Relativity of Good and Evil

The Justice Chronicle, provided by Soka Gakkai International-USA, is a free monthly e-mail in support of the Soka Spirit movement. Soka Spirit is the SGI's educational effort to create value and deepen our understanding of Nichiren Buddhism through increased awareness of issues surrounding the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood and the spiritual foundation of the SGI movement.

1) FROM THE WISDOM OF THE LOTUS SUTRA

This excerpt is from SGI President Ikeda's collection of dialogues with Katsuji Saito, Takanori Endo and Haruo Suda entitled, The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra. The following excerpt is from volume 3, part 2, on the Devadatta chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Devadatta was a follower of Shakyamuni, thought to be his half-brother, who started his own Buddhist order.

THE RELATIVITY OF GOOD AND EVIL

Suda: The Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai of China says in the fifth volume of the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra, Good exists in response to evil. There is no good in isolation from evil; and, Evil supports good. Without evil there would also be no good.

Ikeda: That's it exactly. Good and evil are not absolutes, they are relative. Therefore, we cannot say conclusively that a particular person is intrinsically good or intrinsically evil.

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, the first Soka Gakkai president, said, Even a good person, if he opposes great good, immediately becomes a person of great evil. Even an evil person, if he opposes great evil, immediately becomes a person of great good.

He used the following illustration to clarify his meaning: Had Yen Hui opposed Confucius, then this sage, who was second in order of esteem, would have immediately become a person of great evil. Had Confucius opposed Shakyamuni, he would have immediately created effects of supreme evil.

Endo: Yen Hui was one of Confucius's major disciples; he was a sage second in order of esteem, that is, second in wisdom only to Confucius. For Yen Hui to turn his back on Confucius would be for a person of medium good to oppose a person of great good; he would at once have turned into a person of great evil. Similarly, had Confucius opposed the Buddha, a person of supreme good, he would have become a person of supreme evil. This is the relation of good and evil.


Ikeda: But President Makiguchi also said that if Confucius, Jesus Christ or Mohammed were to meet Shakyamuni, it is doubtful that they would have opposed him. He explained: That's because they all alike disregarded the self and had no concerns apart from their desire to lead people to happiness. They were not egoists.

It seems that President Makiguchi regarded leading people to happiness as the ultimate good. By contrast, the egoism that allows one to think only about personal interests is the root of evil. Mr. Makiguchi said: Generally speaking, people who pride themselves on being good or extraordinarily good should be well prepared to recognize someone superior to them or to recognize a method other than their own. In actuality, however, the higher a person's position, the more likely that he or she will make causes of great evil or extraordinary great evil.

Had Nichiren Daishonin not appeared, then Ryokan, Doryu and others [who were venerated by society in the Daishonin's day] would likely have ended their lives revered as living Buddhas. Unfortunately for them, unable to accept the supremacy of the Daishonin's teaching and consumed by concern for their personal interests, they became priests of the greatest evil.

It seems they became people of evil on account of jealousy.

Saito: President Makiguchi defined good as something contributing toward or providing public benefit. The Lotus Sutra is the teaching that enables all people to attain Buddhahood. In that sense, we can say that the Lotus Sutra aims for the greatest public benefit, the greatest good.

Ikeda: That is also the Buddha's spirit. The Buddha, therefore, is a person of supreme good. But this is not to say that there is no evil in the life of the Buddha. It exists, of course, as a potential. Because the Buddha aims for the ultimate good and relentlessly struggles
against evil, good is what manifests from his life.

Nichiren Daishonin says, Opposing good is called evil, opposing evil is called good. Therefore, outside of the heart there is neither good nor evil (Gosho Zenshu, p. 563). Good and evil in themselves have no substance. In other words, they are not in themselves absolute but reflect relative distinctions. It is important, therefore, to ceaselessly direct our hearts, and take action, toward good.

Eight in a series.

2) FROM MY DEAR FRIENDS IN AMERICA

This series contains excerpts of speeches SGI President Ikeda made in the United Statesÿ which relate to Soka Spirit and are contained in the book My Dear Friends in America.

ANGER CAN FUNCTION FOR GOOD AND FOR EVIL

This excerpt is from a speech given on June 4, 1996, at the Simon Weisenthal Center in Los Angeles.

Buddhism asserts that anger can function both for good and for evil. Needless to say, anger that serves self-absorbed emotionalism or greed is of an evil nature. Anger driven by hatred brings only conflict and confrontation to human society.

Anger, however, that is directed at great evil, against the desecration of humanity and the abusive disregard for human life, is anger of great good. This kind of anger reforms and rejuvenates society, opening the way to a world of humanism and peace. (pp. 403-404).

BENEFIT MEANS TO EXTINGUISH EVIL AND BRING FORTH GOOD

This excerpt is from a speech given on June 5, 1996, in Los Angeles.

The SGI-USA has struggled against the tyranny of the priesthood. The benefit you have achieved as a result is immeasurable.

Nichiren Daishonin discusses the meaning of the Chinese characters for the word benefit (Jpn kudoku), as follows: The ku of kudoku means to extinguish evil and doku means to bring forth good (Gosho Zenshu, p. 762).

We fight against those who try to destroy the True Law. That struggle purifies us and brings forth benefits in our lives. Justice or happiness without a battle is just an illusion. Thinking that happiness means a life free of hard work and effort is a fantasy.

Only by struggling against the extremes of evil can we live a life of extreme good. That effort will help us create lives that can transcend any obstacle or difficulty with ease and dignity. I hope that all of you, my dear friends in America, will lead lives as champions of justice and happiness. (p. 417)

This concludes this series.