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6. Dec 2005: The Three Powerful
Enemies- Part 2 of 2 |
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Shin Yatomi
SGI-USA Study department leader
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Persecution
by the three powerful enemies — arrogant lay
people, arrogant priests and arrogant false sages
— arises in response to efforts by the sutra’s
practitioners to propagate the Mystic Law.
The evil of those false sages is a manifestation
of fundamental darkness, and so can only be discerned
by those who have broken free of that darkness of
ignorance and who have revealed the state of Buddhahood
in their lives.
The only way to strengthen good is to wage a continuous
struggle against evil.
We can view ‘The Opening of the Eyes’
as a call for us to awaken to the true votary of
the Lotus Sutra who battles fundamental darkness
and arrogant false sages, as well as to our true
selves as people who seek their mentor and join
him in fighting unceasingly against life’s
inherent devilish nature. |
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Following are excerpts from SGI President
Ikeda’s Lecture on “The Opening of the Eyes,”
appeared on Living Buddhism (November 2005).
Here are some critical points from the same lecture:
“If the practitioners of the Lotus Sutra persist
in spreading the Law undeterred by obstacles resulting
from such devilish functions, then the fundamental darkness
will appear in the form of arrogant false sages, who embody
extreme evil.”
“In other words, to call forth arrogant false sages
and triumph over them is proof that one is a true votary
of the Lotus Sutra.”
“Arrogant lay people, the first powerful enemy,
are ordinary people in society who are influenced by the
spurious accusations of arrogant false sages and as a
result directly attack the Lotus Sutra’s practitioners
with slander, insults and physical violence.”
“The second enemy—arrogant priests who commit
slander of the Law and other evil actions—is relatively
easy to recognize. But the third—arrogant false
sages who carry on as if they were saints—is the
most difficult to discern, and also the most pernicious.”
“In the ‘The Opening of the Eyes,’ the
Daishonin cites many sutras and commentaries to clarify
the true, insidious nature of “arrogant false sages,”
the third of the three powerful enemies.”
“Nichiren [Daishonin] was continuously vilified
by people throughout Japan for more than twenty years.”
“[W]hen evil people seek to bring down a person
of justice, their only avenue is defamation and character
assassination.”
“Because arrogant false sages have no sound religious
justification for attacking a genuine votary of the Lotus
Sutra, their only recourse is to resort to dishonest,
underhanded means.”
“A votary of the Lotus Sutra is one who resolutely
battles and triumphs over this devilish nature. The important
thing is to maintain the spirit to keep on fighting with
the unshakable resolve to overpower even the obstinate
devilish nature.”
“When evil flourishes and good is defeated, the
function of the Dharma nature, or inherent enlightenment,
is extinguished. But when good flourishes and evil is
defeated, the function of fundament darkness, or ignorance,
is extinguished.”
“A struggle between good and evil takes place in
our lives at every moment.”
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What are ways to strengthen
the forces of “good” over “evil”?
Why is it necessary to do so? |
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Why is it important to seek
out our mentors? How does this relate to battling
the three powerful enemies? |
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“The only way to strengthen good is to wage a continuous
struggle against evil.”
“Although we speak of the Buddhist Law, the Law
itself is invisible. The beneficent Law manifests in the
conduct of the votary of the Lotus Sutra.”
“It is extremely rare, however, to encounter a votary
who struggles against and triumphs over the three powerful
enemies. It is difficult to encounter a genuine leader
of Buddhism.”
“Nichiren writes: ‘Let us seek him out and
make him our teacher.’[As the Lotus Sutra says,
to find such a person is as rare as for] a one-eyed turtle
to chance upon a piece of driftwood’ (WND, 278).”
“The mentor-disciple relationship only comes into
existence through the disciple’s steadfast efforts
to seek the mentor.”
“We can view ‘The Opening of the Eyes’
as a call for us to awaken to the true votary of the Lotus
Sutra who battles fundamental darkness and arrogant false
sages, as well as to our true selves as people who seek
their mentor and join him in fighting unceasingly against
life’s inherent devilish nature.”
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(from Living Buddhism,
November 2005)
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