A truly wise man
will not be carried away
by any of the eight winds:
prosperity, decline,
disgrace, honor,
praise, censure,
suffering and pleasure.
He is neither elated by prosperity
nor grieved by decline.
The heavenly gods will surely protect
one who does not bend before the eight winds.
-- Nichiren Daishonin "Letter to Niike"
To truly live these words one must not be carried away by these "winds," but one cannot but help to be influenced by them. If I am attracted to praise but fearful of censure, I have failed. If I ignore either, then I have attempted to be indifferent. My indifference, my attraction, my avoidance are the poisons that keep all of us enslaved to the world of veils. I cannot do it. Because I see myself as separate from the praise, the praiser, the reason for praise, the seeds of the praise, the manifestation of the praise. The veil of seperation, the mantle of ignorance that I cling to, act like huge sails, catching the gusts of the eight winds, keeping me bent before them.
Nichiren's teaching is pure revelation of truth, not some moral code or rule of behavior. I can try to follow the teaching as a code of conduct, and will be better for it, but I am little better off than if I had not done so. Nichiren is describing, not prescribing. Do you see? Where only the divine exists, all praise or censure is silliness at best, like talking to oneself in a mirror. How can censure harm me if there is no me, no censure, no critic delivering censure - not the nihlism of non-existence, but the truth of non-seperation?
Do not nod your head and say "Oh yes, I see." You do not see. Open your mouth. Swallow this gift from Nichiren and let its light come out from your eyes.
