The Three Powerful Enemies, Part 2— Confronting the Most Formidable Enemy: Arrogant False Sages

Arrogant lay people, the first powerful enemy, are ordinary people in society who are influenced by the spurious accusations of arrogant false sages and as a result directly attack the Lotus Sutra’s practitioners with slander, insults and physical violence. In “The Opening of the Eyes,” the Daishonin merely describes them as being “important lay believers who support monks in the second and third categories” (WND-1, 273) and does not specify why they are evil. This is essentially because the reason is self-evident and also because, in terms of their capacity to deceive others and destroy the Law, the second and third enemies are far more destructive.

Next, the Daishonin turns to the second powerful enemy, arrogant priests, indicating that this refers to “men like Honen who disregard the precepts and hold perverse views” (WND-1, 274). He then outlines in some detail why they can be considered evil.

The Pure Land (Nembutsu) school of Buddhism, which was founded by Honen, belittles people’s capacity for understanding the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of Law, asserting that the sutra’s “principles are very profound but human understanding is slight” (WND-1, 273), and urges them to “ignore, abandon, close, and discard” the sutra (WND-1, 274). Cutting people off from the means of attaining genuine enlightenment through the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra in this manner constitutes slander of the Law. Therefore, the Daishonin denounces Honen and other Nembutsu priests as persons of “perverse views.”

He also refers to them as people who “disregard the precepts.” The Nembutsu adherents of the day desperately pinned their hopes on salvation after death based on Honen’s teaching [which said that all could attain rebirth in the Pure Land by simply chanting Amida Buddha’s name]. Since their lives were already steeped in negative karma and there was nothing they could do about it, they saw no point in exercising self-discipline or leading virtuous lives. As a result, they gave themselves over to decadent and dissolute behavior.

The second enemy—arrogant priests who commit slander of the Law and other evil actions—is relatively easy to recognize. But the third—arrogant false sages who carry on as if they were saints—is the most difficult to discern and also the most pernicious. 

The Buddha Eye Can Identify the Three Powerful Enemies 

The six-volume Parinirvana Sutra says, “The extreme is impossible to see. That is, the extremely evil deeds done by the icchantika are all but impossible to perceive.” Or, as Miao-lo has said, “The third [group] is the most formidable of all. This is because [the second and third ones are] increasingly harder to recognize for what they really are.” 

Those without eyes, those with only one eye, and those with distorted vision cannot see these three types of enemies of the Lotus Sutra who have appeared at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law. But those who have attained a portion of the Buddha eye can see who they are. [“Encouraging Devotion,” the 13th chapter of the Lotus Sutra (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p. 232), says:] “They will address the rulers, high ministers, Brahmans, and householders.” And Tung-ch’un^[1] states, “These men will appeal to the government authorities, slandering the Law and its practitioners.”

In the past, when the Middle Day of the Law was coming to an end, Gomyo, Shuen,^[2] and other priests presented petitions to the [imperial] throne in which they slandered the Great Teacher Dengyo. Now, at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law, Ryokan, Nen’a, and others drew up false documents and presented them to the shogunate. Are they not to be counted among the third group of enemies of the Lotus Sutra? (WND-1, 277)

In “The Opening of the Eyes,” the Daishonin cites many sutras and commentaries to clarify the true, insidious nature of “arrogant false sages,” the third of the three powerful enemies. The following quotations sum up his key points: 

1. “Icchantikas who resemble arhats.” (Parinirvana Sutra)
2. “There will be monks who will give the appearance of abiding by the rules of monastic discipline. But they will scarcely ever read or recite the sutras and instead will crave all kinds of food and drink to nourish their bodies.” (Nirvana Sutra) 
3. “Outwardly they will seem to be wise and good, but within they will harbor greed and jealousy.” (Nirvana Sutra) 
4. “They are not true monks—they merely have the appearance of monks. Consumed by their erroneous views, they slander the correct teaching.” (Nirvana Sutra) 
5. “Members of the clergy who act as leaders of all the other evil people.” (Tung-ch’un)
6. “Some Zen masters give all their attention to meditation alone. But their meditation is shallow and false, totally lacking in the nine ways.” (Great Concentration and Insight) 
7. “‘Priests who concentrate on the written word’ refers to men who gain no inner insight or understanding through meditation but concern themselves only with characteristics of the doctrine. ‘Zen masters who concentrate on practice’ refers to men who do not learn how to attain the truth and the corresponding wisdom but fix their minds on the mere techniques of breath control.” (Annotations on “Great Concentration and Insight”)
8. “All of them regretted what they had done when they were on their deathbed.” (Great Concentration and Insight) 
9. “The extreme is impossible to see. That is, the extremely evil deeds done by the icchantika are all but impossible to perceive.” (Parinirvana Sutra)

(see WND-1, 275–77)

Quotations one through four from the Nirvana Sutra and the Parinirvana Sutra all express the sharp disparity between the arrogant false sages’ outward guise of saintliness and their actual inner reality.

