Chapter 20 and the tale of Bodhisattva Never-Despising raises again the issue raised in the Peaceful Practices Chapter of how one who has faith in the Lotus Sutra should approach those who hold opposing views. For Nichiren, the answer was clear:
“Now, two ways of propagation, the persuasive and aggressive, are incompatible with each other just as water and fire are. The fire dislikes the water, and the water hates the fire. Those who prefer the persuasive tend to laugh at those who practice the aggressive and vice versa. So, when the land is full of evil and ignorant people, the persuasive means should take precedence as preached in the ‘Peaceful Practices’ (14th) chapter of the Lotus Sūtra. However, when there are many cunning slanderers of the True Dharma, the aggressive means should take precedence as preached in the ‘Never-Despising Bodhisattva’ (20th) chapter.
“It is the same as using cold water when it is hot and fire when it is cold. Plants and trees are followers of the sun, so they dislike the cold moon. Bodies of water are followers of the moon, so they lose their true nature when it is hot. As there are lands of evil men as well as those of slanderers of the True Dharma in this Latter Age of Degeneration, there should be both aggressive and persuasive means of spreading the True Dharma. Therefore, we have to know whether Japan today is a land of evil men or that of slanderers in order to decide which of the two ways we should use.
Kaimoku-shō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 111
But, as I mentioned in discussing Chapter 14, today we do not face “cunning slanderers of the True Dharma.” It can be said that behaving as if we face “cunning slanderers” ignores the real message offered by Never-Despising Bodhisattva.
In The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, Gene Reeves offers this prespective:
The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p216-216Teachers of the Lotus Sutra often say that it teaches the bodhisattva way of helping others. Unfortunately, this is sometimes understood to mean intruding where one is not wanted, interfering with the lives of others, in order to ‘do good.’ But the story of Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva may lead us to see that doing good for others begins with respecting them, seeing the buddha in them. If we sincerely look for the potential in someone else to be a buddha, rather than criticizing or complaining about negative factors, we will be encouraged by the positive things that we surely will find. And furthermore, by looking for the good in others, we can come to have a more positive attitude ourselves and thus move along our own bodhisattva path.
In earlier chapters of the Lotus Sutra, it is the Buddha who is able to see the potential to become a buddha in others. But here it becomes very clear that seeing the buddha or the buddha-potential in others is something we all should practice, both for the good of others and for our own good.
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