Slander
slander
謗法 (Jpn hobo )
More specifically, slander of the Law. To deny, oppose, disparage, or vilify the correct Buddhist teaching. The "Simile and Parable" (third) chapter of the Lotus Sutra reads: "If a person fails to have faith but instead slanders this sutra, immediately he will destroy all the seeds for becoming a Buddha in this world.... When his life comes to an end he will enter the Avichi hell." Miao-lo (711-782) says in his Annotations on "The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra": "This [[[Lotus]]] sutra opens the seeds of Buddhahood inherent in the beings of each of the six paths. But if one slanders the sutra, then the seeds will be destroyed." According to the Nirvana Sutra, not to reproach those who slander the Law amounts to committing slander oneself. The sutra reads: "If even a good monk sees someone destroying the teaching and disregards him, failing to reproach him, to oust him, or to punish him for his offense, then you should realize that that monk is betraying the Buddha's teaching. But if he ousts the destroyer of the Law, reproaches him, or punishes him, then he is my disciple and a true voice-hearer." Nichiren (1222-1282) states, "Those who put their faith in it [the Lotus Sutra] will surely attain Buddhahood, while those who slander it will establish a 'poison-drum relationship' with it and will likewise attain Buddhahood" (882).
See also fourteen slanders.
