Great Evil and Great Good

Main Text

Great events never have minor omens. When great evil occurs, great good follows.

Great Evil and Great Good

Background

GREAT events never have minor omens. When great evil occurs, great good follows. Since great slander already exists in our land, the great correct Law will spread without fail. What could any of you have to lament? Even if you are not the Venerable Mahākāshyapa, you should all perform a dance. Even if you are not Shāriputra, you should leap up and dance. When Bodhisattva Superior Practices emerged from the earth, did he not emerge dancing? And when Bodhisattva Universal Worthy arrived, the ground shook in six different ways. There is much to say, but as I am pressed for time, I will close. I will write again on another occasion.

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Background

It is not certain whether this is the text of a short letter or a fragment of a longer piece. Neither its date nor its recipient is known. Judging from the content, it may have been sent to some of the Daishonin’s believers who were facing difficulties on account of their faith. With the assurance “When great evil occurs, great good follows,” the Daishonin encourages his disciples to regard the hostility they face as an omen of great good, that is, the eventual spreading of the correct teaching. He also urges them to rejoice like Mahākāshyapa and Shāriputra, who danced with joy in the Lotus Sutra when they heard the Buddha’s teaching of universal enlightenment, and realized that they, too, could become Buddhas.

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