On Reprimanding Hachiman Chapter12

Among my disciples there are some who, apparently still intent on slandering the correct teaching, accuse me, saying, “This priest is acting as an enemy of Great Bodhisattva Hachiman.” It seems they fail to realize that, when it is only reasonable to expect prayers to be answered and yet they are not, one may rightly reproach the object of worship. Thus, in the scripture known as the Buddha’s Successors Sutra, we find the following account regarding the birth of the Venerable Mahākāshyapa:

“At that time in the kingdom of Magadha there was a Brahman named Nyagrodha. In past existences he had for a long time carried out meritorious acts, and as a result he was blessed with great wealth, his fortune so vast it defied calculation and exceeded that of the ruler of Magadha by a thousandfold. But although he possessed abundant riches, he had no son, and he thought to himself that when he grew old and feeble and death approached, he would have no one to whom to entrust the goods and possessions in his storehouses.

“Beside the Brahman’s house there grew a sacred tree, and in hopes of being granted a son, he decided to pray to the god of the tree for aid. But though he did so for years on end, he received no sign of response. Then Nyagrodha grew extremely angry and said to the god of the tree, ‘I have worshiped you now for many years, but you have not bestowed on me the slightest blessing. I will continue to worship you in all sincerity for seven days more, but if you fail to show any sign of response, then I will most certainly chop you down and burn you!’

“The god of the tree, hearing this, was seized with terror and went to the four heavenly kings to report to them in full on the matter. The four heavenly kings then went to the god Shakra to inform him. Shakra searched throughout the continent of Jambudvīpa but could find no one who was worthy to become the son of someone so richly blessed with good fortune as was Nyagrodha. He then went to call on the heavenly king Brahmā and explained the situation to him in detail.

“At that time Brahmā gazed all about with his heavenly eye and spied another deity of the Brahma heaven whose life was about to come to an end. He said to the deity, ‘If you are willing to descend from the realm of heavenly beings, you may be born as the son of a Brahman family in the Jambudvīpa world.’

“But the deity replied, ‘The teachings of the Brahmans are full of evil and erroneous views. I cannot bring myself to become the son of such a family.’

“Brahmā then spoke once more, saying, ‘This Brahman is a person of great stature and virtue and there is no one in the continent of Jambudvīpa who is worthy to become his son. If you will consent to be born as his son, I will protect you and see that you never fall victim to erroneous views.’

“‘In that case,’ said the deity, ‘I am willing to honor your wishes in the matter.’ Shakra then went and reported to the god of the tree what had transpired. The god of the tree, delighted, went at once to the home of the Brahman and said to him, ‘You must not be angry with me any more. Seven days from now your wishes will be fulfilled!’

“When seven days had passed, it was found that the wife of the Brahman was pregnant, and after her ten months had passed, she gave birth to a son who became the man now known as Mahākāshyapa.”

You note that it says, “Then Nyagrodha grew extremely angry.” Under ordinary circumstance if one displays great anger toward a patron deity, one’s life in this present existence will be cut off and one will thereafter be born in one of the evil paths of existence. Nevertheless, this rich man, Nyagrodha, displayed extreme anger toward a patron deity and spoke to it in abusive language, and yet his great wish was fulfilled and he was granted a worthy son. From this you should understand that anger can be either a good or a bad thing.