Highlights of the July 2025 Study Material

Understanding the Worlds of Asuras and Human Beings

In this month’s study, we first learn about the world of asuras, the fourth of the Ten Worlds, long translated as the world of anger.

As a note, using the word “anger” here can be misleading as it often implies uncontrollable rage or hostility. Nichiren Daishonin associated rage with the world of hell, the first of the Ten Worlds (see “The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind,” WND-1, 358). Thus, “anger” can lead to a limited understanding of this fourth world. 

In Indian mythology, an asura is a combative demon known for fighting with the gods, especially Shakra and Indra. Nichiren described this world as one of “perversity” (see WND-1, 358) and cites this description from Great Concentration and Insight:

Since the mind of a person who is in the world of asuras desires in every moment to be superior to everyone else and cannot bear to be inferior to anyone else, he belittles and despises others and exalts himself just as a kite flies on high and looks down. Moreover, he outwardly displays benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and good faith, and develops an inferior kind of goodness of mind, and yet puts into practice the way of asuras. (“Explaining the Causation of the Ten Worlds,” WND-2, 197)

Those in this world of asuras have a fragile and misguided sense of superiority. As Fyodor Dostoevsky writes, “A beast can never be so cruel as a man, so artistically cruel.”^[1] Regarding those trapped in this state, Sensei remarked: 

People in this state constantly chafe at those who are better than they are, while fearful that their true nature will be exposed. To cover up their cowardice, they try to drag others down. …

People are envious because they are inwardly aware that in some regard the other person is superior. There is a saying that envy is a [perverse] form of praise; to envy someone is to inwardly recognize the person’s superiority. (The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 4, p. 129)

Sensei explains that when confronting evil, based on the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, we can “fight with the intensity of asura or a charging demon. … When we thoroughly exert ourselves for kosen-rufu, the life of asura manifests the function of Buddhahood” (WLS-4, 134).

Humanity—The Path of Self-Mastery

The fifth world of human beings, often called humanity, is a state in which we begin gaining self-mastery. The Sanskrit term manusya, meaning “thinking being” or “one who thinks,” is linked to this realm, characterized by intellect and calmness. 

Those in this world understand cause and effect and can better distinguish good from evil than those in the four lower realms. Sensei said:

Ultimately, it is when we learn to channel the energy that had formerly been directed toward winning over others into winning over ourselves that we enter the world of humanity. (WLS-4, 126)

Being in the middle of the Ten Worlds, those in the world of humanity can easily slip into the lower worlds or ascend to the higher ones. Maintaining peace of mind amid negative influences is no easy feat, which is why engaging in our Buddhist practice is essential. Sensei concludes this chapter, stating: 

Whether we are aware of it, our state of life to a great extent determines our actions, thoughts, relationships and path in life, as well as our emotions. 

State of life, moreover, is not only a property of individuals. A society, too, has a state of life, the Ten Worlds. Kosen-rufu is not only a struggle to change the state of life of individuals but a movement to change the state of life of an entire country, to elevate the state of life of humankind. (WLS-4, 142)

—Prepared by the SGI-USA Study Department

Digging Deep

July Study Guide 

Please use these questions to guide your study of  The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 4, pp. 119–44. 

1) Nichiren Daishonin explains that the world of asuras is characterized by ___________________, written with Chinese characters that mean ___________________ and ___________________. (WLS-4, 120)

What quote from The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 2, explains this life state? (WLS-4, 121) 

2) The Lotus Sutra states, “Since hatred and jealousy toward this sutra abound even when the Thus Come One is in the world, how much more will this be so after his passing?” (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 203) What is the true nature of envy? What causes a person to reach such a point? (WLS-4, 126–31)

3) Nichiren states: “Now I have already obtained birth in the human realm, something difficult to achieve, and have had the privilege of hearing the Buddhist teachings, which are seldom encountered. If I should pass my present life in idleness, then in what future life could I possibly free myself from the sufferings of birth and death and attain enlightenment? (“A Sage and an Unenlightened Man,” WND-1, 125). 

In Buddhism, the human body is called the “________________________________________.” What does this mean? 

What does Buddhism teach about the function of one’s state of life? (WLS-1, 141–42)

Looking Forward: August Syllabus

The Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra, vol. 4, pp. 145–170
Part Two: “The Life Span of the Thus Come One”: The Ten Worlds
6: “From the Six Paths to the Four Noble Worlds”

From the July 2025 Living Buddhism