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February 01, 2002
The Oneness of Good and Evil:
Developing the Courage to Accept Our Innate Good and Evil
By Shin Yatomi, based in part on Yasashii Kyogaku
(Easy Buddhist Study) published by Seikyo Press in 1994.
The evil of destruction is like a shadow cast by the good
of creation. Nature gives and takes life. Even on the
cellular level of the human body, the evil of decay and
death exists side by side with the good of growth and
health.
For example, while the precise mechanism of cancer remains
unknown, research has demonstrated that the malignant
transformation of a cell is linked to cancer-causing genes
called oncogenes. In normal cells, oncogenes are called
proto-oncogenes, which promote cellular growth and are
regulated by cellular genes called tumor-suppressor genes.
Tumor suppressor genes, in other words, control growth-promoting
genes, which could potentially turn malignant. (“Cancer:
Causation.” “The Cause of Disease: Abnormal
Growth of Cells.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, CD 1999).
Thus, the potential for cancer not only exists in every
cell of the body, but also supports the cell?s growth
and health.
Concerning the nature of good and evil, Nichiren Daishonin
states: “Good and evil have been inherent in life
since time without beginning…The heart of the Lotus
school is the doctrine of three thousand realms in a single
moment of life, which reveals that both good and evil
are inherent even in those at the highest stage of perfect
enlightenment. The fundamental nature of enlightenment
manifests itself as Brahma and Shakra, whereas the fundamental
darkness manifests itself as the devil king of the sixth
heaven” (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p.
1113). The Daishonin explains that all people are endowed
with supreme good and evil, as well as all the possible
life states in between. We can be either as godly as “Brahma
and Shakra” or as devilish as the “devil king.”
Good and evil, in other words, are innate, inseparable
aspects of life. This Buddhist concept is called the “oneness
of good and evil.” This teaching, however, does
not mean that evil is good, nor does it imply that the
distinction between good and evil is irrelevant. Instead,
it teaches us to perceive and triumph over evil inside—thereby
conquering evil on the outside— through faith in
the universal goodness of life.In the context of the Daishonin?s
teaching, good means the “fundamental nature of
enlightenment,” or absolute freedom and happiness
resulting from profound self-knowledge. Evil indicates
the “fundamental darkness,” or life?s innate
delusion negating the potential of enlightenment and causing
suffering for oneself and others. This inner darkness
echoes with the despair that our lives are ugly and meaningless;
it drives a wedge of fear that splits the hearts of people
into “us” and “them.” The Daishonin?s
concept of good and evil, in this sense, may be better
understood as the dynamic, innate workings of life that
become manifest or dormant, rather than the external moral
codes determined by cultural and social conditions.
A Buddha is someone who has the courage to acknowledge
those two fundamental aspects of life. As the Daishonin
states, “One who is thoroughly awakened to the nature
of good and evil from their roots to their branches and
leaves is called a Buddha” (WND, 1121). Buddhas
accept their innate goodness without arrogance because
they know all people share the same Buddha nature. Buddhas
also recognize their innate evil without despair because
they know they have the strength to overcome and control
their negativity. Buddhas understand the hearts of people
in myriad conditions and circumstances. Buddhas are capable
of guiding others to their own awakening. This is because
Buddhas share the same conditions as others, yet have
the strength and wisdom to control their own evil.
Much of our difficulty in discerning the workings of good
and evil is due to our unwillingness to acknowledge the
potential of both supreme good and evil within our own
lives. We don?t want to see ourselves as either very good
or very bad, hiding instead behind a collective moral
mediocrity that requires neither the responsibility of
goodness nor the guilt of evil. To flee from the responsibility
to realize the full potential of our innate goodness,
we say, “I can?t be as good as….” To
avoid a sense of guilt, we say, “I can?t be as bad
as….” (Fill in the blanks with the names of
those whom you think supremely good and bad respectively,
or “Buddha” in the former blank and “devil”
in the latter.)
For some of us, our moral ambiguity of the self, however,
seems to demand quick judgment of others—those who
serve our interest as “good people” and those
whom we dislike as “bad people”— as
if to counterbalance our inner confusion with our forced
clarity outside. Others seem unable to denounce the clearly
manifest evil of humanity for fear of being judged in
return. Such people fear the judgment of others because
they themselves lack the courage to see their own potential
for good and evil. As a result, our view of the world
becomes narrow, if not distorted.
Paul Tillich, a noted philosopher and theologian of the
last century, said, “The courage to affirm oneself
must include the courage to affirm one?s own demonic depth”
(The Courage to Be, p. 122).
In the same regard, Carl Jung said, “Everyone carries
a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual?s
conscious life, the blacker and denser it is” (Psychology
and Religion, p. 93). Jung also made the following observation
of a person who develops the courage to face the potential
of evil within: “Such a man knows that whatever
is wrong in the world is in himself, and if he only learns
to deal with his own shadow then he has done something
real for the world” (ibid pp. 101–02).
The Daishonin had the courage to see his own “demonic
depth,” as he candidly wrote: “Although I,
Nichiren, am not a man of wisdom, 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” (WND, 310). The
Daishonin had the courage to see his own fundamental darkness.
In spite of this sober reality, he summoned forth faith
in his innate Buddhahood and thus overcame life?s tendency
to deny its own highest reality. As he said, “A
sharp sword to cut through the fundamental darkness is
to be found in faith alone” (Gosho Zenshu, p. 751).
The faith that enables us to experience the freedom and
happiness of Buddhahood is synonymous with the courage
to see our potential for both good and evil. The process
of accepting and challenging our fundamental darkness
is necessarily the process of revealing our innate enlightenment.
Likewise, our efforts to help others become aware of their
own self-negating delusion must be accompanied by our
efforts to help them become aware of their own self-affirming
power of enlightenment. Without one, another is impossible.
To see our innate good and evil is to experience the joy
of accepting our whole being. As Tillich said, “Joy
is the emotional expression of the courageous Yes to one?s
own true being” (The Courage to Be, p. 14). Such
honest and courageous acceptance of the self also marks
the beginning of the essential transformation of our lives
and the world around us.
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