Abstract: "Skillful means" is one of the core concepts in Buddhism in general and in Mahayana in particular. While prajna means the wisdom of knowing Buddhist truth and "skillful means" is to know human culture and human proprieties. Hence, the organic integration between prajna and skillful means should be the reasonable direction for the construction of the doctrine of wisdom and ethics in Mahayana. However, prajna has been overestimated while skillful means have been ignored for a long time. Skillful Means Paramita Sutra was the first Mahayana sutra that constructed the doctrine of "skillful means" in a strict way, so that an examination of "skillful means" in this sutra has great significance in understanding the essence of the relationship between "transcending the secular world" and "entering the secular world" in Mahayana on the one hand and the transformation of Chinese Buddhism in modern times.

Key words: skillful means, Skillful Means Paramita Sutra, Mahayana, modern transformation of Buddhism