“Icchantikas who resemble arhats” refers to false sages who give the appearance of being arhats—sages who have reached the highest stage in the Hinayana teachings. But in reality they are nothing more than icchantikas who are ruled by desires and disbelief. The next three quotes—two through four—all say approximately the same thing.

The term icchantika expresses the true nature of arrogant false sages. A Sanskrit word that originally meant “desire,” it refers to people who are steeped in desire, who are incapable of believing that they and others possess the Buddha nature, and who, because they are ruled by that profound disbelief, slander the correct teaching. 

The “Encouraging Devotion” chapter explains that arrogant false sages persecute the votary of the Lotus Sutra because of “evil in their hearts” (LSOC, 232). This ill will, or malice, characterizes the essence of icchantikas.

Point five—“Members of the clergy who act as leaders of all the other evil people”—signifies the ignorant and corrupt individuals, including arrogant lay people and arrogant priests, who join the arrogant false sages in persecuting the Lotus Sutra practitioners. In other words, arrogant false sages function as the chief instigators of persecution. We’ll examine this point in greater detail a little later in relation to Ryokan, the main culprit behind the persecutions that plagued the Daishonin.

Points six through eight are passages from T’ien-t’ai’s Great Concentration and Insight and Miao-lo’s commentary on that treatise. In T’ien-t’ai’s China, there were many Zen masters who practiced meditation and many ordinary priests who studied the sutras and treatises. But in nearly every case, they failed to attain the ultimate truth of Buddhism. Even so, there were those who inspired reverence from lay people. But the Daishonin says that the people who followed these teachers could not gain any benefit and died regretting the course they had chosen.

In other words, fraudulent religious figures like arrogant false sages bring irrevocable misery on the people. That is truly the greatest evil. This evil, however, is extremely difficult to discern. To highlight this, the Daishonin cites the passage listed in point nine: “The extremely evil deeds done by the icchantika are all but impossible to perceive.”

Arrogant false sages perpetrate “extremely evil deeds” (WND-1, 277). While acting as if they are saints, their hearts are filled with greed and disbelief. They are perverse villains who have no compunction about exploiting Buddhism or sacrificing others’ happiness in order to protect their own positions and fulfill their selfish desires. Arrogant false sages are indeed enemies of Buddhism pretending to be Buddhists and enemies of humanity feigning an air of compassion.

The Daishonin says that the extreme evil that characterizes arrogant false sages can be recognized only by “those who have attained a portion of the Buddha eye” (WND-1, 277). The evil of these false sages is a manifestation of fundamental darkness and so can be discerned only by those who have broken free of that darkness of ignorance and who have revealed the state of Buddhahood in their lives. For only such people have the strength to keep fighting against the onslaughts of this formidable enemy to the very end.

Ryokan—‘Leader of All Other Evil People’ in Nichiren’s Day

In Nichiren Daishonin’s time, how did the arrogant false sages contrive to inspire veneration from society? Let’s look briefly at the circumstances of the various other religious schools of that era.

With regard to the twenty-line verse describing the three powerful enemies in the “Encouraging Devotion” chapter, the Daishonin writes in “The Opening of the Eyes,” “We can discern without a trace of obscurity the ugly faces of the priests of the various schools of present-day Japan, especially the Zen, Precepts, and Nembutsu schools” (WND-1, 271).

“The various schools of present-day Japan” refers to the established schools of Buddhism at the time. These numbered eight: the six schools of Nara^[3] plus the Tendai and True Word schools. All of these schools enjoyed the patronage and protection of the imperial court or the nobility.

Also, having been presented with vast land holdings, they wielded immense influence in society as lords of large estates. Those in control of the temples of the different schools had by and large forgotten the original purpose of helping people attain enlightenment and had become degenerate in their ways. Witnessing the appearance of the warrior monks at such leading temples as Enryaku-ji and Onjo-ji (the suffix –ji denotes a temple), people sensed the decline of Buddhism. Further, amid a succession of natural disasters and warfare, people began to feel more strongly that the Latter Day of the Law had indeed arrived. 

