Reply to Hyōe-no-Saemon (“On the Three Obstacles and Four Devils”)

From Daibyakurenge (Nov. 2012). A lecture by Sensei

“When obstacles called the three obstacles and four devils invariably arise, the wise rejoice while the foolish retreat.”

This time, I would like to study Reply to Hyōe-no-sō, the letter in which this famous admonition appears. It concisely sets forth a vital attitude in faith.

Even when we speak of the “three obstacles and four devils,” if possible, we would rather not encounter difficulties. That may be a natural human feeling.

However, Nichiren Daishonin teaches that the arising of the three obstacles and four devils is a matter for “rejoicing.”

Why is it a “joy” when obstacles and devils vie to assail us? How can it become a “joy”?

To state the conclusion first: because in the very act of climbing the slope of these hindrances, we establish the life-state of Buddhahood; as we advance, a vast prospect of “eternity, happiness, true self, and purity” opens before us.

Mr. Toda spoke many times about the three obstacles and four devils. He drove into us the point that these obstacles and devils are the forging that arises in the valley between the small hill of minor benefit and the great mountain of the life-state called Buddhahood.

What matters is how we view the three obstacles and four devils. We must awaken to the thought, “These are obstacles that I myself have summoned forth!”

At first glance, it may seem as if we are being attacked by obstacles and devils. In essence, however, it is the reverse. Precisely because we ourselves have bravely challenged the peak of Buddhahood, obstacles and devils have arisen to contend with us. That devils compete to obstruct us is proof of the correct Law. It is proof that one’s practice is right. In every respect, we ourselves are the protagonists. To gain the everlasting, joyful, pure, and true state of happiness, this is a trial we cannot avoid. For the person who takes such resolve, the struggle against obstacles and devils becomes the highest joy.

Boldly Steering into the Billows

I have a fond memory.

In July 1958 (Shōwa 33), I crossed the rough seas from the port of Niigata to Sado. It was just after my mentor, Josei Toda, had passed away.

Because the weather was bad and sailings could be cancelled at any moment, I hurried aboard a ship to go encourage our fellow members fighting valiantly on Sado.

For four hours the ship pitched on stormy seas. The leaders traveling with me suffered seasickness.

I stood on deck, thinking of my fellow members courageously fighting on after the mentor’s passing, and, as I gazed toward the far horizon of the stormy sea, I envisioned the future of the people’s great vessel, the “Soka Gakkai Maru,” driving into the billows.

“As the tiger roars, a fierce wind blows; when the dragon moves, clouds gather” (Gosho Zenshu, p. 1538, The Workings of Brahma and Shakra).
If I decide, “I myself have summoned forth even this storm!” then hope, purpose, and ardor blaze in my heart.

With this joyful faith of rising up boldly, Nichiren Daishonin taught this very life-state to disciples in the midst of adversity. Unless the prow faces into the waves, the ship will capsize. Toward demons one must neither submit nor fear. When devils arise in competition, one has no choice but to confront them head-on. In battling the devils, one establishes the adamantine, indestructible life-state of Buddhahood.

Text (Classical)

Now then, above all else, I must speak of the foremost and most important matter for your sake. In the Former and Middle Days of the Law, the world had not yet declined, and sages and worthies were born one after another; the heavenly deities also protected people. But in the Latter Day, people’s greed has gradually deepened, and there is no end to quarrels between lord and vassal, parent and child, elder and younger brother—how much more so between strangers.

Modern Translation

Now then, setting all else aside, I will first speak of what is most important for you.

In the Former and Middle Days of the Law, the world had not yet declined; sages and worthies were born in succession, and the heavenly beings protected people. In the Latter Day, however, people’s avarice grows ever deeper, and there is never an end to strife between lord and vassal, parent and child, elder and younger brother—let alone between people who are not kin.

Lecture

The “Second Disinheritance Incident”

Precisely because one stands at the critical threshold of acquiring the vast life-state of Buddhahood, the “three obstacles and four devils” arise to contend. At that time Nichiren’s message is: “My disciples, under no circumstances be defeated! Break through ignorance and win decisively!” This letter conveys the Daishonin’s fervent spirit.

“Now then, let me tell you, before anything else, the matter of foremost importance for your sake.”

After expressing thanks for sincere offerings, from the very first lines we feel the Daishonin’s heartfelt wish for his disciples’ happiness and his revelation of Buddhism’s essence.

