The Sūtra of Transmission of the Buddhist Teaching, fascicle 1, speaks of the previous life of Venerable Kāśyapa:

Once upon a time there lived a Brahman named Nyagrodha in the Kingdom of Magadha. Because of the great merit of his good acts for a long time in a previous life… , he was immensely rich and piled up vast wealth in this life. … which was worth a thousand times more than that of the king of Magadha. (…) Although he was very wealthy, he was childless, so the Brahman said to himself, “My days are numbered, but I have nobody to inherit my treasures filled in the warehouse. I wish to have a child.” Thus, the Brahman prayed to the forest god in the neighborhood for good luck of having a child. Having prayed for years without any luck, he became furious and said to the forest god: “I have prayed to you for the last several years to no avail. I am going to pray to you from the bottom of my heart for seven more days. If it does not do any good, I am going to burn down your shrine.” Hearing this, the forest god in agony relayed his problem to the Four Heavenly Kings, who in turn reported the matter to Indra.

Indra looked around all over the world but could not find anyone worthy of being Nyagrodha’s child, so he went to the King of the Brahma Heaven for help. With his divine eye, the King of the Brahma Heaven then closely observed the whole world, finding a heavenly being in the Brahma Heaven who was about to die. The King told him that if he was to be reborn in the human world, he should be born as a child of Nyagrodha Brahman in Jambudvīpa. The dying being answered that he did not want to be reborn in a family of a Brahman because Brahman dharma includes many evil and false views. The King of the Brahma Heaven told him again: “Nyagrodha Brahman is a powerful man of virtue that there is no one in the world worthy to be born as his child. If you are reborn to his family, I will protect you lest you should fall into evil view.” Thereupon the heavenly being in the Brahma Heaven answered, “I will respectfully follow your words.”

The King of the Brahma Heaven then reported the turn of events to Indra, who in turn informed the forest god. Elated by the good news, the forest god called upon the Brahman at home saying, “You should no longer have a grudge against me. Your wish will be fulfilled in seven days. As expected, the wife of the Brahman became pregnant in seven days and gave birth to a baby boy ten months later. (…) This is Venerable Kāśyapa today.

Kangyō Hachiman-shō, Remonstration with Bodhisattva Hachiman, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 244-245

To study Buddhism, first of all we must know the right time.

In the past, the Great Universal Wisdom Buddha appeared in the world, but he did not preach at all for as long as ten small kalpa. It is said in the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 7 on “The Parable of a Magic City”: “He sat in meditation for ten small kalpa;” and “Though begged to preach, the Buddha sat in silence because He knew the time was not yet ripe.” Our Lord Śākyamuni Buddha, did not expound the Lotus Sūtra for more than forty years. As said in the Sūtra, chapter 2 on “Expedients,” it was because “the time was not ripe.” Lao-tzu is said to have spent as long as eighty years in his mother’s womb before he was born. Bodhisattva Maitreya, future Lord Buddha of this Sahā World, is expected to stay in the inner chamber of the Tuṣita Heaven (Tōsotsu-ten) for as long as 5,670,000,000 years, waiting for the time to attain perfect enlightenment. As nightingales wait for summer to sing and roosters wait for dawn to crow, even beasts know the time. How much more should we choose the right time in practicing Buddhism?

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1,
Page 172

The Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 2, the 3rd chapter on “A Parable” states:

“He who does not put faith in this sutra and slanders it, [will commit the sin of exterminating the seed of Buddhahood in all the people in the whole world. Or suppose those who frown at and harbor doubt about the teaching of this sutra… despise, hold in contempt, hate, envy, and bear a deep grudge against those who read, recite, copy, and uphold this sutra. What would such people get in return? You should listen carefully.] Such people will fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering upon death, [where their suffering will last endlessly, for a kalpa after another… until they fall into the world of beasts becoming a huge serpent as long as 500 yojana in length.]”