With the onset of the Kamakura period (1192–1333), the Zen, Precepts and Nembutsu schools came to flourish as influential new forces of the day. Many people, dissatisfied with the established Buddhist schools, which had grown corrupt and decadent, found the newer schools a breath of fresh air because of their commitment to maintaining the precepts, which focused on regulating daily life and restoring rigor to practice. Though the word precepts conjures images of the Precepts school, one of the six established schools of Buddhism, in this particular period it refers not to one particular school but to the emergence of a general movement to restore the precepts throughout the Japanese religious world.

Among the key proponents of this movement were the Zen priest Shoichi of Kyoto as well as the True Word Precepts priest Eizon^[4] of Saidai-ji in Nara and his disciple Ryokan. Influenced by these developments, the Nembutsu adherents in Kamakura also began to place greater importance on the precepts. The leading Nembutsu priests Doa (also known as Doamidabutsu) and Nen’a,^[5] who enjoyed the patronage of the ruling Hojo clan, were at the forefront of this movement.

In the midst of this, Ryokan welcomed his teacher Eizon to Kamakura, making it possible for key people in the government and priests of the Nembutsu and other schools to receive the precepts. As a result, Ryokan succeeded in bringing important government figures and followers of the Nembutsu and other schools under his fold, and he established his authority in Kamakura. This clearly reflected the words of Chih-tu’s Tung-ch’un where, commenting on the three powerful enemies described in “Encouraging Devotion,” he speaks of “members of the clergy who act as leaders of all the other evil people” (WND-1, 275).

While outwardly Ryokan conducted himself as the leader of the movement to revive the precepts, inwardly he, more than anyone, harbored attachments to secular things. Though he made a show of promoting charitable enterprises and public works projects, he used the profits reaped in connection with those activities to “hoard silks, wealth, and jewels” (“Conversation between a Sage and an Unenlightened Man,” WND-1, 102).

The people of the day, unaware of Ryokan’s true nature, revered him as “the living Buddha [of Gokuraku-ji]” (“Condolences on a Deceased Husband,” WND-2, 777) and made offerings to him out of their desire for salvation through his teachings.

Ryokan perfectly matched the passage of the Nirvana Sutra cited earlier: “They are not true monks—they merely have the appearance of monks” (WND-1, 275). No matter how such people don robes and surplices and outwardly conduct themselves as priests, behind the facade they are devoid of priestly virtue.

Nevertheless, people are readily impressed and deceived by priestly robes. Unscrupulous priests cunningly take advantage of this, doing everything they can to enhance their august and venerable appearance. That’s why the Great Teacher Miao-lo describes arrogant false sages as being the most difficult to recognize for what they really are (see WND-1, 227). Only the Daishonin could discern the true nature of the arrogant false sages of his age. He, therefore, waged a solitary and unremitting battle to expose their fraud.

In “Letter to Ryokan of Gokuraku-ji,” one of the 11 letters of remonstration he sent to various influential government leaders and religious figures in 1268,^[6] the Daishonin cites “Encouraging Devotion” and denounces Ryokan, saying: “You are nothing more than a sham, a traitorous ‘sage’ who pretends to the three types of learning, the precepts, meditation, and wisdom. A counterfeit sage, a person of overbearing arrogance, in your present existence you will surely be marked out as a traitor to the nation, and in your next existence will fall into the region of hell” (WND-2, 324).

Also, in seeking to acquaint the ruling authorities with the true nature of this nefarious priest, the Daishonin challenged Ryokan to a public debate. Ryokan, however, ducked this proposal, showing himself unwilling to engage in open dialogue. Three years later, in 1271, when he was soundly defeated by the Daishonin in a contest to pray for rain, Ryokan increasingly revealed his devilish nature as an arrogant false sage. He “appeal[ed] to the government authorities, slandering the Law and its practitioners” (see WND-1, 277). “Government authorities” here indicates those who hold high public office, as well as other influential people in society. Ryokan sought to bring about the Daishonin’s downfall by leveling false accusations against him.

Specifically, the priest Gyobin, a disciple of Nen’a, filed a lawsuit claiming that Nichiren was destroying the order of the Buddhist circle and the Shogunate government. At the start of his letter of rebuttal, Nichiren cites Ryokan, Nen’a and Doa, identifying them as the ones ultimately behind the spurious petition submitted in Gyobin’s name.^[7] When the lawsuit proved unsuccessful, Ryokan intensified his efforts to discredit the Daishonin in the eyes of key government officials and their wives. This resulted in the Tatsunokuchi Persecution and Sado Exile.