The recipient, Hyōe-no-sō, is said to be Munenaga (Sōchō), the younger of the Ikegami brothers, disciples in Musashi Province. The elder was Munenaka (Right Guard of the Bureau). Their father was known as Saemon-no-daiyū.

The Ikegami family were samurai in service to the Kamakura shogunate and reputed to be master artisans.

The brothers are said to have embraced faith soon after the Daishonin’s declaration of the establishment of his teaching.

However, because their father supported Ryōkan of Gokuraku-ji, he opposed his sons’ faith and disowned them twice.

At the first disinheritance, the Daishonin sent them The Heritage of the Ultimate Law of Life—known here as The Ikegami Brothers’ Letter. Following his guidance, the brothers and their wives united and fought on, and the disinheritance was once rescinded.

Yet, likely due to the persistent maneuvers of Ryōkan and others, the father, Yasumitsu, again disowned the elder, Munenaka. Upon hearing this, the Daishonin addressed the present letter to the younger, Munenaga.

In life, misfortunes sometimes strike not just once—such as a relapse of illness. That is precisely when the true contest begins.

In the face of this second disinheritance, the elder brother himself had resolved to carry through his faith as the Daishonin’s disciple no matter what. The Daishonin praises Munenaka’s resolve: “This time you will surely become a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra.” The question was how the younger brother, Munenaga, would conduct himself; the Daishonin seems to have seen this as the key point for resolving the affair.

Munenaga likely felt torn between faith and loyalty to the Ikegami household.

If the elder left home and the younger also left, then no one would continue the family’s shogunate-appointed duties, and the line would lapse—an outcome too shameful toward their father and others. Such thoughts may have weighed on Munenaga; and though they accorded with worldly common sense, they also reflected his gentle nature.

At the outset, the Daishonin depicts the Latter Day as an age in which strife does not cease between lord and retainer, parent and child, elder and younger brother. Because people’s lives are defiled by the three poisons—greed, anger, and folly—they come to slight even those worthy of honor—lord, parent, and teacher. This is a Buddhist insight that penetrates the times.

Even so, the Daishonin is convinced that when obedience to lord or parent entails doing evil, admonition is true loyalty and true filial piety. He warns us to discern reality accurately, beyond mere appearances.

He had already stated in  Letter to Brothers: “In all matters one should follow one’s parents; yet the way to become a Buddha is not to follow them—this is the basis of filial devotion.” In the present letter, he again returns to this principle. In its latter half, he teaches that if one oneself becomes a Buddha, one can even guide parents who have opposed the Law.

To the situation Munenaga faced, the Daishonin indicates that this is a crucial turning point and instructs him to overcome it with a thoroughly discerning eye of faith. At life’s crossroads, nothing is more precious than the mentor’s guidance. Throughout, he urges Munenaga to stand up powerfully on his own resolve.

A single disciple stands up—that is the mentor’s wish.

Text (Classical)

Now then, this time, I hear that Lord Uemon has again been disowned. As I told your lady when she visited here at Minobu, I said then: “Lord Uemon will surely be disowned again. At that time I am concerned about Lord Hyōe. At that time you must be firm.” Now I think that this time you will surely backslide. I do not in the least intend to say anything if you do, but do not bear resentment toward Nichiren in hell; I will know nothing of it then. Even thatch accumulated for a thousand years becomes ash in an instant; merit piled up for a hundred years can be destroyed with a single word—such is the principle of things.

Modern Translation

(As above—omitted here for brevity since the modern paraphrase was provided.)

Lecture

“Cut Straight Through” and Fulfill the Buddhist Path

At this second disinheritance, the Daishonin rebukes Munenaga with stern words: “You will probably backslide. When you do, do not resent Nichiren in hell.” This thrust recurs repeatedly throughout the letter.

“You, held fast by shallow thinking focused on immediate matters, will side with your father. People of the world, who do not understand the principles of things, will praise you for it.”

“Do not flatter your parent for the sake of trifling gain so that your will for faith grows feeble, leading you to fall into the three evil paths—and then resent Nichiren. No matter how I look at it, this time you are certain to retreat.”

Even in conclusion he writes: “Saying these things, I think it will be a useless letter; my pen is reluctant. Yet I record this so that you will recall it in future.”

Needless to say, this is not to abandon him; it is the stern love of a mentor who seriously prays for Munenaga’s awakening. With a strong bond of heart between teacher and disciple, strict expressions are possible. No mentor exists who does not desire a disciple’s growth. Reproof is love born of care.

