The change of natural phenomenon such as the ebb and flow of the tide, the rise and setting of the moon, and the boundaries between summer and autumn or winter and spring is accompanied by something different. The same can be said when an ordinary person becomes a Buddha. Inevitably this change will be accompanied by the “three hindrances and four devils.”* Although the wise will welcome them, those who are foolish fear them and retreat.

Hyōesakan-dono Gohenji, Answer to Lord Ikegami Munenaga, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 96

*Three hindrances and four devils (sanshō shima): The hindrances and devils that block the way to Buddhahood. The three hindrances refer to evil passions, evil karmas, and painful retributions such as going to hell; the four devils refer to evil passions, physical pain, death, and king of devils. Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states in his Great Concentration and Insight, fascicle 5, that as practicing and understanding of the “tranquility and contemplation” proceed, “three hindrances and four devils” compete to interfere with the practicers, proving the doctrine to be true. Following T’ien-t’ai’s concept of “three hindrances and four devils,” Nichiren maintains that those who spread the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration are bound to be persecuted by the “three hindrances and four devils” and that only those who endured such difficulty proved to be the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra.

Because I am deeply concerned about you I would like to tell you another important story. During the time of Yin in ancient China, the King of Ku-chu State had two princes named Pê-i and Shu-ch’i. The King chose the younger brother Shuch’i as his successor, but Shu-ch’i refused to ascend the throne upon the death of the King. Pê-i advised the younger brother to accede to the throne, but Shu-ch’i insisted that the elder brother should succeed the father. Pê-i protested saying, “How can we go against the will of our father?” Shu-ch’i retorted, “I understand the will of our father; however, how can I ascend the throne, disregarding my elder brother?” In the end, respecting the views of the other, both Pê-i and Shu-ch’i left the state of their parents and went to a foreign land.

While both brothers were serving King Wen of Chou, King Wen was murdered by King Chou Hsin of Yin, and King Wu of Chou, son of King Wen, started a war against King Chou Hsin of Yin within 100 days after the death of his father. Pê-i and Shu-ch’i held fast to King Wu’s horse, remonstrating the King saying, “Isn’t it unfilial to begin a war within three years after the passing of parents?” King Wu became furious and tried to kill Pê-i and Shu-ch’i, but they were spared when T’ai-kung Wang interceded.

The two brothers left the service of King Wu, and hid themselves in Mt. Shou-yang, staying alive by eating bracken. One day they came across a person called Wang Ma-tzŭ and told him the reason why they were hiding in the mountain. Wang Ma-tzŭ then reproached them saying, “Isn’t the bracken owned by King Wu of Chou?” Accused by Wang Ma-tzŭ, the two brothers stopped eating bracken. As it is the custom in heaven not to abandon a sage, heaven appeared as a white deer and fed the two brothers with its milk. One day Shu-ch’i casually remarked, “The milk of this white deer is very tasty, let alone its meat.” Although Pê-i stopped him from saying anything more, heaven heard it. As a result the white deer never appeared again and the two brothers died of hunger. In this way, even a person who lived as a sage throughout his life might destroy himself with one word. As I do not know what is in your hearts, I am deeply concerned.

Kyōdai-shō, A Letter to the Ikegami Brothers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 81

The śrāvaka disciples such as Ānanda, and Rāhula, who were guaranteed to be future Buddhas in the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra through the three cycles of the Buddha’s preaching (dharma, parable, and past relationships) had learned the Lotus Sūtra far in the past, 3,000 dust-particle kalpa (aeons) ago, from a bodhisattva who was the 16th prince of the Great Universal Wisdom Buddha, namely Śākyamuni Buddha today. Nevertheless, due to evil karma they abandoned the Lotus Sūtra, embracing such Mahayana sutras as the Flower Garland Sūtra, Wisdom Sūtra, Sūtra of Great Assembly, Nirvana Sūtra, Great Sun Buddha Sūtra, Revealing the Profound and Secret Sūtra, and Sūtra of Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life or Hinayana Āgama sutras. While doing so, they gradually declined in status to the realms of heavenly and human beings and finally to the three evil realms. As a result for as long as 3,000 dust-particle kalpa they spent much of their time in the Hell of Incessant Suffering, some of their time in the seven major hells, once in a long while in the other one hundred or so hells, and on rare occasions in the realms of hungry souls, beasts, and asura. It was after the 3,000 dust-particle kalpa (aeons) that they were able to be born in the realm of human or heavenly beings.

Therefore, it is stated in the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 2 (chapter 3), “They will always stay in hell, strolling in it as though it were a garden, and remain in other evil realms as if they were at home.” Those who committed the ten evil acts will fall into such hells as the hell of regeneration and that of black ropes, where they spend 500 or 1,000 years. Those who committed the five rebellious sins, are destined to the Hell of Incessant Suffering for as long as one medium kalpa before being reborn. Those who abandoned the Lotus Sūtra, however, will fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering and remain there for innumerable number of kalpa, though their sin does not seem to be as terrible as the sin of murdering parents.

Kyōdai-shō, Letter to the Ikegami Brothers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 7-75

[Y]ou, Priest Hōren, produce golden-colored letters from your mouth every morning. As you read and recite the “jiga-ge” verse, you produce 510 golden characters. Each of these characters transforms itself to be the sun, which in turn changes to Śākyamuni Buddha, who emits the rays of bright light shining through the earth, the three evil realms (hell, realm of hungry spirits and that of beasts), the Hell of Incessant Suffering, and to all the directions in the north, south, east, and west. They shine upward to the “Heaven of neither Thought nor Non-Thought” at the top of the realm of non-form looking everywhere for the souls of the departed. Upon finding the spirit of your father, they politely say, “Whom do you think we are? We are the characters of the ‘jiga-ge’ of the Lotus Sūtra chanted by your son Hōren every morning. We will be your eyes, ears, legs, and hands.” Then your father’s spirit will say, “My son, Hōren, is not my son but a ‘good friend’ who leads me to Buddhahood,” and worship you toward the Sahā World. This is indeed true filial piety.

Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 59

Each character of the Lotus Sūtra is a living Buddha, but seen through the “naked eye” of a common person, it looks like nothing but a character. For instance the Ganges River looks like fire to the hungry ghosts, water to human beings, and “nectar” to the heavenly beings. The same water appears to be different to those who live under different circumstances. These characters of the Lotus Sūtra cannot be seen at all by the blind, but they appear as black letters to the “naked-eye” of ordinary people, the sky to the “wisdom-eye” of the Two Vehicles, various doctrines to the “dharma-eye” of the bodhisattvas, and the Buddhas to the “Buddha-eye” of those in whom the seed of Buddha is ripe. Therefore, it is preached in the “Appearance of the Stupa of Treasures” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, “He who upholds this sūtra sustains the Buddha,” and Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states in his “Ryaku Hokekyō,” “I believe in the Lotus Sūtra, consisting of eight fascicles, 28 chapters, namely 69,384 Chinese characters. Each of these characters is itself the true Buddha, who preaches the dharma for the benefit of people who listen.”

Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 59