Good or Skilful? Kusala in Canon and Commentary

The article develops a strategic re-reading of kusala by moving from later commentarial explanations back to earlier canonical usage and then outward to Sanskritic and Buddhist Sanskrit evidence. Cousins first evaluates the commentarial tradition, where Buddhaghosa and other exegetes classify kusala through several interpretive registers, including blamelessness, skill, wisdom, and pleasant results. He then argues that canonical Pāli sources often use kusala in a strongly contemplative and path-oriented sense, especially in relation to meditative attainment, the four right efforts, the four establishments of mindfulness, the seven sets of awakening factors, and the Noble Eightfold Path. This analysis challenges the assumption that the dominant early meaning of kusala is simply “morally good.” The article further examines the Sanskrit term kuśala, rejects some proposed derivations, and supports a semantic history rooted in intelligence, wisdom, and skilful action. In its final section, Cousins compares kusala with puñña, suggesting that puñña belongs more to the sphere of auspicious, fortune-producing action, while kusala is more closely aligned with wisdom-based and liberative cultivation.