The struggle against the “devils” ultimately comes down to arousing the “faith” that breaks one’s own fundamental darkness. The Daishonin seeks, at all costs, to impel Munenaga one step deeper into faith—gripping his shoulders as it were, looking him straight in the eye, shaking him awake with encouragement and warning, again and again, until his words permeate the depths of Munenaga’s heart.

In this letter, the Daishonin says: “Cut straight through with undivided intent”; “Speak forthrightly to your parent”; “Say it outright”; “Let there not be even the least fear”; “Think well and place your reliance single-mindedly on the life to come.”

“Decide.” “Declare.” “Say it through.” “Decide thoroughly.” In a driving cadence he teaches us to fight the devils with courage and resolve.

The crux now is whether Munenaga can state to his father, “I will act in unity with my elder brother.”

“Faith that overcomes hardships” begins with fixing one’s determination—with settling one’s heart. The Daishonin’s powerful expressions aim to draw out Munenaga’s deep resolve to stand up.

The Principle of King Wonderful Adornment and “Harmony in the Family”

Here the Daishonin compares the Ikegami household to the family of King Wonderful Adornment in the Lotus Sutra, saying that though times change from ancient to modern, the principles shown in the sutra do not.

Mr. Toda often told those troubled by family matters—“My parents oppose my faith,” “My husband won’t support activities,” and the like—about this story.

“In the ‘Wonderful Adornment King’ chapter, four family members are described: the father, King Wonderful Adornment; the mother, Lady Pure Virtue; and the two sons, Pure Store and Pure Eye. Of these four, only the father does not believe. So the mother and two sons strive in various ways to lead him to faith.”

They seek guidance from the Buddha: “Diligently practice faith; manifest spiritual power.” By putting this into action, they finally lead the king to faith. “Spiritual power,” in today’s terms, means receiving benefit by praying to the Gohonzon and becoming admirable.

Mr. Toda also spoke of their past-life connection as explained in Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra. Long ago, the four made a vow: three would go on ascetic practice; one would remain to maintain the household and learn from the three; in the future, one would be born as a king, one as queen, and two as their children. The one who had stayed to sustain the household became the king.

Thus, when the three discuss how to lead the father to faith, they are fulfilling their ancient promise to “repay the one who supported our practice by teaching him what we learned.”

This moved everyone who heard it. Bonds formed by the Mystic Law are eternal. If we each fully accomplish our role in this lifetime, we will surely build harmony in our families.

As I always say, family harmony does not require that everyone immediately embrace faith. If one person becomes a sun, that light will illuminate the entire family and clan. That fortune will enfold children and grandchildren. There is nothing to worry about. Become the protagonist of family harmony yourself; as you expand your life-state, harmony will certainly be realized.

Text (Classical)

Let there not be even the least fear. Though you have believed in the Lotus Sutra from distant kalpas past, the fact that you have not become a Buddha is because of this. When the tide ebbs and when it floods, when the moon rises and when it sets, when summer, autumn, winter, and spring shift at their borders—there are always extraordinary changes. So it is when an ordinary person becomes a Buddha. When one is about to become a Buddha, obstacles called the three obstacles and four devils invariably arise; the wise rejoice, the foolish retreat.

Lecture

“Now Is the Border of Becoming a Buddha”

Just as the tides, the moon’s course, and the boundaries of the four seasons bring great change, so the “three obstacles and four devils” arise at the border where an ordinary person becomes a Buddha. Many have failed to attain Buddhahood though they believed in the Lotus Sutra from the remote past, because they were defeated by obstacles and devils.

Now is crucial. The three obstacles and four devils are the gateway to Buddhahood. If we surmount them, we will certainly become Buddhas. Hence, “the wise rejoice, the foolish retreat.”

Conversely, a practice in which the three obstacles and four devils do not arise is not genuine. The great “faith of Soka” has been established precisely because, from first president Makiguchi onward, we have feared no obstacle, giving our very lives to spread the Law. We must never forget this.

In this month of Soka’s founding, let us reaffirm our origins by learning from Presidents Makiguchi and Toda.

Makiguchi famously said, “Whether devils arise or not reveals the difference between mere believers and true practitioners.” He also taught: “For the small good of private faith, devils never arise; but if one undertakes the great good called bodhisattva practice, devils will certainly arise. We should know we are practitioners by the arising of devils.”

The three obstacles and four devils are the activation of ignorance in self and others. Because one carries out bodhisattva practice that opens the Dharma-nature of self and others, obstacles must arise.

