Material for Discussion Meetings

In the context of the Buddhist concept of the “six difficult and nine easy acts,” such things may be likened to performing the “nine easy acts,” which describe external feats. 

Shakyamuni Buddha presents this concept in the Lotus Sutra’s “Emergence of the Treasure Tower” chapter when urging his followers to make a vow to propagate the sutra in the evil age after his death. He contrasts nine external feats or easy acts with the far greater challenge of embracing and sharing the sutra, the six difficult acts. 

The six difficult acts are 1) spreading the Lotus Sutra widely, 2) copying it or causing someone else to copy it, 3) reciting it even briefly, 4) teaching it to even one person, 5) hearing and accepting it while asking about its meaning and 6) maintaining faith in it.

While these may seem simple, the Buddha warns that these things are far harder than the nine “easy” acts that include lifting and tossing Mount Sumeru a vast distance or walking through a blazing fire with dry grass on one’s back without being burned. 

By contrasting these easy and difficult acts, Shakyamuni emphasizes the importance of making a vow and maintaining a powerful resolve. 

Nichiren Daishonin cites the six difficult and nine easy acts in his writings. For instance, he states in “The Opening of the Eyes”:

Persons like myself who are of paltry strength might still be able to lift Mount Sumeru and toss it about. … But such acts are not difficult, we are told, when compared to the difficulty of embracing even one phrase or verse of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law. Nevertheless, I vowed to summon up a powerful and unconquerable desire for the salvation of all beings and never to falter in my efforts. (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 239)

Soka Gakkai members throughout the world embody this same spirit. Ikeda Sensei notes:

From the pioneering days of our movement, despite being showered with slander, criticism and abuse, our members have summoned up their courage and told others about the greatness of Nichiren’s teachings and about our noble cause—all out of the desire to help others become happy.^[1]

Nichiren also references the concept in “The Selection of the Time,” citing the Great Teacher Dengyo’s words: 

Shakyamuni taught that the shallow is easy to embrace, but the profound is difficult. To discard the shallow and seek the profound is the way of a person of courage. (WND-1, 558)

It is easy to share a shallow teaching but spreading a profound one is difficult. 

Relating this to our lives, Sensei says: 

Viewed in terms of human life, “shallow” means inertia, idleness and cowardice. Bravely defeating such inner weakness and seeking deep conviction and profound human greatness is “the way of a person of courage.” To seek the shallow or the profound—this inner battle takes place in our hearts many times each day.

Life, too, is a struggle. We need to defeat our weaknesses and courageously stand up, based on faith, with the resolve to continue growing in our lives, to keep moving forward and to be victorious in the challenges we encounter. When we live with such depth and meaning, we can become true winners in life. That is the purpose of our daily practice of faith and our SGI activities.^[2]

Famed science fiction writer Isaac Asimov once observed, “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.”^[3]

What is truly difficult is changing ourselves. To eliminate war, cruelty and pollution, humanity must grow emotionally and spiritually. Our Nichiren Buddhist practice and SGI activities exist to help us take on—and win—that greatest challenge. 

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Writings for Discussion Meetings

The Wise Stand Firm Amid the Eight Winds

Passage

Worthy persons deserve to be called so because they are not carried away by the eight winds: prosperity, decline, disgrace, honor, praise, censure, suffering, and pleasure. They are neither elated by prosperity nor grieved by decline. The heavenly gods will surely protect one who is unbending before the eight winds. 

—“The Eight Winds,” The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 794

Background

We all experience ups and downs. The key, Nichiren Daishonin teaches, is not to be swayed by short-term gains or losses, others’ opinions or our surroundings.

In “The Eight Winds,” Nichiren suggests that wise people, people of integrity, are not carried away by favorable conditions such as prosperity, honor, praise and pleasure. Nor do they agonize over adversity, including decline, disgrace, censure and suffering.

This letter, written in 1276 or 1277, is addressed to his trusted disciple Shijo Kingo. A few years prior, in 1274, Kingo had introduced Nichiren’s teachings to his feudal lord, a devout follower of Ryokan, a True Word Precepts priest. This caused a rift between him and his lord and alienation from his fellow samurai. 

In 1276, his lord ordered him to move from his estate near Kamakura to a distant province and later confiscated his land. Yet Kingo, heeding Nichiren’s advice, remained nearby and continued serving his lord. 

In “The Eight Winds,” Nichiren offers detailed instructions to Kingo, emphasizing the importance of calmly perceiving the essence of things and striving to live based on the correct teaching while following the guidance of a correct teacher. By remaining firm amid the eight winds, he assures Kingo that he will be protected. 

By 1278, Kingo had regained his lord’s trust, receiving an estate three times larger than his original one.

—Prepared by the SGI-USA Study Department

Ikeda Sensei’s Encouragement

Forge a Solid Self Impervious to the Eight Winds

Generally, people welcome the four favorable winds and seek to avoid the four adverse winds, but even the four favorable winds represent only temporary, relative forms of happiness. There’s no such thing as a life of eternal smooth sailing. There are calm days and days with ups and downs. That’s the reality.

But we human beings allow thoughts of short-term gain or loss or public opinion to rule our behavior. We become obsessed with what others think of us, focus only on superficial appearances, and overlook what’s really important. If this happens, we won’t stand a chance when confronting intense winds of hardship or times of momentous change. It is crucial that we forge a solid self that is impervious to all eight winds.

The Daishonin asserts that the heavenly deities—the benevolent forces of the universe—will protect those who are “neither elated by prosperity nor grieved by decline” but remain “unbending before the eight winds.” (The Teachings for Victory, vol. 6, p. 22)

• • •

It’s no exaggeration to say that refusing to be defeated is the most important key to victory in life. Those who keep moving forward with tenacity, who refuse to be discouraged or defeated by even the most painful trials, without fail win in the end. 

The Daishonin said in praise of Shijo Kingo, “He is a man who never gives in to defeat and who greatly values his friends” (“On Prolonging One’s Life Span,” WND-1, 955).

Those who never give in to defeat, who have an invincible spirit, are never gloomy or downcast. Be positive and undefeated. Always hold your head up high, look to the future, be self-assured, challenging everything confidently and positively with an invincible spirit. (The Teachings for Victory, vol. 6, pp. 23–24)

(See The Teachings for Victory, vol. 6, p. 22)

The Eight Winds

The eight winds are conditions that obstruct Buddhist practice. 

Prosperity: Prospering through gain or advantage.
Honor: Being honored or acclaimed by the public.
Praise: Being praised by those around one.
Pleasure: Experiencing enjoyment, physically or mentally. 
Decline: Suffering various kinds of loss or disadvantage.
Disgrace: Being scorned by the public.
Censure: Being slandered by those around one.
Suffering: Experiencing suffering, physically or mentally.

From the April 2025 Living Buddhism