In Rissho Ankoku Ron Nichiren cites a number of sutras regarding the corruption of the clergy and what should be done. Nichiren comes to the following conclusion:
“When we look at the world in the light of these passages of scripture, we see that the situation is just as they describe it. If we do not admonish the evil monks, how can we hope to do good?”
This is an interesting assertion on the part of Nichiren, which he will back up later with other passages from the sutras. He is claiming that in order to do good one must actively oppose evil. In order to uphold the truth, one must denounce and expose that which is a lie. This is not a call for passive resignation or to retreat from a corrupt society. It is, rather, a challenge to an active engagement against corruption and deceit.
We should ask ourselves how Nichiren's critique of the rulers and evil monks could possibly apply to us today? We do not live in a feudal society with emperors, kings, or regents. Furthermore, we do not live a society where all respect Buddhist monks and nuns. In fact we live in a society (in the USA anyway) that has repudiated aristocratic rule or rule by the military and where large numbers of people are deeply suspicious if not disdainful of any clergy, let alone Buddhist clergy. So how can what Nichiren is writing about hold any meaning for us?
The rulers in our age are publicly elected officials and the bureaucracy that supports them. I would also add the media and the leaders of big business among those who direct and disseminate the policies and ideas that influence our lives and shape public opinion. In this sense, politicians, captains of industry, and the media are the ones who now hold the primary power, and the responsibility that goes with it, to govern society in a way that is compassionate and in accord with the truth. Because of the separation of church and state they do not and should not be expected to support Buddhism or any one religion or sect or denomination over and above another. However, it is my conviction that the law of cause and effect is not a matter of belief or religious affiliation. What goes around comes around, we reap what we sow, and the golden rule is the universal basis for morality and ethics that is at the base of our system of laws and human rights. In two writings prior to Rissho Ankoku Ron, the Sainan Koki Yurai (The Cause of Misfortunes) and the Sainan Taiji Sho (Treatise on the Elimination of Calamities) Nichiren stated that the rulers of China before the introduction of Buddhism were karmically accountable for their actions because they were civilized enough to have embraced the humanistic ethics and values of Confucius. Nichiren specifically pointed to the five virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness as the moral equivalent of Buddhism’s five major precepts against killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxication. In the same way, our secular nation-states, multi-national corporations, and worldwide media conglomerates should hold themselves accountable to commonly recognized standards of decent conduct and international law. If this is not done, as the Nazis, the Imperial Japanese, the Khmer Rouge, the Taliban, Saddam Hussein and his Baathist party, and other nations have learned - they only sow the seeds of their own destruction. I would say that as citizens and consumers in democratic free-market societies each of us also has a share in the responsibility once held only by the emperors, kings, shoguns and regents of the past to determine the policies and trends that our nations, media and businesses follow. We should ensure that those entities of which we are a part do not participate in or instigate evil themselves, even when combating evil.
I have talked about the rulers and expressed my view that we are in a sense the rulers and the Dharma we are held accountable to as a society is the Dharma of international law, human rights, and common decency. But who are the false and evil monks of this age? I would say that they are those who are responsible for teaching us our worldviews, values, morality and ethics. They are the priests, ministers, rabbis, imams, scientists, doctors, psychologists, and of course school teachers. Now Nichiren was not concerned with reforming other religions or even with converting other people to Buddhism since he lived in a society where everyone was Buddhist. His concern was with what kind of Buddhism people were going to follow - a false one that distorted the Buddha’s teachings or an authentic Buddhism that was in accord with the Buddha's teachings. We, however, live in a pluralistic society where Buddhism is a minority view and has only recently begun to have an impact on our culture and its worldview and values. As yet, that impact is not very strong, and may amount to no more than a fad. But I think that, Buddhist or not, our society should be committed to the truth and to a compassionate engagement with each other and the rest of the world. This is what our age's teachers should be held accountable for. This goes beyond religious affiliation. The commitment to truth, justice, and compassion should be a universal and deeply ecumenical endeavor that goes beyond particular dogmas. In promoting a commitment to truth, justice, and compassion (and not necessarily just that) I believe that we will be living in the spirit of the Rissho Ankoku Ron wherein the health and welfare of society is dependent on its fidelity to the Dharma, the true nature of reality.