He further taught us to “proactively draw out the workings of the devil.” By calling them forth and overcoming them, one deepens faith, amasses immeasurable benefit, transforms poison into medicine, and establishes the highest happiness.

President Toda likewise demonstrated that in battling through the three powerful enemies and shattering the three obstacles and four devils lies the essence of great benefit and human revolution. He repeatedly taught that once we see through events and declare, “This is the devil!” our courage multiplies a hundredfold.

He even declared that the three powerful enemies will assuredly appear: “When they do, I will rejoice—and I want all of you to rejoice as well. That is precisely when we will stand and fight.” Such was his blazing spirit.

Nichiren Buddhism is a religion of inner transformation, and its living essence pulses only within the organization directly connected to the Daishonin. The Daishonin’s struggle of fighting and defeating the devils has been rigorously inherited in the faith of the Gakkai.

Amid the fierce struggle in Kansai, together with beloved comrades, I engraved in my heart the passage, “The wise rejoice, the foolish retreat.” Now, we must stand up as the wise.

Because the Gakkai has triumphed over every obstacle, it has spread to 192 countries and territories. The seeds of Myōhō have been sown worldwide. How delighted Presidents Makiguchi and Toda must be! Surely Nichiren Daishonin and all Buddhas of the three existences and ten directions are praising this.

Therefore, as long as we persevere in faith within the harmonious community entrusted by the Buddha, we cannot fail to break through the devils.

Two key points in fighting devils: first, daimoku. When our Buddha-life-state pulses, we can win. Second, enter the world of the “harmonious community.”

Do not let your environment dominate your life. Leap joyfully into the “world of faith.”

Then the battling life of the Original Buddha wells up within you. Being in contact with lives that strive for kosen-rufu makes you strong. Encountering the Daishonin’s great conviction, Munenaga must have deepened his resolve to win decisively.

Text (Classical)

To become a Buddha is more difficult than this: suppose two Mount Sumerus stand side by side; plant a needle atop this Sumeru and shoot a thread from the other—harder than for that thread to pass straight over and enter the needle’s eye. How much more if a great wind were to blow head on! The sutra says: “Only after passing from hundreds of millions of kalpas to as many as the incalculable, may one hear this Lotus Sutra; only after hundreds of millions of kalpas to the incalculable, do the Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, preach this sutra. Therefore after the Buddha’s passing, having heard such a sutra, practitioners must not give rise to doubt.” Among the twenty-eight chapters of the Lotus Sutra, this passage is especially rare. From the “Introduction” to the “Teacher of the Law” chapters, the assembly included countless beings—bodhisattvas to humans, the four kinds of believers, and the eight kinds of nonhuman beings—yet there was only the single Buddha, Shakyamuni; despite its weight, it is relatively lighter. But the twelve chapters from “The Treasure Tower” to “Entrustment” are the weightiest of the weighty. For there, before Shakyamuni, the treasure tower of Many Treasures Buddha emerged—as if the sun rose before the moon. And the Buddhas of the ten directions were seated beneath their trees—like lamps lit atop the grasses and trees of the ten directions. These words were preached before them.

The Nirvana Sutra says: “From time without measure we have constantly undergone sufferings. In a single kalpa, the bones each sentient being piles up are like Mount Vipula at Rājagṛha; the milk they drink equals the waters of the four seas; the blood that flows from their bodies exceeds the waters of the four seas; the tears they shed lamenting the deaths of parents, siblings, wives, children, and kin exceed the waters of the four great oceans. If all the grasses and trees of the earth were cut into four-inch sticks and used to count one’s parents, even then they could not be exhausted.” This was the Buddha’s final teaching as he lay between the twin sal trees; it deserves our utmost attention. Its meaning is that from time without beginning, if one were to cut all the grasses and trees of the great earth of the ten directions into four-inch pieces and use them to count one’s fathers and mothers, one still could not exhaust the number. Though we have met such parents, we have not yet met the Lotus Sutra. Therefore it is easy to meet parents, but hard to encounter the Lotus Sutra. If now you disobey the words of the easily met parents and do not part from the rare friends of the Lotus Sutra, not only will you yourself become a Buddha, you will also be able to guide those parents you defied.

Lecture

The Rarity of “Encountering the Lotus Sutra”

After urging resolve, the Daishonin further encourages from several angles.

First, how exceedingly rare it is to encounter the Lotus Sutra; and how supremely difficult it is to carry faith through and attain Buddhahood. He teaches that we stand at that very threshold now.

