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6. Mistaking Arrogance for
Confidence (Part Two) |
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Arrogance
is insecurity; confidence is peace of mind
The difference between arrogance and confidence also shows
in our emotional state. Arrogance makes us insecure whereas
confidence gives us peace of mind. The more arrogant we
become, the more keenly we feel the dependence of our
happiness upon the misfortune and weakness of others.
This ironic dependence makes the seeming confidence of
the arrogant increasingly insecure. The more they bolster
this false self-confidence on the outside, the less secure
they become inside; so the ‘happiness’ of
the arrogant is self-consuming.
Arrogance is needy; confidence
is free
As mentioned earlier, confident people are deeply aware
that they derive their confidence from strengthening their
innate qualities and need not depend on others. So the
more confident people are, the more peaceful they will
be with both themselves and others. Even in disagreement
or when pointing out the errors of others, confident people
can remain calm and open-minded. Since they need not defend
their self-worth by ‘winning’ in the argument,
confident people can stay focused on the merits of different
views and opinions without becoming hurtful toward others.
Nichiren Daishonin, for example, wrote from exile, “Whatever
obstacles I might encounter, so long as persons of wisdom
do not prove my teachings to be false, I will never yield!”
(The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p. 280). His vow
to be steadfast in his belief comes with the condition—“so
long as persons of wisdom do not prove my teachings to
be false.” This was an expression of the unruffled
openness of the confident, not of the blind obstinacy
of the arrogant.
Think about how people behave at work. Unlike an arrogant
manager who takes any suggestion as a personal criticism
and everyone in the office as a potential threat, a confident
manager takes even personal criticism as an opportunity
for self-reflection and further improvement. The inner
state of an arrogant person is constantly agitated, waiting
for any opportunity to assert a sense of superiority.
But the inner state of a confident person absorbs even
an untoward event like a pebble tossed into a bathtub,
as opposed to a wineglass.
As it is clear now, arrogance is not “too much”
confidence. The essential difference between arrogance
and confidence is not one of quantity or degree, but of
quality and origin. Arrogance is needy and dependent on
others, derived from comparison with the external. Confidence
is free and independent of others, found and cultivated
in the self.
‘Absolute superiority’
is a dangerous illusion
Mistaking arrogance for confidence distorts our view of
humanity—the way we relate to others and ourselves.
Such misconception spells out only tragic suffering for
individuals and society. Long before his rise to power,
Adolf Hitler wrote: “Self-confidence must be inculcated
in the young national comrade from childhood on. His whole
education and training must be so ordered as to give him
the conviction that he is absolutely superior to others”
(Mein Kamph, trans. Ralph Manheim, p. 411).
The epitome of arrogance, Hitler mistook the illusion
of “absolute superiority” as supreme confidence.
He debased education, turning it from a vehicle of equality
and happiness into a cogwheel in the evil machinery of
discrimination and destruction. Education must teach confidence,
not arrogance. Likewise, Buddhist learning is to strengthen
our faith in the inherent Buddha nature of others and
ourselves, not to promote elitism among believers.
Nichiren Daishonin was well aware of the danger of judging
one’s self-worth through comparison with others.
The Daishonin, therefore, admonished his disciples: “When
you look at those of superior capacity, do not disparage
yourself. The Buddha’s true intention was that no
one, even those of inferior capacity, be denied enlightenment.
Conversely, when you compare yourself with persons of
inferior capacity, do not be arrogant and overproud. Even
persons of superior capacity may be excluded from enlightenment
if they do not devote themselves wholeheartedly”
(WND, 62).
Here the Daishonin explains that one’s potential
for enlightenment is in no way diminished by one’s
capacity to understand Buddhism since all people are equally
endowed with supreme Buddhahood. What is most important
for our happiness is to believe in this intrinsic potential
shared by all people. Our tendency to compare our capacity
with that of others will only lead us astray from genuine
happiness.
Nichiren Daishonin, therefore, urges us to win over our
arrogance in order to enjoy authentic happiness: “Now,
if you wish to attain Buddhahood, you have only to lower
the banner of your arrogance, cast aside the staff of
your anger, and devote yourself exclusively to the one
vehicle of the Lotus Sutra” (WND, 58–59).
Here the Daishonin indicates the close relationship between
arrogance and anger. T’ien-t’ai, a 6th-century
Chinese Buddhist scholar, described those in the state
of anger as “always desiring to be superior to others”
(Gosho Zenshu, p. 430). Anger is akin to arrogance; it
may be described as frustrated arrogance.
As the Daishonin suggests here, we can overcome our deep-seated
arrogance and anger through our devotion to the “one
vehicle of the Lotus Sutra”—that is, the teaching
of the universality of Buddhahood and its essential practice
as chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. As we deepen our confidence
in our own Buddhahood and this selfsame potential of others,
the need to compare ourselves with others will diminish,
and we will be free to appreciate and enjoy lives of our
own making.
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(Originally published in the World
Tribune, March 14, 2003)
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