Changing Poison into Medicine

Introduction
Changing poison into Medicine is a teaching to remain undefeated in midst of the
greatest challenge. It teaches us that no matter how desperate or difficult a
situation may seem, VICTORY is contained in IT.

We will always find ourselves at cross-roads where we may either allow ourselves to
be overwhelmed by difficulties or we decide to fight back and triumph over them.
The way forward in life is not only to triumph over obstacle that we encounter, but
also to elevate our live condition to new heights as a result of positively
transforming our adversity/difficulty. This is made possible through the principle of
“changing poison into medicine” based on faith in Mystic Law.

In Gosho we have shining example of Shijo Kingo and Ikegami brothers who imbibed
Daishonin’s guidance and “changed poison into medicine.” To Ikegami brothers the
Daishonin wrote “you must persevere through this trial and see for yourself the
blessing of the Lotus Sutra.” And to Shijo Kingo he encouraged by writing “Great
disaster without fail changes into great fortune.”

The process of changing poison into medicine begins when we approach difficult
experiences as an opportunity to reflect upon ourselves and to strengthen and
develop our courage and compassion. Suffering can thus serve as a springboard for
a deeper experience of happiness. From the perspective
of Buddhism, inherent in all negative experiences is this profound positive
potential.

Teaching
Nargarjuna, the second- or third-century scholar of Mahayana Buddhism, explains
that the power of the Lotus Sutra is “like a great physician who can change poison
into medicine”. And the Great Teacher Miao-lo says, “Because it can cure what is
thought to be incurable, it is called myo, or wonderful”. These statements describe
the power of our practice of the Mystic Law to transform hopelessness into
boundless hope, suffering into joy and fulfillment, and misfortune into fortune.

Nichiren writes: “What is the poison? It is the three paths of earthly desires, karma,
and suffering that are our lot. What is the medicine? It is the Dharma body, wisdom,
and emancipation. And what does it mean to change poison into medicine? It means
to transform the three paths into the three virtues: the Dharma body, wisdom, and
emancipation.... This is what the attainment of Buddhahood in one’s present form
means” Here Nichiren equates poison with a life caught in the unfortunate cycle of
earthly desires, karma and suffering. “Earthly desires” is a general term for
delusions, cravings and negative impulses such as greed, anger, foolishness,
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arrogance and doubt. “Karma” is the negative potential created by bad actions—
thoughts, words and deeds—arising from earthly desires. This potential remains in
our lives and influences how we experience life. “Suffering” is the misery we go
through because of our earthly desires and karma. No one wants to suffer. But
trying to reduce suffering while remaining deluded about the true nature of life
leads to unwise actions. These become negative causes that create bad karma and
bring about negative effects that increase our suffering rather than reduce it. As
suffering intensifies, our desires and delusions also get stronger, and we get caught
in a cycle of anguish. When we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, however, just as a
skilled physician can create medicine out of poison, we can use our desires and
suffering as a means for creating happiness. A life dominated by the three paths
begins to shine with the three virtues that endow the life of a Buddha—the Dharma
body, wisdom and emancipation. They constitute the “medicine” for
establishing a life of joy and fulfi llment. The Dharma body, or the body of the Law,
refers to the ultimate truth realized by a Buddha. Wisdom is the capacity to realize
this truth. Emancipation means a rich and expansive state of life free from delusion.

Explanation

This can be understood to mean that any unfavorable situation can be changed into
a source of value. More fundamentally, it is by challenging and overcoming painful
circumstances that we grow as human beings.

Suffering can serve as a springboard for a deeper experience of happiness. From

the perspective of Buddhism, inherent in all negative experiences is this profound
positive potential. However, if we are defeated by suffering or respond to
challenging circumstances in negative and destructive ways, the original "poison" is
not transformed but remains poison.

Buddhism teaches that suffering derives from karma, the causes that we ourselves
have created. The Buddhist teaching of karma is one of personal responsibility. It is
therefore our responsibility to transform sufferings into value-creating experiences.
The Buddhist view of karma is not fixed or fatalistic--even the most deeply
entrenched karmic patterns can be transformed.

By taking a difficult situation--illness, unemployment, bereavement, betrayal--and

using it as an opportunity to deepen our sense of personal responsibility, we can
gain and develop the kind of self-knowledge from which benefit flows. Buddhism
teaches that self-knowledge ultimately is awareness of our own infinite potential,
our capacity for inner strength, wisdom and compassion. This infinite potential is
referred to as our "Buddha nature."

• Input 1-2 of your own personal examples where you have transformed poison
into medicine and HOW.
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This teaching of the possibility of profound transformation makes Buddhism a
deeply optimistic philosophy. This optimism propels Buddhists as they seek to
transform the negative and destructive tendencies within their lives as well as those
in society and the world at large.

From the Buddhist perspective, all people are endowed with the innate ability to
create value out of any situation, no matter how awful or tragic. Unlike the idea
that every cloud has a silver lining—that something positive can always be found in
everything negative—the principle of changing poison into medicine explains that
we can transform even the most horrific tragedy into the very thing we need to
become happier than we currently are.

