Published by Soka Spirit Editor
Posted on August 11, 2009
There is a lot of talk about evil, enemies and devils–why?
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.
(From December 2005, Living Buddhism)