Persecution and punishment are addressed in Chapter 13, “Encouragement for Keeping this Sūtra,” of the Lotus Sūtra. Slander against the Lotus Sūtra, called Hōbāzai, offenses committed against the Dharma in the past, can only be eradicated in the present. Our assiduous practice and cultivation of the Dharma, done through our own volition, compensates for our earlier wrongs and lightens our feelings. When considered as the eradication of the grave offense of slandering the Dharma, any persecutions we encounter in this life are seen as still lighter, even a persecution that would end our life.