Download TRANSFORMING THE THREE POISONS (w quotes)

TRANSFORMING THE THREE POISONS, TRANSFORMING SOCIETY
The world seems pretty crazy at the moment,
but it was no better in Nichiren’s time. The
Daishonin writes: “In [1257] on the twentythird day of the eighth month at [9:00 PM],
there occurred a great earthquake of
unprecedented magnitude. In [1258] on the
first day of the eighth month there was a great
wind. In [1259] a major famine occurred [AND]
epidemics were rampant, and throughout the
four seasons of [1260] the epidemics continued
to rage without abating. By this time more than
half the people of the nation had been laid low by death.” (WND-1, p161) “Oxen and horses lie
dead in the streets ... beggars are everywhere in sight, and scenes of death fill our eyes. Corpses
pile up in mounds ... and dead bodies lie side by side like planks on a bridge” (WND-1, p6)
Investigating the cause of this suffering and these disasters, Nichiren believed that people were
putting their faith in religions, philosophies and Buddhist teachings which didn’t address the
fundamental darkness inherent in life – the THREE POISONS of greed, foolishness and anger. He
explains: “Famine occurs as a result of greed, pestilence occurs as a result of foolishness, and
warfare occurs as a result of anger.” (WND-1, p989) Nichiren also believed that only Buddhism
based on the Lotus Sutra would give people the strength to overcome these spiritual poisons in their
lives and create a more harmonious existence.
The same is true today and we have seen over the last few years an increase
in war, natural disasters, famines, violence, political corruption and now the
coronavirus pandemic. So, what’s the solution?
In his essay “On Establishing the Correct Teaching for the Peace of the Land”,
the Daishonin gives us two important points of encouragement:
1. “If you care anything about your personal security, you should first of all pray for order and
tranquility throughout the four quarters of the land” (WND-1, p24)
2. “You must quickly reform the tenets that you hold in your heart and embrace the one true
vehicle [of the Lotus Sutra]” (WND-1, p25)
“Buddhism teaches that it is the three poisons inherent within our own lives – greed, anger and
foolishness – that are the root cause of the three calamities of famine, war and pestilence. However,
we are so used to looking outside ourselves for solutions to our problems that we barely recognise
that the most effective step we can take to improve our society is to transform our own hearts”
(Kazuo Fujii, “Art of Living – March 2008”, p26)
It’s only by basing our lives on the Mystic Law and chanting “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo” that we can
challenge and overcome the effects of these three poisons within our own lives
“Without surmounting the fundamental human delusions of greed, anger and foolishness, we will
never be able to solve the many problems that the world faces today, including the preoccupation
with economic growth, politics that are devoid of humanism, international conflicts, warfare,
growing disparity between rich and poor, and rampant discrimination.”
(Daisaku Ikeda, “Lectures on ‘On Attaining Buddhahood in this Lifetime’, p14)
“If we care about the peace and prosperity of society, we must strive to establish a solid pillar of
goodness and justice in people’s hearts. Everything begins with the inner transformation of human
beings themselves. We must also build a strong humanistic force for peace within society.”
(Daisaku Ikeda, “Gosho for the Ikeda Kayo-kai”, p23)
President Ikeda also explains that “this does not mean, however, that every person in a given society
must be united by faith in the Lotus Sutra. What matters is that the spirit of the great philosophy
of peace expounded in the Lotus Sutra, with its teaching that all people are Buddhas, be given full
play in society as a whole. On a societal level “establishing the correct teaching” means establishing
the concepts of human dignity and the sanctity of life as principles that support and move society.”
(SGI Newsletter 5131, 8 May 2002)
“Establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land” is the most basic philosophy for
correcting the fundamental impurities of life and realising security for human society as a whole. ...
Achieving world peace and bringing happiness to all humanity is the purpose of our Buddhist
movement.”
(Daisaku Ikeda, World of Nichiren Daishonin’s Writings-1, p179)
We have all had the good fortune to be introduced to Nichiren Buddhism and have found the path
and practice to transform the three poisons into wisdom, courage and compassion within our own
lives, and to share this teaching with others so that they can do the same.
“Humankind now stands at a crossroads. Will we descend into a world of violence and fear?
Or will we construct a world of peace and security?”
(Daisaku Ikeda, WNDW-1, p179)