The same sūtra, fascicle 7, the 20th chapter on the “Never Despising Bodhisattva” also asserts: “[Some of the four categories of Buddhists (monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen) had impure minds. They got angry, spoke ill of him, saying, ‘Where did this ignorant monk come from?’ They struck him with a stick, a piece of wood, a piece of tile or a stone.] They were tormented in the Hell of Incessant Suffering for as long as 1,000 kalpa for the sin of persecuting a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra.”

The Nirvana Sūtra, too, declares: “If one avoids good teachers who preach the True Dharma and instead takes refuge in false dharmas, one will sink into the Hell of Incessant Sufferings, undergoing all the sufferings with his huge body of 84,000 square yojana.”

Examining many sūtras, we thus see they all regard slandering the True Dharma the most serious crime. How sad it is that people [in Japan] all should wander out of the gate of the True Dharma into the prison of evil dharma! Such ignorance is causing everyone [in Japan, high and low,] to be pulled by the rope of evil teachings and caught forever by the net of slandering the True Dharma! In this life such wanderers are lost in the mist of delusions; in the next life they will sink to the bottom of flaming hell. How sad it is! How terrible it is!

You should promptly discard your false faith and take up the true and sole teaching of the Lotus Sūtra at once. Then this triple world of the unenlightened will all become Buddha lands. Will Buddha lands ever decay? All the worlds in the universe will become Pure Lands. Will Pure Lands ever be destroyed? When our country does not decay and the world is not destroyed, our bodies will be safe and our hearts tranquil. Believe these words and revere them!

Risshō Ankoku-ron, Treatise on Spreading Peace Throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Pages 128-129

To begin with, in the sūtras numbering more than 5,000 or 7,000 fascicles expounded by Śākyamuni Buddha during His lifetime, women are discriminated against for being unable to attain Buddhahood. Only in the Lotus Sūtra, however, is it preached that women, too, can attain Buddhahood.

Grand Master T’ien-t’ai stated in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “Prediction of future Buddhahood is not given to women.” This means that all the Buddhist scriptures except the Lotus Sūtra do not recognize the attainment of Buddhahood by women. Following the statement just cited, Grand Master T’ien t’ai declares, “In this sūtra, the prediction of future Buddhahood is given to all.” This means that through the merit of the Lotus Sūtra even a dragon girl attained Buddhahood and the attainment of Buddhahood by all females is guaranteed in the sūtra.

Grand Master T’ien-t’ai Chih-che was born in China 1,500 years after the passing of Śākyamuni Buddha. He read all the scriptures of Buddhism as many as 15 times thereby discovering that no sūtra except the Lotus Sūtra expounds the attainment of Buddhahood by women. Grand Master Miao-lê interprets this in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “Attainment of Buddhahood by women is not preached in any other sūtra except the Lotus Sūtra.” This means that the concept of attaining Buddhahood by women preached in the Lotus Sūtra is not found in any other Buddhist scriptures.

Thus, the Lotus Sūtra is like the moon among stars, a king among people, Mt. Sumeru among mountains, or an ocean among bodies of water. As it is preached in this admirable sūtra that women can become Buddhas, how can it bother you that this is denied in all other sūtras? For instance, if one is spoken ill of by such unworthy people as thieves, prowlers, robbers, beggars, or lepers, but spoken highly of by the great king of a country, how happy one will be!

Nichigen-nyo Shakabutsu Kuyōji, Construction of a Statue of Śākyamuni Buddha by Lady Nichigen, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 125

The first fascicle of the Lotus Sūtra, “Expedients” chapter, discusses the ultimate reality of all phenomena, stating that each phenomenon is equipped with the nine factors — form, nature, substance, function, action, cause, condition, effect, and reward, all of which from the beginning (form) to the end (reward) are in perfect harmony — and that this ultimate reality of all phenomena is understood only by Buddhas. These words of the Buddha confirm the inseparability of the Buddhist teachings from the reality of the world. In this phrase “all of which from the beginning to the end are in perfect harmony,” the beginning indicates the root of evil and virtue, while the end indicates the conclusion of such evil and virtue. He who is thoroughly awakened with the principle of causality from the root of the evil and virtue to their branches and leaves is the Buddha.