It is our unfortunate habit to view misfortune and personal imperfections in a solely

negative way. We often do not stop to consider that there are other ways of looking
at things. For instance, think of all the events in our lives that have made us who we
are today. There are things that all of us have gone through or done which were not
entirely pleasant. However, if not for these things, we would be very different
people. We might not even have been drawn to the Buddha Dharma if it were not
for these kinds of life shaping experiences. All experiences, both good and bad, are
the raw material from which our lives are formed. If we were to reject the desires,
actions, and even the sufferings which have shaped us, it would be the same as
rejecting ourselves and denying any possibility of growth or enlightenment. On the
other hand, to let go of our own preconceptions and view all things from the
perspective of the Dharma is to cultivate the wisdom which allows us to free
ourselves and others from suffering. According to Nichiren, the practice of
Buddhism is not about rejecting the world or ourselves. Rather, Buddhism teaches
that we should turn the poison of the three paths into the medicine of the three
virtues through the practice of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. This will enable us
to shed the light of the Wonderful Dharma on all things good or bad.

From the perspective of Buddhism, earthly desires and the problems of life and
death are not seen as obstacles that must be eradicated. Instead, earthly desires
can be transformed into enlightened wisdom, and suffering to birth and death are
means to attaining nirvana. The Lotus Sutra takes this one step further, setting forth
the principle that the earthly desires are enlightenment and the suffering of birth
and death are nirvana.

T’ien-t’ai employs an analogy to explain the above principle. Suppose there is a

bitter persimmon. By soaking it in a solution of lime or buck-wheat chaff, or by
exposing it to sunlight, we can make the persimmons sweet. There are no two
persimmons, one bitter and the other sweet — there is only one. The bitter
persimmon has not been sweetened with sugar; rather, the inherent bitterness of
the persimmon has been drawn out and its inherent sweetness allowed to emerge.
The catalyst, the intermediary that assisted the transformation, was the solution or
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the sunlight. T’ien-t’ai linked the earthly desire to bitter persimmon, and the
process whereby the sweetness was brought about by the Buddhist practice. The
Mahayana Buddhism teaches that instead of negating desire and life in this world,
they should be accepted as the reality of life as they are and reveal the way that
transforms them into the cause of enlightenment. The profound message is that we
should not try to eradicate desires or disregard them as sinful, but should elevate
them towards achieving a nobler state of life.

The earthly desires, karma and suffering [the three paths] of ordinary people give
rise to lives filled with illusion and torment, whereas the Dharma body, wisdom and
emancipation [the three virtues] of Buddha make our lives replete with freedom and
joy that accords with ultimate truth and wisdom. The two couldn't be more different.
Through the marvelous power of the Mystic Law, however, we can dramatically
transform the three paths into the three virtues. This is the principle of changing
poison into medicine.

The life of an ordinary person engaged in a cycle of cause and effect based
on the three paths is the seed for attaining the exact opposite state of
life, one pervaded by the three virtues. In other words, it is the seed for
Buddhahood. And the key to changing poison into medicine is to believe in the
Lotus Sutra.

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, the first Soka president, discussing the principle of

changing poison into medicine, stressed that no matter what may happen, we
should always look to the future: "Our daily practice of the Mystic Law is one of
changing poison into medicine. As long as we are human, we are bound at times to
meet with accidents, or encounter business setbacks.... But we can change any
situation from poison into medicine as long as we do not doubt the Gohonzon and
continue to devote ourselves to this practice, with the Mystic Law and the Gohonzon
as our basis.

"For example, you may fall ill. But merely worrying that it is retribution for a
negative cause you made in the past solves nothing. You should say to yourself `I
will take this illness and change poison into medicine! I will unlock the door to great
good fortune and benefit in the form of good health!’ and continue to exert yourself
steadfastly I faith. This is important.

“The power of the Mystic Law, with its ability to change poison into medicine,
cannot only cure your illness but enable you to experience even greater good health
than before, when you finally recover.”

The principle of changing poison into medicine serves as a wellspring of hope,

making it possible for people to live with optimism in a troubled age. And in the

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process, we are moving towards our true goal within the Buddhist practice which is
“Absolute Happiness” or Buddhahood.

The life state of Buddhahood exists only as potential in people’s lives unless they
are developed through the practice of Buddhism. When this great life condition is
manifested, the nine other life-conditions are not extinguished; instead all fall under
the influence of Buddhahood. In this way the nine states all contribute
simultaneously, in their various ways, to the construction of happiness for ourselves
and others.

The absolute happiness of Buddhahood, however, is unaffected by circumstantial

changes or difficulties. Although absolute happiness does not imply freedom from
sufferings and problems, it does indicate possession of a vibrant, sturdy life force
and abundant wisdom to challenge and overcome all sufferings and difficulties that
we may encounter. By making such a condition our own, we can live with
unassailable confidence. Buddhahood is also characterized by deep compassion for
others and boundless wisdom. Indeed all of the elements that enable us to lead
truly humane lives are contained in the state of Buddhahood.