Letter to the Brothers

Nichiren Daishonin wrote ‘Letter to the Brothers’, the study material published in the May-June Living Buddhism, to the Ikegami brothers who lived in what is present day Tokyo. Although the brothers, who were both samurai, had been practicing for about 20 years, little is known about their early practice. It is known that their father was adamantly opposed to their practice and finally disowned the elder brother in an attempt to drive a wedge between them. In a final turnaround, the brothers converted their father after 22 years practice.

This gosho is about devils and obstacles to our practice. Devils in Buddhism are those negative functions that originate from our fundamental darkness. The brothers faced severe opposition from their father. As Nichiren Daishonin wrote in ‘Letter to the Brothers’, “If you propagate it, devils will arise without fail. If they did not, there would be no way of knowing that this is the correct teaching.”

For a more current example, and in a different context, consider a young woman who joined the SGI about 25 years ago and participated in vigorous activities. She married her sponsor. Life was good. But the woman, after 10 years of practice, was visited by a powerful devil.

From the gosho, Nichiren quotes from ‘Great Concentration and Insight’, “As practice progresses and understanding grows, the three obstacles and four devils emerge in confusing form, vying with one another to interfere … One should be neither influenced nor frightened by them. If one falls under their influence, one will be led into the paths of evil. If one is frightened by them, one will be prevented from practicing the correct teaching.”

The young woman fought the devil and the devil won. In 1991 she and her husband joined the temple.

O dear!

Practice with the temple was difficult. Members were expected to simply follow and not question. Rumors and hearsay abounded. Eventually she and her husband stopped going to activities. Now, life was not good. Then her husband left.

14 suffering years later, through the efforts of her brother and sister-in-law, she finally reconnected with the SGI. She made a new beginning. Her daughter, seeing the change in her mother, began a consistent practice. Life was getting better.

This is not an urban legend. You can read the account, and the experience of her brother, a member of the Soka Spirit Group, in the April 27 WT.

Nichiren Daishonin emphasizes that those who propagate the correct teaching will encounter obstacles and the appearance of such obstacles confirms the validity of their practice. One might wonder, ‘What’s the difference between my problems and those of non-believers?’ It might be better to look within rather than comparing ourselves to others. One doesn’t get rich by counting another person’s money.

The ‘doctrine of three thousand realms in a single moment of life’ mentioned in the text is the supreme philosophical achievement of T’ien T’ai the Great of sixth century China. Based on the Lotus Sutra, this doctrine clarifies the ultimate oneness of life and the environment. You can read some details in the May-June Living Buddhism.

T’ien T’ai’s doctrine is called the theoretical three thousand realms because it refers in theory to the life of Buddhahood latent within all people. In Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhism, however, it refers to the means to manifest Buddhahood as a reality within the lives of all people. Therefore it is called the actual three thousand realms.

Mention of the three thousand realms opens the way to a discussion of the ‘three obstacles and four devils’. These are events or situations in our lives that tend to hinder our Buddhist practice. Some details can be found in the May-Jun Living Buddhism. Overcoming these obstacles and devils is the means to end the suffering that originates in our lives.

As long as we are determined to achieve our happiness and help others to do the same, we are certain to face obstacles. We may tend to think of visible benefits as our actual proof of the validity of our practice, but the appearance of obstacles can also be tremendous proof of our progress in faith. Once we are resolved to overcome them, hardships can be a good teacher and a good means to lead us to purer faith, greater strength and a higher state of life.