Sunday, September 27th, 2015

In any gathering of people there will always be those with whom we get along and those with whom we don’t, and there are bound to be issues of compatibility. In a sense, that we should have such emotions as human beings is only natural, so we really need not worry about them. At the same time, however, it is foolish to be swayed by personal likes and dislikes, and to subsequently grow negligent in one’s Buddhist practice. Doing so only provides an opening for devilish functions to gain entry, causing us to fall prey to those negative forces.
That is why the Daishonin strictly warned his followers against speaking ill of each other, saying such things as: “However disagreeable it may be to you, you should associate with them amicably” (WND, 849(50); “Even if your brothers are at fault to some extent, you should overlook it” (GZ, 1176); and “You must be on good terms with those who believe in this teaching, neither seeing, hearing, nor pointing out anything about them that may displease you” (WND, 907). In “The Fourteen Slanders,” there is also some very strict guidance against slandering one’s fellow practitioners.

This guidance is an abstract from 'The World of Nichiren Daishonin Writings' with universal value and application