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Speak of the Devil |
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Dave Baldschun
SGI-USA Vice Study Department Leader
I’ve noticed that in Nichiren Buddhism there is
a lot of talk about evil, enemies and devils. We are told
that in propagating the correct teaching of Buddhism:
“The three powerful enemies will arise without fail”
(“On Practicing the Buddha’s Teachings,”
The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 394); “This
world is the domain of the devil king of the sixth heaven
” (“Letter to the Brothers,” WND, 495);
and “As practice progresses and understanding grows,
the three obstacles and four devils emerge ” (WND,
501).
So what are we supposed to make of all this? It sounds
like hordes of goblins are coming over the horizon for
us! But that’s not the case. In general, these terms
represent negative functions within all life that diminish
the value of our lives, cause disharmony, undermine our
self-reliance and obstruct the progress of our Buddhist
faith and practice. These are the forces of misery.
Terms like devils, enemies and evil represent categories
of human behavior—either our own or others’—that
can hinder our efforts to awaken to our inherent Buddha
nature. Fortunately, if we are steadfast in faith, these
negative functions can be transformed into “good
friends” or positive forces through our Buddhist
practice.
Among the “three obstacles and four devils”
are internal forces of desires or doubts that can test
our faith, and there is behavior from family members or
others close to us who oppose our faith. And then there
is very specific behavior that Buddhist scripture identifies
as arising from the innate negativity of life to oppose
the propagation of the Law. The three categories of people
who behave in this way are called “the three powerful
enemies.”
Rather than label people as devils, obstacles, enemies
or evil, we should be very clear on what exactly we mean.
Using inflammatory terms without providing a Buddhist
context can obscure the meaning and our intent behind
the words. When I was growing up, I was told that the
devil and evil were absolute terms, and that an enemy
was someone to be hated; God and heaven were absolutely
good, and the devil and hell were absolutely evil.
Buddhism, however, does not view good and evil or Buddha
and devil as a duality, as existing independent of one
another. Rather, it expounds the view of the “oneness
of good and evil,” viewing them as inseparable realities
of life, neither of which exists without the other. Where
there is one, the other is an ever-present potential.
As Nichiren writes, “Good and evil have been inherent
in life since time without beginning” (“The
Treatment of Illness,” WND, 1113). Since both good
and evil are present in all life, it becomes each person’s
continual challenge to encourage good and stem evil.
So, to say that someone is a devil or evil, what we really
mean is that they are currently exhibiting behavior clearly
defined as evil in Buddhist teachings. But it is also
understood that simultaneously, the opposite potential
is also present in that person. By extension, through
this principle, the good and evil we see in others reflects
the good and evil we have inside ourselves.
Buddhism views the tension between the positive and negative
energies in life as a reality of all phenomena, which
are governed by the Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Both fundamental
enlightenment and fundamental darkness—good and
evil—arise from the one Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
(see “The True Aspect of All Phenomena,” WND,
383). Fundamental darkness is one’s ignorance of
and disbelief in the Law. Fundamental enlightenment is
revealed through one’s awareness of and faith in
the Law. Either is a force that can inform our behavior.
How we conduct ourselves can foster ignorance of the Law
or it can lead to greater awareness of it. Ultimately,
everything is revealed in our behavior. Nichiren writes,
“The purpose of the appearance in this world of
Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, lies in his
behavior as a human being” (“The Three Kinds
of Treasure,” WND, 852). The best criterion for
judging the greatness of any religion or philosophy is
the behavior of those who adhere to it.
Buddhism explores the root cause of good and bad behavior—that
which motivates us to think, speak and act the way we
do. As Nichiren writes, “One who is thoroughly awakened
to the nature of good and evil from their roots to their
branches and leaves is called a Buddha” (“The
Kalpa of Decrease,” WND, 1121).
The religion or philosophy we embrace plays a significant
role in which force—positive or negative—will
dominate our thoughts, words and deeds. These generate
our life’s tendencies in the form of karma, like
habits formed through repeated actions. A weak or incorrect
philosophy renders us more susceptible to egocentric desires
and dark urges originating in our fundamental darkness.
This drama between good and evil is especially evident
in positions of authority, both secular and religious,
when the temptations on human nature are especially strong.
This has happened repeatedly to those in positions of
power among Buddhist clergy throughout history. They have
repeatedly succumbed to baser human emotions and viewed
themselves as superior, contrary to the very teachings
they professed to follow. Such arrogance has led them
to subvert the teachings entrusted to them. As a result,
they have functioned as evil, or “bad friends”
to the people.
But it is important to note that everyone must face the
challenge of recognizing and triumphing over his or her
evil. Nichiren himself faced this very same struggle as
he explains: “The devil king of the sixth heaven
has attempted to take possession of my body. But I have
for some time been taking such great care that he now
no longer comes near me” (“Reply to Sairen-bo,”
WND, 310).
Because the Daishonin defeated his own fundamental darkness,
he could manifest his Buddha nature. When good displays
its full potential by opposing evil, evil is transformed
into a cause to strengthen good. When evil is allowed
to go unchallenged, then it will consume all and all will
be lost.
