personalities: thoughts, desires, natures, and deeds.