Good Friends and Evil Friends
(Zenchishiki, akuchishiki)
Myokyo, April 2016
He Who Keeps Company with the Wolf Will Learn to Howl (Literally, “If You Work with Red Dye, You Will Turn Red”)
We receive various influences from our families and from others in our environment. As the proverb, “He who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl,” illustrates, if we are fortunate enough to encounter teachers and friends whom we can revere, we can
naturally learn many things and grow in our lives, as we perceive their ways of thinking and their conduct as individuals. Conversely, however, if we befriend those who do not give a second thought about making negative causes, then, unbeknownst to us, we will be influenced by them. Before
long, we may find it difficult to resist engaging in bad conduct.
In this way, people will be greatly influenced, positively or negatively, by the company they keep.
In Buddhism, the good and evil influences in our Buddhist practice are called good
friends (zenchishiki) and evil friends (akuchishiki). This term is also known as good influences and evil influences.
Influences Are Friends
The word “influences(chishiki)” generally refers to knowledge, understanding, or the contents of such. However, in Buddhism, it also is used to mean friend or acquaintance.
A friend or influence can be good or evil. A good friend represents a good teacher, a good companion, or a true friend who teaches us the true principles of Buddhism and correctly leads us to them. An evil friend signifies an evil companion or teacher who preaches heretical doctrines, obstructs Buddhist practice, and leads people on an erroneous path.
Good Friends Are Difficult to Encounter
Good friends are described in the following way in the Sutra on the Connected
Discourses of the Buddha (Zo-agon Sutra):
One day, Ananda asked Shakyamuni: “Can a person who has completed half of the Buddhist practices be considered a good friend?” Shakyamuni replied, “No, he cannot.
A good friend is not a part of the Buddhist practices, but rather the entirety. People consider me (Shakyamuni) to be a good friend, and they are able to attain Buddhahood. You must understand that a good friend represents the entirety of the Buddhist practices.”(Summarized)
This story teaches us how good friends are important in our Buddhist practice.
Nichi ren Daishonin stated the following in “Three Tripitaka Masters Pray for Rain”
(“Sansanzo kiu no koto”):
Thus, there is no better way to attain Buddhahood than to meet a good
friend….However, encountering a good friend is the most difficult thing.
(Gosho, p. 873)
It is absolutely necessary to encounter a good friend for us to attain enlightenment, but it is extremely difficult to do so.
The Most Superior Good Friend is the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary of the Essential Teaching
In the Great Concentration and Insight (Maka shikan), the Great Teacher Tiantai
stated:
A good friend is…first of all, one who protects; secondly, one who practices together; and thirdly, one who provides instruction.
(Shikan ehon, Vol. 2, p. 104)
Thus, he described the following three types of good friends:
(1) Good friends who protect—those who protect the practitioners of Buddhism.
(2) Good friends who practice together—those who assiduously practice together.
(3) Good friends who provide instruction—those who teach true Buddhism and lead others to it.
Moreover, the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra(Hokke mongu), contains, in
addition to the above three, the good friends of the actual true aspect who lead
people to enlightenment. The Daishonin provides the following explanation:
The friend of the actual true aspect is none other than Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo.
(“Recorded Lectures” [“Onko kikigaki”], Gosho, p. 1837)
He teaches us that the good friend of the actual true aspect is Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, hidden in the depths of the Juryo chapter of the essential teaching of the Lotus Sutra, which was propagated by the Daishonin. High Priest Nichinyo Shonin stated:
In general, good friends represent good companions and leaders who expound the
teachings and lead us to Buddhahood. However, here, the good friend refers to our founder Nichiren Daishonin, the True Buddha who possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent, and who made his advent into this world in the Latter Day of the Law. In other words, this is because the Daishonin, the True Buddha, made his advent in the Latter Day of the Law and announced the three inherent potentials of the Buddha nature in all mankind and attained enlightenment based on the principle of attaining Buddhahood as a common mortal. Accordingly, in modern terms, it refers to the Dai-Gohonzon of the oneness of the Person and the Law.
(Dainichiren, May 2011)
As these explanations show, the most superior good friend in the Latter Day of the Law is the True Buddha Nichiren Daishonin, who leads all mankind to enlightenment, and his very entity, the Dai-Gohonzon of the High Sanctuary of the Essential Teaching.
Evil Friends Represent Slanders
The Nirvana Sutra describes evil friends in the following way:
My disciples, you need not fear the fierce elephant. However, you should fear evil
friends. The fierce elephant will only destroy your physical body, but evil friends will destroy your good body and mind innumerable times in future generations. Being killed by an elephant will not cause you to manifest the three aspects (the three evil paths of hell, hunger, and animality), but if you lose your life because of an evil friend, you will manifest the three aspects without fail. You should distance yourselves and separate from evil friends and never approach them.
(Summarized)
Here, being killed by an evil elephant may be equivalent today to being killed in a
traffic accident. In other words, even if one is killed in a freak accident, that person will not fall into the three evil paths. However, if people are misled by evil friends, they may be led to a life condition of suffering. Therefore, he warns us to beware of evil friends.
The Daishonin wrote the following in “The Problem to Be Pondered Night and Day”
(“Toki dono gosho”):
In fact, he should fear most the slandering of the profound Law and the acquaintances who are slanderers. Without a doubt, he will fall into the dreadful Avichi Hell. (Gosho, p. 1167)
In other words, the ultimate evil friend is to slander the Law (to slander true
Buddhism).
Furthermore, the Daishonin stated the following in the Gosho, “On the Buddha’s
Behavior” (“Shuju onfurumai-gosho”):
Now, I, Nichiren, was born in the Latter Day of the Law and propagated the five
characters of Myoho-Renge-Kyo. As a consequence, I have encountered these
persecutions….The Lord of Sagami [Regent Hojo Tokimune], in fact, has been my
good Buddhist friend.Devadatta was the foremost of good influences to Shakyamuni Buddha. When one looks at one’s present world, one can see that it is not one’s friends but one’s formidable enemies who will help him grow.
(Gosho, p. 1062)
The Daishonin propagated Myoho-Renge-Kyo and suffered persecutions from
slanderers, as predicted in the Lotus Sutra. This provided proof that he was the true votary of the Lotus Sutra.
As a matter of course, we should never commit slanders, and even if slanderers
obstruct our faith and practice, we should use it as an opportunity to increase and improve our faith. We also can make efforts to shakubuku them. By so doing, we can overcome our difficulties without fail and grow tremendously in our lives.
Let Us Become Good Friends to Others
The Daishonin stated the following in the “Recorded Lectures” (“Onko kikigaki”):
Good Buddhist friends represent the likes of Nichiren….Evil friends are slanderers.
The good friends are those like Nichiren.
(Gosho, p. 1836)
As the disciples and followers of Nichiren Daishonin, the true, good Buddhist friend, we must uphold strong faith and practice that will enable us to completely refute the slanders that will cause people to descend into a world of unhappiness. Furthermore, we must become good Buddhist friends who can lead others to the Dai-Gohonzon. To accomplish this, let us advance forth with ever more devotion in chanting Daimoku and doing shakubuku in our practice for ourselves and for others.
