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THE SEVEN TYPES OF ARROGANCE

A caution against arrogance

There are proverbs that say, Boasting is the dead end of wisdom, and Pride is a dead

end endeavour. These sayings show that one cannot grow if one is arrogant or

conceited. Some people brag, thinking they are superior. But they stunt their own

growth and development, because they dont have aspirations or ambitions, and thus,

cant make progress or advance themselves further.

veryone knows the story of the tortoise and the hare, a fable that warns against being

arrogant. !ne day. The hare had a race with the tortoise. The hare knew he was much

faster than the slow tortoise, and didnt believe it was possible that he could lose the

race. The overconfident and arrogant hare fell asleep during the race and lost to the

steadily advancing tortoise. This story warns that even if you have some talent orstrong points, if you are overconfident in your abilities and let down your guard, you

ultimately are going to fail or make mistakes.

"n #apan, during the $uromachi period %&''()&*+' -eami, who developed the

#apanese musical drama art form called ogaku said, Practice ogaku hard and cast

aside your conceit. /e taught that in order to progress in ogaku, one needs to get rid

of arrogance and conceit and practice and rehearse with an honest heart.

"t is incredibly important to put forth efforts in daily life without harbouring anattitude of conceit. 0e are often warned in secular society that arrogance will interfere

with our improvement and growth

"n Buddhism, the word manwhich comes from the Sanskrit word maana, signifies

a person who compares himself with others, based on arrogance and haughtiness.

These feelings lead one to look down on others. 0e, as believers of the mystic law

%Myoho, must never commit the fourteen slanders, and arrogance is one of them.

0ithin the #apanese Buddhist term kyoman, kyo signifies arrogance about ones

pedigree, status, beauty, or knowledge. $an is the arrogance of comparing oneself

with others.

THE SEVEN TYPES OF ARROGANCE (SHICHI MAN)

There are seven types of arrogance described in 1 Treasury of 2positions on the law.

&. Arrogance (man is an attitude in which a person flaunts his superiority over

those who are inferior and asserts himself among his peers. 3ou may wonder

why such an attitude would be considered arrogant if this characteri4ation

represents the truth. "t is arrogant because such a person is entirely preoccupied

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with himself. /e feels superior when he compares himself to others and

classifies them as being inferior or e5ual to him.

6. Haughty arrogance %Ka man, describes a person who believes that he is

superior to those who are actually his e5uals and considers himself to be e5ual

to those who are, in fact, superior to him. "n this form of arrogance, peopletend to self)aggrandi4e their worth.

'. Condescending arrogance %man ka man. 1 person in this state believes that

he is far superior to those who, in actuality, are superior to him. /e even looks

down upon them. /e is a pretentious individual who is unable to evaluate

situations correctly.

7. Se!"centred arrogance (ga man). This denotes a person who is obsessed with

his own thoughts and views and considers himself to be most precious. /e

holds the conceited notion that he is most superior. "n standard #apanese, the

word ga manmeans to endure or to persevere, but as a Buddhist term, itmeans to be attached to oneself.

*. Su#re$e arrogance%zojo man. This refers to a person who believes that he

has mastered the Buddhist teachings, even though he has not achieved a

correct understanding or realisation concerning them.

(. %$$odest arrogance %hi man, describes an individual who believes that he is

only slightly inferior to those who are actually significantly superior to him.

ven though the actual discrepancy between them may be as apparent as night

and day. Such a person haughtily brings down others and boosts himself up

and is convinced that the difference between them is only slight.+. Po$#ous arrogance (ja man. This represents a person with no virtues who is

attached to his heretical perspectives and believes that he is actually virtuous.

/e considers himself to be great. The evil form of arrogance that he possesses

functions to lead others into the evil paths.

S&PRE'E ARROGANCE (zojo man)

The following passage is from the 2pedient $eans (Hoben8 second chapter of

the lotus sutra9

0hat they had not attained they supposed they had attained what they had

not understood they supposed they had understood.

This describes the occasion during Shakyamunis sermon on the :otus Sutra,

when *;;; individuals became supremely arrogant and left the assembly,

believing they already had attained the supreme understanding when, in fact, they

had not. Shakyamuni stated

The 0orld)/onored one was silent and did not try to detain them

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Shakyamuni did not stop them from leaving. 1lthough these people could have

listened to the preaching of the :otus Sutra, their supreme arrogance prevented

them from attaining enlightenment.

"n ncouraging =evotion %>an?i8 thirteenth chapter of the :otus Sutra, there is a

description of three types of supremely arrogant individuals who persecute the

votaries of the :otus Sutra in various ways. They are called the three powerful

enemies. The first group is e2tremely arrogant lay people (zokushuzojo man. The

second group is e2tremely arrogant priests %domonzojo man. The third group is

e2tremely arrogant false sages %senshozojo man. =uring his lifetime, ichiren

=aishonin faced the three powerful enemies, including9

&. embutsu believers who criticised and denounced him

6. Priests of embutsu, -en, and @itsu sects who persecuted him with

defamatory accusations and slander

'. 1uthorities of the >amakura government, such as /ei)no)saemon, who

sub?ected the =aishonin to persecutions, which included e2iles and assaults

with swords and staves. The =aishonin revealed the fact that he was the

votary of the :otus Sutra in the :atter =ay of the :aw.

:ets eliminate arrogance in our Aaith and Practice

1s you know, supreme arrogance and all other forms of arrogance are vastly

harmful and will interfere with our ability to achieve enlightenment. "n the osho,1ttaining nlightenment at the "nitial Stage of Aaith through the :otus Sutra

%Hokkeshoshinjobutsu-sho, the =aishonin states9

3ou should understand this matter thoroughly, and, on the path of attaining

Buddhahood, chant am)$yoho)@enge)>yo without arrogance or attachment to

biased views.

"n order to attain enlightenment, the =aishonin teaches us that it is especially

important to practice this Buddhism dutifully and cast aside our arrogance and

attachment to biased views.

ichigen Sonin, Thirty)third /igh Priest of the /ead Temple, stated9

#ust as rainwater never accumulates atop the steep mountains, how can those

upon the heights of arrogance e2pect the flow of the :aw to settle there, so that

they may possibly attain the great path of enlightenmentC

"n order words, ichigen Shonin warned us that, in the same way that rainwater

never remains permanently on high peaks, people who have mountains of pride or

arrogance will find that the flow of the :aw D the heritage of faith that flows forth

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from the ohon4on) will never settle in their lives and enable them to achieve

enlightenment.

/igh Priest ichinyo Shonin gave us guidance, relating the story of a well)known

middle)distance runner who was one of the best athletes in #apan. !n one

occasion, he happened to drink sake wine on the day before the race. /owever, the

ne2t day he won the race. Arom that point on, all the effort that heretofore had put

into his endeavour went to waste. "t was his arrogance that did him in. /e felt that

he was invincible, even if he drank alcohol the night before his races. /e believed

that he could perform well. Thereafter, he gradually slackened in his training.

Before long, he was completely destroyed. Such was the account of the athlete.

This story is applicable to our Buddhist practice. 1ctually, it applies significantly

to all aspects of our life. 0e must never be la4y. The root cause of la4iness is

arrogance, and lets be mindful of the fact that the first of the fourteen slanders is

arrogance %kyo man. :ets all practice assiduously and never have an arrogant

attitude in our faith. Aurthermore, lets practice sincerely in the /okkeko, treating

each other with respect and reverence, as we advance toward our goal for 6;6&)to

establish a membership of E;;;;; hokkeko believers.

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