In part, the message of [the Magic City] story is the same message as that of previous parables – it’s about the importance of skillful means used appropriately. But here the focus is not as much on skillful means in general, as it is in the parable of the burning house and the three vehicles or the parable of the poor son and rich father. Here the focus is on one particular teaching – that of nirvana, one of the most important concepts of classical Buddhism – and seeing even that teaching as yet another example of skillful means.

Literally, “nirvana” means “extinction.” It was often thought to be the state of awakening achieved by Shakyamuni Buddha, a state in which all illusions and all karma that leads to rebirth are extinguished. While it has been interpreted in various ways by various Buddhist philosophers and schools, nirvana is often said to be the goal of Buddhists or of the Buddhist path. In this story, however, we are to see that nirvana, or at least one understanding of nirvana, is not to be taken as a final goal at all. Quite the opposite – to take the magically created castle-city as the goal would be to remain in a permanent state of delusion, thinking one had arrived at one’s destination when one had not. Yet this does not mean that the teaching of nirvana is unimportant, a “mere” skillful means. To the contrary, here we are to understand that if the guide had not been able to conjure up a castle in which the travelers could rest, they would not have been able to continue toward their goal. The magical castle-city was vitally useful. In other words, it was not merely useful in the sense that it happened to be convenient but not really necessary; it was essential in order for the travelers to be able to move ahead.