Fascicle four of the Annotations on the Great Concentration and Insight says: “Long ago in the great country Bima, a fox pursued by a lion tried to escape but fell into a dry well. The lion leapt over the well and ran on, but when the fox tried to climb out it couldn’t because the well was too deep. Many days passed and the fox was close to starving to death. At that time the fox cried out: “Woe is me! I am going to die miserably in this dry well. All things are impermanent. It would have been better if the lion had eaten me. Hail all the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten directions, with your wisdom see that my heart is pure and precious.”

At that time, the god Indra heard the fox’s cry and came down himself to lift the fox from the well and ask it to teach the Dharma. “This is all wrong,” said the fox. “The disciple is on top and the teacher is on the bottom.” All in the heavens laughed to hear this. When Indra, acknowledging that the fox was correct, nevertheless sat at his feet and asked him to preach, the fox said, “This is all wrong. It is not right for disciple and teacher to sit down together.” Thereupon Indra took all the heavenly robes and piled them up to make a tall seat for the fox, and again asked him to preach the Dharma. The fox said: “There are those who rejoice to live and hate death. There are those who rejoice to die and hate life.” Ignorant people are ignorant regarding future lives and so they hope to live and hate death. Good people know the truth of the workings of karma and retribution and so they hope to die and hate life. Indra learned this and followed the fox as his teacher. The Grand Master T’ien-t’ai said: “The Young Ascetic in the Snow Mountains offered himself to a demon to gain half a verse, Indra revered an animal and made him his teacher. No one discards gold because the purse stinks.” No matter how humble, if someone knows the True Dharma, you must not look down on them. Fascicle 8 of the Lotus Sūtra says: “Those who, upon seeing the keeper of this sūtra, blame him justly or unjustly, will suffer from white leprosy in their present life.” This means that if one accuses the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra of faults, whether one is justified or not, one will contract white leprosy in this life and in the next life will fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering.

Minobu-san Gosho, Mt. Minobu Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 128