The original source of these comments is this article:
Posted by Ryuei at July 22, 2009 03:41 PMWhat I think is tricky, in our current age in this country, is that many forms of resistance are often easily coopted by the dominant structures (i.e., capitalism and globalism). Large corporations, I think, embrace postmodernism (though they don't consciously admit as much) because it nudges people to think of "power" solely in the realm of "purchasing power" as a consumer. Finally, though computer networks allow for a great amount of connections between like-minded souls from all around the world, the powers that be are equally adept at using networks to distance people from each other (deflating tactile, face to face spaces in favor of abstract marketplaces). I guess none of this is new but it does raise interesting possibilities as to how to find a way to actively resist evil from a Buddhist perspective in a highly connected age.
Posted by: Alan at July 23, 2009 03:15 PMI think in this country, we all decide, and not just with our votes. The products we buy, the businesses we patronize, the churches we attend, the ideas we embrace, and so on, shape the media. businesses, and politicians. Of course, they attempt to shape our opinions; but we are still responsible.
I think the least desirable thing about Nichiren was the way approached the leaders he deemed evil. Of course, we can not see his demeanor in his letters. Moreover, the people did not have the same freedom to choose as we. In the USA, the powers that be really do exist with our consent.
The most disturbing aspect of our culture is that very few try to sell a positive agenda. Instead, they try to inspire trust in themselves by provoking distrust of their opponents. They do that because it works. It is evidently easier to unite people against something than to unite them for something. Also, hatred and anger seem to be stronger motivators than kindness.
Posted by: robin at July 28, 2009 05:37 AMRyuei wrote: "But who are the false and evil monks of this age? I would say that they are those who are responsible for teaching us our worldviews, values, morality and ethics. They are the priests, ministers, rabbis, imams, scientists, doctors, psychologists, and of course school teachers".
I don't think all of these people are evil, false monks - some teachers, rabbis, ministers strive to teach sound values, morality and ethics.
What is interesting to me is that several popular fictional books are actually morality tales - the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and the Narnia series for example. There is seemingly something in the human psyche that seeks good.
Kris
Posted by: Kris at July 30, 2009 08:03 AMHi Kris,
I think I need to rewrite that. I didn't mean that all those people were "evil monks." What I meant was that it would be among the ranks of such people that the "evil monks" of this age can be found. But I have certainly known some wonderful priests, rabbis, ministers, psychologists, and even a Muslim cleric or two who impressed me with their humanity, compassion, and even insight.
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,
Ryuei
Is corrup the opposite of corrdown?
Posted by: robin at July 31, 2009 08:47 AMA very good column. Earlier in the year I wanted to reassess my political principles, and realized that the RAR is the place to start. I think the first thing we need to do is exert influence in the places where we actually have it. This starts with ourselves; are we ruling our own mind using Buddhist principles as developed through our faith in the Lotus Sutra. If we do, then our life becomes and example, which is the first kind of outer influence. As we work on ourselves, we will grow our circle of influence, at which point we must strive to find the balance between shakabuku and shoju types approaches, developing wisdom to know which is called for and when.
Posted by: Lotuslaw at August 4, 2009 05:30 AMWhat also comes to mind about free market and democracy, in the American sense, is that neither one is actually democratic nor free. In plain terms, the US is a nation with a broken sovereign, i.e., the mechanisms which are set up by our government as "democratic" or "free" are anything but. We would have to look at the fact that all the way back to the beginning of the American nation-state, a trail of blood and broken treatises followed and preceded every policy set up by the "founding fathers." Nichiren spoke extensively on loyalty to the sovereign, going on to say that the nation will suffer if the sovereign becomes sick. Metaphorically, the state of the sovereign is in malady. We have three branches of government which are supposedly able to check each other. This is obviously not true, since the legislative, executive and judicial branches make unilateral decisions based on opinion and personal morality, without consulting the constituency. This is the first group of "evil monks." Let us note that a certain group of fundamentalist christians entitled "The Family" have extensive influence at Capitol Hill. They, in turn, work with another group who calls itself "The Navigators," who essentially take the local power into their hands. Both groups have elected officials in the US and are linked to certain dictators throughout the world. Second group of "evil monks." Third, we should look closer at who is influencing the media, who owns the media and who pushes their snake oil onto the masses... Multinational corporations. We should look at how their behavior in the world affects the development of the human psyche. In a sense, the Dharma is Coke, Pepsi, Shell, Chevron, Nike, etc., to the populace. It doesn't matter if the environment is destroyed or if workers are living in poverty or if women are being raped and killed in Juarez, Mexico. It is all part of the plan: "evil monks." I have plenty more to say, but not enough time at the moment. I'll be back.
Posted by: Lotus Outlaw at August 12, 2009 03:43 PM