Nichiren Daishonin was often condemned by his contemporaries as “an extremely arrogant priest”.
Nichiren Daishonin was often condemned by his
contemporaries as “an extremely arrogant priest” for his confidence as a
votary of the Lotus Sutra to “fulfill the Buddha’s predictions and
reveal the truth of his words” (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, pp.
400–01). Just as the Daishonin’s confidence was misconstrued as
arrogance, we may be inclined to mistake our arrogance for confidence
and others’ confidence for arrogance. One of the five delusive
inclinations, arrogance is considered in the Buddhist tradition both as a
hindrance to enlightenment and as a cause for suffering. For this
reason, mistaking arrogance for confidence is likely to set off the
downward spiral of delusion and suffering. The fine line between
arrogance and confidence, therefore, must be redrawn more clearly to
distinguish happiness from delusion.
Arrogance is to judge one’s self-worth by comparison with others
The
first of the seven types of arrogance, which are enumerated in some
Buddhist scriptures, points to the essential quality of arrogance—“to
think that one is superior to those inferior to oneself and that one is
equal to one’s equals” (The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 579).
Why is this arrogance? Isn’t it just telling it like it is? What is
implied here is that arrogance is essentially our inclination to judge
our self-worth by comparing ourselves with others.
Certain
comparisons between oneself and others may be objectively true—such as
income, IQ or physical appearance. But if we constantly judge our
self-worth through comparison with others in whatever standards chosen,
we are becoming arrogant. Of course, this is not to deny some merits
that comparison and competition bring to our lives—such as motivation
for improvement and an opportunity for self-reflection.
Moreover,
the correct assessment of our circumstances through comparison is
essential to improving our lives. In fact, those living in isolation or
unwilling to learn from others are arrogant. Comparison with others
becomes a cause for our concern when it becomes a sole measure for
judging our existence. Put simply, if we start thinking of our lives as
happy or unhappy, meaningful or meaningless, solely based on comparison
with others, we may as well consider ourselves as arrogant.
Arrogant
people feel good about themselves only through affirming their
superiority to others. Our sense of superiority is always relative to
whom we are compared with and never constant because of our own changing
circumstances. False confidence based on superiority, therefore, easily
turns into a feeling of inferiority and self-disparagement, like a
millionaire feeling poor among billionaires, a Ph.D. feeling foolish
among Nobel laureates or a healthy person feeling overweight among
supermodels. This is why false humility or self-disparagement is
considered as arrogance in Buddhism. (See the nine types of arrogance in
The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 457.) Put another way,
arrogance and self-disparagement are two sides of the same coin; we
cannot have one without the potential for the other.
Genuinely
confident people, on the other hand, feel great about themselves without
comparing themselves with others. Such people are aware of some
intrinsic personal strength or merit worthy of praise and respect.
Confident people can put into perspective their ups and downs of life in
this society driven by comparison and competition. Their missed
promotion or lost love does not spell out their failure as a human
being. Their financial success or academic achievement does not make
them superior to their peers. So long as they continue to be aware of
their innate positive quality and strive to cultivate it, people will
remain confident regardless of their external circumstances. And
Buddhism teaches that the most reliable source of confidence is our
innate Buddha nature.
Arrogance is egotism; confidence is altruism
What
clearly distinguishes the arrogant from the confident is whether or not
they desire and act for others’ happiness greater than their own.
Arrogant people are keenly aware that their self-esteem depends upon
their superiority to others. So they often take delight in pitying the
less fortunate since they can reaffirm their superior status by doing
so.
The “kindness” of the arrogant, however, extends only so far
as it supports their self-importance; it continues as long as the less
fortunate remain less fortunate. Precisely for this reason, the arrogant
cannot will and act for the supreme happiness of others because they
fear it would only diminish their own happiness. This explains why it is
often easier to feel ambiguous pity for our underpaid coworkers than to
share their joy over their sudden promotion. One’s loss must be
another’s gain—this is the basic assumption of life held by the arrogant
who cannot stop comparing their fortune with that of others.
Confidence,
on the other hand, makes genuine altruism possible. Since confident
people’s self-worth does not depend upon others, they are free to care
for others and fight for their happiness with the hope that it exceeds
even their own. In fact, the confident see their contribution to others’
happiness as proof of their expanding humanity and as a source of great
joy.
Confidence is to appreciate oneself even in the worst possible state.
In
the late winter of 1272, Nichiren Daishonin wrote with his numbing
hand: “I, Nichiren, am the richest man in all of present-day Japan. I
have dedicated my life to the Lotus Sutra, and my name will be handed
down in ages to come” (WND, 268). A reformer who had challenged the
corrupt religious authority of his day, the Daishonin was exiled, after
the failed execution, to a remote northern island of Japan, expected to
die naturally or to be murdered. Destitute, he was living in a hut in a
field scattered with abandoned corpses, and everything pointed to his
approaching death into oblivion.
These words, however, clearly
express the Daishonin’s confidence that he gave his life to the spread
of the essential teaching of Buddhism, that is, the universality of
Buddhahood. His life meant something for him, although it seemed to have
come to nothing. When he lost everything, he gained one thing that
mattered most—indomitable confidence that all people, no matter how
miserable they may appear, have the supreme potential of Buddhahood.
Through
his own example, Nichiren Daishonin demonstrated that confidence need
not depend on possession or circumstances. Genuine confidence is to love
and praise ourselves even in the worst possible state, not for how we
appear to others, but for what we are in the innermost of life.
(Originally published in the World Tribune, March 7, 2003)
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A story about the friendship between a lonely boy and a magical deer he saves from hunters. 
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discovers an aged man tending an old, apparently dead cherry tree. A
story about the power of hope. 
A princess and her animal companions venture into the formidable desert
in search of a water source to save their ailing kingdom. In the course
of their difficult journey, they discover the key to reviving their
land.
