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21. June 2004: The Spinning
Club
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Shin Yatomi
SGI-USA
Study department leader
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1)
When mistrust and fear sink their dark roots in
our minds, reason is often rendered powerless. Mistrust
turns truth into falsehood, and fear turns friends
into enemies. Eventually, through the lens of mistrust
and fear, insanity begins to appear as reason.
2) We must develop the courage to trust our innate
Buddhahood and live without fear. The rhetoric of
fear and mistrust has no effect on the secure and
courageous. |
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Once irrational mistrust and fear sink
their dark roots in our minds, reason is often rendered
powerless to uproot them. Mistrust turns truth into falsehood,
and fear turns friends into enemies. Suspicion seeks confirmation
where there is none. Eventually, through the lens of mistrust
and fear, insanity begins to appear as reason.
Perhaps this is why the sowing of mistrust and fear has
been a well-used tool for those who thrive on manipulating
others — from despots and demagogues to social climbers
and insecure lovers. They put a spin on half-truths and
create a false image to incite mistrust and fear, like
Iago turning Desdemona’s handkerchief into a sign
of infidelity for Othello. Thus, by the spinners of lies,
the honest are turned into liars and the naïve into
accessories to crimes.
In ancient India, as Shakyamuni’s teachings spread
and the Buddhist community grew, the leaders of other
religious schools became jealous of his success. So they
accused the Buddha of sexual misconduct and violent crimes
to discredit him and his movement.
Some of the early texts relate the story of Sundari. When
Shakyamuni was staying in the city of Shravasti, his teachings
quickly spread and his renown increased. But “wanderers
belonging to other sects were not respected, … not
honoured, being no gainers of robe, almsfood, lodging.”
They were “unable to endure the respect for the
Lord [Shakyamuni]” (The Udana, trans. Peter Mansfield,
p. 74).
So they asked a woman called Sundari to frequent Jeta’s
Grove, where Shakyamuni was preaching. After making sure
that many people saw her there, they had her killed and
buried in the grove. Then they reported her missing to
the king and requested him to have the grove checked.
After the body was found, they took it to the streets,
accusing the Buddha and his disciples of rape and murder,
“How, indeed, could a man, having performed a man’s
duty, deprive the woman of her life?” (p. 75). The
citizens harassed the Buddha’s disciples as “those
of poor morality, evil-natured, those telling lies”
(p. 75).
Shakyamuni reassured his bewildered disciples that this
calumny would not last long and encouraged them to challenge
the allegation by reciting the following verse: “To
hell shall go he that delights in lies, / And he who having
done a thing, denies” (The Jataka, E. B. Cowell,
ed., vol. 2, p. 284). Later, the ruffians who killed Sundari
were caught and confessed who had hired them. The king
ordered those behind the scheme to go round the city and
declare: “The guilt is not Gautama’s, nor
his disciples’; the guilt is ours!” (p. 284).
Another text tells the story of Chincha. When Shakyamuni
was staying in the same city, the leaders of other religious
schools conspired, “How can we cast a stain upon
Gautama…in the face of men, and put an end to his
honour and his gifts?” (The Jataka, E. B. Cowell,
ed., vol. 4, p. 116). They asked beautiful Chincha to
destroy Shakyamuni’s reputation.
Dressed up and perfumed, Chincha would go toward Jeta’s
Grove as the citizens were leaving after hearing the Buddha’s
preaching. She would then spend the night nearby and go
toward the city in the morning as the citizens approached
the grove. When anyone asked what she was doing, she would
reply, “What have you to do with my goings and comings?”
(p. 116). But after some six weeks, she declared, “I
spent the night…with Gautama” (p. 116). Thus
the rumor began.
After eight or nine months, she tied a bundle of wood
under her robe to look pregnant and beat her hands and
feet to look swollen. She then went to a public assembly
where Shakyamuni was preaching and said: “You preach
indeed to great multitudes; sweet is your voice, and soft
is the lip that covers your teeth; but you have got me
with child, and my time is near; yet you assign me no
chamber for the childbirth….You know how to take
your pleasure, but you do not know how to care for that
which shall be born!” Shakyamuni stopped his talk
and replied, “Whether that which you have said be
true or false, you know and I know only.” “Yes,
truly,” said Chincha, “this happened through
something that you and I only know of” (p. 117).
At that moment, the god Shakra and his retinue came in
the form of mice and gnawed through the cords, and the
bundle of wood fell at her feet.
In the story of Sundari, Shakyamuni urged his disciples
to speak up against the groundless accusations, and with
the arrest of those responsible, the rumor disappeared.
In the story of Chincha, the truth of the matter was revealed
by divine intervention—deus ex machina. But this
incident, so skillfully planned, must have been confusing
to many. One may wonder what those little mice represented.
Inspired by a sense of justice, some nameless disciples
might have taken it upon themselves to disclose the machinations
of those harboring jealousy and hatred toward the Buddhist
community.
The distasteful nature of these events and the fact that
they are recounted in various Buddhist texts, both early
and late, speak to the likelihood that these were actual
occurrences and not mere allegory. In any case, both stories
tell the importance of challenging lies and revealing
truths.
Centuries later, subjected to similar accusations, Nichiren
Daishonin wrote: “Though I have neither wife nor
child, I am known throughout the country as a monk who
transgresses the code of conduct, and though I have never
killed even a single ant or mole cricket, my bad reputation
has spread throughout the realm. This may well resemble
the situation of Shakyamuni Buddha, who was slandered
by a multitude of non-Buddhists during his lifetime”
(The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 42). The Daishonin
also warned his disciples: “Those who believe in
the Lotus Sutra should beware of and guard themselves
against the sutra’s enemies….If you do not
know your enemies, you will be deceived by them”
(WND, 664).
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Have you had a breakthrough,
based on your Buddhist practice, with someone who
tried to manipulate you with fear and mistrust? |
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How would you respond to false
reports by the media about our faith community?
How can each of us become a better spokesperson
for Nichiren Buddhism? |
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In a broader sense, the “enemies” of the Lotus
Sutra may include those who spread lies about the community
of practitioners dedicated to the sutra’s essential
message, that is, respect for all life.
Once, the Soka Gakkai was labeled as a “gathering
of the sick and poor.” Now the media, especially
in Japan, sometimes describe—whether intentionally
or out of ignorance—our growing international movement
as “powerful” or “potentially dangerous.”
Regarding those negative images created by the media then
and now, SGI President Ikeda writes: “While these
labels express opposite extremes, they share a common
attitude of disdain for the people. This probably points
to a feeling of resistance toward, and envy of, ordinary
people becoming independent, raising their voices, and
playing a decisive role in society” (May Living
Buddhism, p. 24).
How then can we respond to malicious lies causing mistrust
and fear toward the community of believers? First, by
verifying facts and communicating them. Today this task
is both facilitated and frustrated by mass media and the
Internet. Facts alone, however, cannot effectively dispel
mistrust and fear. More fundamentally, we ourselves must
develop the courage to trust our innate Buddhahood and
learn to live without fear. The rhetoric of fear and mistrust
has no effect on the secure and courageous.
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