Driven by jealousy and anger, Ryokan plotted against Nichiren, making false accusations to the authorities in an attempt to bring great persecution down upon the votary of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren’s blistering refutations forced Ryokan to reveal his true colors and to act in perfect accord with the description of arrogant false sages, the third of the three powerful enemies, in the Lotus Sutra.

The Daishonin Read the Twenty-line Verse of the ‘Encouraging Devotion’ Chapter With His Life

Because the predictions of the Buddha are not false, the three types of enemies of the Lotus Sutra already fill the country. And yet, as though to belie the golden words of the Buddha, there seems to be no votary of the Lotus Sutra. How can this be? How can this be?

But let us consider. Who is it who is cursed and spoken ill of by the populace? Who is the priest who is attacked with swords and staves? Who is the priest who, because of the Lotus Sutra, is accused in petitions submitted to the courtiers and warriors? Who is the priest who is “again and again banished,” as the Lotus Sutra predicted? Who else in Japan besides Nichiren has fulfilled these predictions?

But I, Nichiren, am not a votary of the Lotus Sutra, because, contrary to the prediction, the gods have cast me aside. Who, then, in this present age will be the votary of the Lotus Sutra and fulfill the prophecy of the Buddha?

The Buddha and Devadatta are like a form and its shadow—in lifetime after lifetime, they are never separated. Prince Shotoku and his archenemy Moriya appeared at the same time, like the blossom and calyx of the lotus. If there exists a votary of the Lotus Sutra, then the three types of enemies are bound to exist as well. The three types of enemies have already appeared. Who, then, is the votary of the Lotus Sutra? Let us seek him out and make him our teacher. [As the Lotus Sutra says, to find such a person is as rare as for] a one-eyed turtle to chance upon a piece of driftwood [with a hole just the right size to hold him]. (WND-1, 278)

The Daishonin writes: “Because the predictions of the Buddha are not false, the three types of enemies of the Lotus Sutra already fill the country. And yet, as though to belie the golden words of the Buddha, there seems to be no votary of the Lotus Sutra. How can this be? How can this be?” (WND-1, 278).

He confirmed that the three powerful enemies had appeared in Japan in his day, exactly as predicted in the sutra. If so, he asks, then who was the votary of the Lotus Sutra who battles these enemies? Naturally, aside from the Daishonin there were no votaries who had fought relentlessly against the three powerful enemies.

To demonstrate this, he cites four kinds of persecution predicted in “Encouraging Devotion” and indicates that he has encountered all of them in the course of his own practice. They are: 1) cursed and spoken ill of by the populace; 2) attacked with swords and staves; 3) accused in petitions submitted to the courtiers and warriors because of the Lotus Sutra; and 4) banished again and again (see WND-1, 278).

Each of these four types of persecution has profound meaning. Also, not one of the persecutions Nichiren underwent was of an ordinary scale. For example, while the sutra speaks of the votary being cursed and spoken ill of by ignorant people, Nichiren was continually vilified by people throughout Japan for more than 20 years. He writes: “Those who saw me scowled, while those who merely heard my name were filled with spite” (“The Izu Exile,” WND-1, 35); “I am known throughout the country as a monk who transgresses the code of conduct, and … my bad reputation has spread throughout the realm” (“The Four Debts of Gratitude,” WND-1, 42); and “Never have I heard of one hated to such a degree as is Nichiren because he is a votary of the Lotus Sutra!” (“Regarding an Unlined Robe,” WND-2, 599).

The descriptions of the attacks by arrogant lay people indicate how difficult it is to change people’s awareness. Nevertheless, the Daishonin stood up for the people’s happiness, fully prepared to face storms of criticism and calumny. What an immensely lofty spirit! This point alone tells us who the true votary of the Lotus Sutra is.

With regard to the second of the four persecutions cited by Nichiren—being attacked with sword and staves—he discusses this in detail in “Persecution by Sword and Staff,” writing, “Only I, Nichiren, have read with my entire being the twenty-line verse [of the ‘Encouraging Devotion’ chapter of the Lotus Sutra]” (WND-1, 964). He thus indicates how, aside from himself, there was no one who had “met with persecution by both sword and staff” (WND-1, 964) for the sake of the Lotus Sutra.

Nichiren cites being attacked with swords during the Komatsubara Persecution in 1264 and the Tatsunokuchi Persecution in 1271. And as an instance of being attacked with staves, the Daishonin cites being struck in the face with a sutra scroll that was wielded like a staff at the beginning of the Tatsunokuchi Persecution. When Hei no Saemon and his forces descended on Nichiren’s dwelling at Matsubagayatsu in Kamakura in 1271, a retainer named Sho-bo [an ex-follower of Nichiren], seized the scroll of the fifth volume of the Lotus Sutra that Nichiren was carrying and struck him with it.