Citing other documentary records on this subject, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states, “A mind is equipped with ten dharma-realms.” Grand Master Chang-an declares, “The Buddha regarded this as the ultimate reason for appearing in this world. How can it easily be understood?” Miao-lê states, “This is the ultimate and supreme theory.” The Lotus Sūtra, in the “Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma” chapter preaches, “What is said by the Buddha does not contradict ultimate reality.” Grand Master T’ien-t’ai, interprets it in this way: “None of the family businesses and occupations in the world contradict the ultimate reality”

A sage does not practice Buddhism without regards to the actual affairs in the world, and a Buddhist who is thoroughly aware of the principle of governing the world is called a sage.

Chie Bōkoku Gosho, Evil Wisdom Destroying the Country, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 86

The voice-hearer (śrāvaka) refers to disciples of the Buddha such as Śāriputra and Kāśyapa. They observed the 250 precepts and practiced the supra-worldly meditation. Moreover, they contemplated the truths of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and self-effacement; completely eliminated the delusions arising from false views and thoughts; and mastered the supernatural power of being in water and fire. Therefore, they were able to make even the King of the Mahābrahman Heaven and Indra their followers.

Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 48

There will be a person who abuses the Buddha physically, verbally, and mentally for as long as a kalpa like Devadatta. The Buddha was the crown prince of King Śuddhodana while Devadatta was a prince of Doroṇodana, and therefore the Buddha and Devadatta were first cousins. In the past as well as today, among sages as well as ordinary people, a breakdown of human relations arises more often from the dispute over women than anything else. When Śākyamuni Buddha was Crown Prince Siddhārtha, Devadatta was also a crown prince. Minister Ya’o had a daughter called Yaśodharā, who was the most beautiful girl in the whole India, and whose beauty was known throughout the world. As Crown Prince Siddhārtha and Devadatta fought for her hand, their relationship turned sour. Thereafter, Prince Siddhārtha entered the priesthood becoming the Buddha, and Devadatta, too, entered the priesthood under the guidance of Monk Sūdra. As the Buddha observed the 250 precepts and maintained the 3,000 proper demeanors of a priest, all the heavenly beings and the people adored and respected Him. However, no one respected Devadatta, causing him to ponder over a way to win a better reputation than the Buddha among the people in the world. In the end Devadatta began to assert that there were five points that proved that he should be more respected than the Buddha. It is preached in the Fourfold Precepts that a Buddhist monk should always 1. wear a robe made of rags; 2. beg for alms; 3. take a meal only once a day; 4. sit in the open; and 5. not take the five kinds of seasoning such as salt. Thus Devadatta publicized them saying, “The Buddha accepts the robes donated by people, but I wear a robe made of ragged pieces of cloth; the Buddha takes the food offered by people, but I have to beg for alms to feed myself; the Buddha has a meal three times a day, but I have it only once a day; the Buddha takes a rest in the shade of a rock or under a tree, but I, Devadatta, always sit in the open during the day; and the Buddha sometimes tastes the five kinds of flavors (sour, bitter, sweet, peppery, and salty), but I have never taken them.” As a result the people in the world were led to believe that Devadatta was incomparably superior to the Buddha.

While Devadatta was trying to demean the Buddha’s reputation, King Bimbisāra in Magadha, a follower of the Buddha, was sending 500 wagons full of donations to the Buddha and his disciples every day without fail for several years. Envious of this royal donation, Devadatta incited Crown Prince Ajātaśatru to murder his own father, King Bimbisāra, while he himself tried to kill the Buddha by hurling a rock at Him. His act of trying to kill the Buddha with a rock constitutes committing the sin of an evil physical act; while accusing the Buddha of deceiving people is an evil verbal act; and thinking of the Buddha as a loathsome enemy from a previous life is an evil mental act. The evil acts of Devadatta, consisting of physical, verbal, and mental acts, are the most serious sins ever to appear.

Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 45-46