The original intention of the Buddha was not to discourage those gathered at the assembly with the teaching of the six difficult and nine easier actions. He taught these to rouse others to resolve to spread the message of the Lotus Sūtra actively throughout one’s life, no matter how hard that might be. He wants those who meet difficulties not to shrink back, but to move forward with an indomitable will. In Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Nichiren Shōnin reminisced that his hesitation about spreading the word of the Lotus Sūtra was extinguished immediately when he encountered the six difficult and nine easier actions.