He deepens conviction that the Lotus Sutra is the scripture in which, not only Shakyamuni, but also Many Treasures and the Buddhas of the ten directions gather and pledge the enlightenment of all beings in the age after the Buddha’s passing. It is absolutely reliable.

For Munenaga, filial piety toward parents remains a grave theme. Citing the Nirvana Sutra, the Daishonin notes that through endless cycles of birth and death we have had an almost numberless multitude of parents. Compared with this, it is far easier to meet parents than to meet the Lotus Sutra. If, in this moment, one does not part from the rare “friends of the Lotus Sutra”—good companions who teach and practice Myōhō together—then not only will one become a Buddha, one will be able to guide even parents who opposed the Law.

Text (Classical)

On this pretext and that, the abstainers and Nembutsu followers plot to topple you by first urging your parents into wrongdoing so as to make you fall. I hear that the Ryōkabō urge people to chant the Nembutsu a million times, sowing discord to cut off the seed of the Lotus Sutra. Lord of Gokuraku-ji was a remarkable man, yet deceived by Nembutsu followers into bearing a grudge against Nichiren, he brought ruin upon himself and his whole clan; now only Lord Echigo remains. If you think those who trust the two Ryōkabō prosper, look at how the Nagoe clan built Zenkō-ji, Chōraku-ji, and the Great Buddha Hall—then see what became of their house. Moreover, Lord Tokimune, ruler of Japan, now confronts a foe as if the whole world were turned against him: the great country of the Mongols.

If you abandon your elder brother and are granted his station after he is disowned, you will hardly prosper for ten thousand years; perhaps the glory will be brief. What security have you that you will not perish in this very life? Decide well and place your reliance single-mindedly on the life to come.

Lecture

What Will You Make the Foundation of Your Life?

The Daishonin then clarifies the structure behind this disinheritance: the schemes of Ryōkan and others to deceive the parents in order to ensnare the sons and cut off people’s good roots. To follow such evil acts leads inevitably to the ruin of one’s house. “No testimony is superior to actual proof”( Gosho Zenshu, p.1279,The Teaching, Practice, and Proof). We must never yield to the devilish forces.

Finally, he urges us not to live for the shifting, transient glory of the moment, but to open the way to eternal happiness—reaffirming deep faith in the Lotus Sutra. The Daishonin fully understands the unbending struggle of lay believers to establish proof in the realities of life and society, and he rejoices in their victories. Yet he reminds us that the true purpose of faith is to build everlasting happiness—requiring inner transformation.

The arising of the three obstacles and four devils is the trial by which we forge the eternal life-state of Buddhahood. If we overcome it, we establish a free and untrammeled state of life. Hence he teaches: “Never retreat; confront the devils; temper your life to the utmost.”

In the struggle against the three obstacles and four devils, we build our own “history of victory.”

When mentor and disciples live for kosen-rufu together—advancing as one—devils cannot intrude. Standing with the resolute spirit “How joyful! Let us fight!” is the way to break through the devils.

It is precisely shared struggle of mentor and disciple that overcomes devils, opens a new era, and builds a “future of hope.”

The Time for Kosen-rufu Has Come!

Ninety years ago this November, Albert Einstein visited Japan.

Mr. Toda regarded it as the highest honor that he had heard Einstein’s lecture at Keio University together with Mr. Makiguchi.

Even more than thirty years later, he spoke to us as if it were yesterday about “the honor of meeting the time.”

“How great is the honor, and how vast the benefit, for each person to have worked as a fighter for kosen-rufu! And at the dawn of kosen-rufu, how deep will be the sorrow of those who could not join this great struggle! To meet the time is a matter of utmost gravity.

“Now the time for kosen-rufu has arrived. As its fighters, a hundred or two hundred years hence people will sing, ‘Behold, those were the people who labored for kosen-rufu, the fighters for kosen-rufu!’—and the Great Mandala will also praise them. How many will there be?”

I want you to be convinced that the arising of the three obstacles and four devils for each of us means that the time for worldwide kosen-rufu has come.

I pray that every one of our comrades—and all our friends connected to us—without a single exception, will build happiness.

The Ikegami brothers won through unity as the first principle. Their disinheritance was rescinded, and in the end their father embraced faith.

“Your faith is a story without equal for the future.” Just as the Daishonin praised the Ikegami brothers, I pray each day, earnestly, that the struggles of our precious Soka comrades will shine forever as a beacon of hope for humankind.