"In discussing the three obstacles ((the obstacles of earthly desires, karma, and retribution) and four devils (the hindrances of earthly desires, the five components, death, and the devil king) that beset practitioners of Buddhism, President Toda often used to say: 'You may be able to triumph over the three obstacles and the first three devils or hindrances, which includes even death, but the last one--the devil king--is truly formidable.'
"As we also see in other writings of the Daishonin, the devil king manipulates the minds of arrogant lay people and arrogant priests and possesses the bodies of arrogant false sages who in turn influence the ruling authorities to harass and persecute the votary of the Lotus Sutra.
"Elsewhere, the Daishonin states: 'The single word 'belief' is the sharp sword with which one confronts and overcomes fundamental darkness or ignorance' (OTT, 119-20). Mr. Toda also frequently emphasised: 'The sharp sword of faith is the only means for defeating the devil king of the sixth heaven.' When we vanquish fundamental darkness or ignorance through faith in the Mystic Law, the fundamental nature of enlightenment, or Dharma nature, with which our life is inherently endowed, will well forth. The Dharma nature is the ultimate truth of all phenomena to which the Buddha became awakened.
"Attaining Buddhahood, in a sense, means winning in this struggle between darkness and enlightenment. Through the practice of shakubuku, those who uphold the Lotus Sutra can bring forth the fundamental nature of enlightenment in their own lives and help others do the same."
SGI Newsletter No. 7990, LEARNING FROM THE WRITINGS OF NICHIREN DAISHONIN: THE TEACHINGS FOR VICTORY, [15] 'On Practicing the Buddha's Teachings'--Part 3, Encountering Great Obstacles Is Proof of Propagating The Correct Teaching for Attaining Buddhahood in The Latter Day of the Law, from the March 2010 issue of the Daibyakurenge, translated May 7th, 2010