In the Lotus Sutra, Devadatta, a disciple of Shakyamuni,
typifies a universal tendency toward evil behavior. Driven
by jealousy and ambition, he tried to destroy the Buddhist
community and led people from the Buddha’s teachings.
Shakyamuni took immediate action to reveal Devadatta’s
deception and severely rebuked him.
Nichiren tells the story of Shakyamuni and Devadatta as
follows: “The World-Honored One cursed Devadatta,
saying, ‘You are a fool who licks the spit of others!’
Devadatta felt as though a poison arrow had been shot
into his breast, and he cried out in anger, declaring:
‘Gautama [Shakyamuni] is no Buddha! I am the eldest
son of King Dronodana, the elder brother of the Venerable
Ananda, and kin to Gautama. No matter what kind of evil
conduct I might be guilty of, he ought to admonish me
in private for it. But to publicly and outrageously accuse
me of faults in front of this great assembly of human
and heavenly beings—is this the behavior appropriate
to a great man or a Buddha?’” (“The
Opening of the Eyes,” WND, 245).
At face value, Shakyamuni’s public rebuke of Devadatta
doesn’t sound like the behavior of a Buddha, but
Shakyamuni was trying to alert Devadatta to the seriousness
of his transgression as well as to make others aware of
the seriousness of the error.
SGI President Ikeda comments: “Shakyamuni thoroughly
reproached Devadatta’s evil. There is no doubt about
that. It is by denouncing evil that we can cause such
people to open their eyes. That is because hearing voices
resounding with the justice of the Mystic Law has the
effect of activating the Buddha nature that lies dormant
in an evil person’s heart. But because such a person’s
heart is covered with a thick, rocklike crust of ignorance,
a weak voice will not reach it. It takes a voice of censure,
one that strictly takes evil to task, to break through
this hard crust and illuminate the Buddha nature”
(June 2003 Living Buddhism, p. 37).
It is only when Shakyamuni condemned Devadatta’s
behavior that he could reveal the function of his enemy
as a good friend born together with him lifetime after
lifetime.
In more recent times, this scenario has been played out
in the Soka Gakkai’s efforts to widely propagate
the Mystic Law during its association with the Nichiren
Shoshu priesthood. In the 1990s, it became apparent that
the behavior of Nikken Abe, the high priest, was mirroring
the definitions of devilish functions explained in the
Lotus Sutra. The Chinese teacher Miao-lo (711–82)
defines them in his work The Annotations on “The
Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra” on the basis
of descriptions in the concluding verse section of “Encouraging
Devotion,” the thirteenth chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
He summarizes the third powerful enemy as, “The
arrogance and presumption of those who pretend to be sages”
or arrogant false sages. This third category is described
as priests who pretend to be sages and who are revered
as such, but when encountering the practitioners of the
Lotus Sutra become fearful of losing fame or profit and
induce secular authorities to persecute them” (The
Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 720).
The priesthood initiated a plan to take control of the
laity and remove President Ikeda as the leader of the
Buddhist community dedicated to kosen-rufu. They propounded
belief in an “infallible” high priest who
could infuse Gohonzon with power and a clergy that practitioners
must defer to for a connection to Nichiren Daishonin’s
teachings. In a final, futile display of authoritarian
behavior, Nikken excommunicated the thirteen million SGI
members around the world. Attempting to destroy the organization
dedicated to worldwide propagation of Nichiren Buddhism
falls into the category of evil behavior.
Although this is a Buddhist view, we shouldn’t be
careless in describing it. Inflammatory language not properly
set in the context of Nichiren Buddhist philosophy can
appear to be demonizing or hateful—and it is not.
As we learned in the Star Wars movies, hatred leads to
the dark side of the force, and we don’t want to
go there. Our struggle is against the fundamental darkness,
the dark side of the force that exists in all life.
By speaking out when that darkness is revealed in behavior
that hinders the propagation of the Law, we strengthen
our power to curtail the evil within us. The oneness of
good and evil means that the evil in others indicates
the capacity for evil within us as well. In other words,
“I see you in me.” It should be with this
understanding that we employ Buddhist terms and speak
of Buddhist principles concerning evil in our dialogues
with others, because our language can confuse rather than
educate, polarize rather than unite.
It is crucial that we clearly address evil or devilish
functions in the course of our practice and kosen-rufu.
To be passive in the face of such forces would be foolish
because these forces themselves are not passive. Nichiren
states, “To hope to attain Buddhahood without speaking
out against slander is as futile as trying to find water
in the midst of fire or fire in the midst of water”
(“The Essentials for Attaining Buddhahood,”
WND, 747).
We live in a world ruled by the devil king of the sixth
heaven—a world dominated by the negative forces
in life. People are more educated than ever, they sincerely
desire peace and happiness, a great many are sincerely
religious, and yet, war and misery continue. If we believe
Nichiren’s words that the Lotus Sutra is “the
sharp sword that severs the fundamental darkness inherent
in life” (“A Comparison of the Lotus and Other
Sutras,” WND, 1038), then the SGI movement to propagate
life’s supreme dignity based on the Lotus Sutra
may very well be the best hope for all humanity.
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(From December 2005, Living
Buddhism)
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