The fifth scroll of the Lotus Sutra contains “Encouraging Devotion,” which proclaims that the votary of the Lotus Sutra will be attacked with swords and staves. Because he was struck with this particular scroll, the Daishonin writes of the sutra’s statement, “What a mysterious passage of prediction!” (WND-1, 964). All of these facts further corroborate Nichiren’s claim that he has read the Lotus Sutra with his life.

The third persecution of the four cited by Nichiren is attacks by arrogant false sages, specifically in the form of unfounded accusations made to the authorities. As I mentioned earlier, the Tatsunokuchi Persecution and subsequent Sado Exile occurred as the direct result of such fabrications.

In other words, when evil people seek to bring down a person of justice, their only avenue is defamation and character assassination. Likewise, because arrogant false sages have no sound religious justification for attacking a genuine votary of the Lotus Sutra, their only recourse is to resort to dishonest, underhanded means.

Although Ryokan was supposed to be strictly upholding the precepts, including the injunction not to lie, he nevertheless tried to defame people through falsehoods. This starkly highlights his hypocrisy and duplicity, making him unqualified to be a priest.

The last of the four persecutions cited by Nichiren is that of exile, representing persecution by the authorities. The sutra clearly indicates that the votary will be driven out. Since the passage in “Encouraging Devotion” states, “Again and again we will be banished” (LSOC, 234), the Daishonin places great importance on the phrase “again and again”—signifying repeated exile.

The Daishonin discussed this important point at length earlier in “The Opening of the Eyes,” writing: “If Nichiren had not been banished time and again for the sake of the Lotus Sutra, what would these words ‘again and again’ have meant? Even T’ien-t’ai and Dengyo were not able to fulfill this prediction represented by the words ‘again and again,’ much less was anyone else” (WND-1, 242).

Had it not been for him, what would these words “again and again” have meant, the Daishonin asks. He was exiled not once but twice (to Izu in 1261 and to Sado in 1271).

After he moved to Mount Minobu, there were rumors he would even be exiled a third time. Normally, it would have been unthinkable for a person who had been pardoned to be condemned to such a fate again. And it was all the more so in this case, given that exile in those days was tantamount to a death sentence.

It also shows how obstinate and persistent the devilish nature is. A votary of the Lotus Sutra is one who resolutely battles and triumphs over this devilish nature. The important thing is to maintain the spirit to keep on fighting with the unshakable resolve to overpower even the obstinate devilish nature.

Nichiren writes, “The Buddha and Devadatta are like a form and its shadow—in lifetime after lifetime, they are never separated” (WND-1, 278). The activities of the votary of the Lotus Sutra call forth the three powerful enemies—functions activated by the fundamental ignorance that seeks to obstruct the votary’s efforts. Just as a moving form is followed by its shadow, so the Lotus Sutra’s votary is dogged by the three powerful enemies.

When evil flourishes and good is defeated, the function of the Dharma nature, or inherent enlightenment, is extinguished. But when good flourishes and evil is defeated, the function of fundamental ignorance, is extinguished. A struggle between good and evil takes place in our lives at every moment. Nichiren writes, “Prince Shotoku and his archenemy Moriya appeared at the same time, like the blossom and the calyx of the lotus” (WND-1, 278). Accordingly, the only way to strengthen good is to wage a continuous struggle against evil.

Although we speak of the Buddhist Law, the Law itself is invisible. The beneficent Law manifests in the conduct of the votary of the Lotus Sutra.

It is extremely rare, however, to encounter a votary who struggles against and triumphs over the three powerful enemies. It is difficult to encounter a genuine leader of Buddhism. Therefore, Nichiren writes: “Let us seek him out and make him our teacher. [As the Lotus Sutra says, to find such a person is as rare as for] a one-eyed turtle to chance upon a piece of driftwood” (WND-1, 278). He urges us to seek out the votary of the Lotus Sutra and make him our teacher, our mentor. The mentor-disciple relationship comes into existence only through the disciple’s steadfast efforts to seek the mentor. Such efforts allow us to deeply sense the greatness of the mentor’s struggles.

In that regard, we can view “The Opening of the Eyes” as a call for us to awaken to the true votary of the Lotus Sutra who battles fundamental ignorance and arrogant false sages, as well as to our true selves as people who seek their mentor and join him in fighting unceasingly against life’s inherent devilish nature.

From the August 2025 Living Buddhism