Expedient sūtras preached before the Lotus Sūtra are the same as non-Buddhist teachings, in which no one can be reborn in the Pure Land or attain Buddhahood. For instance, rivers which do not flow into the ocean cannot become one, and people and subjects who do not follow their great king cannot be united. No matter how hard we practice such teachings, there will not be any merit at all unless we reach the Lotus-Nirvana Sūtras; it will be the same as practicing the non-Buddhist teachings, in which Buddhahood is not attainable. They are the teachings nobody practices and no one can attain Buddhahood by practicing them in the Latter Age of Degeneration as well as during and after the lifetime of the Buddha.
Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 22-23
The Lotus Sūtra preaches that living beings are endowed with three kinds of Buddha nature: shōin busshō, ryōin busshō as well as en’in busshō (virtuous deeds which enable one to develop “wisdom”). …
The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 10, preaches: “The shōin busshō is possessed by the Dharma-bodied Buddha, and it is innately possessed by all the people throughout the past, present and future lives. By nature they are endowed also with seeds of the en’in and ryōin busshō; these Buddha-natures are not acquired as a result of practicing Buddhism.”
Hasshū Imoku-shō, A Treatise on the Differences of the Lotus Sect from Eight Other Sects, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin,
Doctrine 2, Page 15-16
[I]t is stated in a letter signed by Former Governor of Musashi Province, Lord Hōjō Nobutoki, directing the Province of Sado on the seventh of the twelfth month in the tenth year of the Bun’ei Period (1273):
“There is a report that Nichiren, a priest exiled to Sado Province, and his disciples are engaging in corruption. His actions are inexcusable. From this point forward, those who follow Nichiren will be punished severely. Report the names of those who disobey this order. This is by the order of Lord Hōjō Nobutoki. 7th day of the 12th month in the 10th year of Bun’ei…”
The accusation in the letter of “engaging in corruption” is equivalent to the non-Buddhists who slandered the Buddha as a corrupt man. Moreover, the Buddha encountered the nine great difficulties such as the murder of Śākya Clan members by King Virūḍhaka, enduring begging without receiving alms and cold winds without proper clothes. I encountered persecutions in which my disciples were killed. I ate snow to stay alive, and I had no clothes to protect myself from cold winds. Do these difficulties exceed those endured by the Buddha? Perhaps T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō had not endured difficulties such as these. You should know that by adding myself to Śākyamuni Buddha, T’ien-t’ai, and Dengyō, there are now four practicers of the Lotus Sūtra, one of whom is in the Latter Age of Degeneration. How happy I am that I correspond with the Buddha’s prediction, “Needless to say, more people will do so (hate the Lotus Sūtra) after my extinction.” However, it is pitiful that people in Japan are falling into the Hell of Incessant Suffering by slandering me. The details are too complicated so I will stop here before this letter becomes too involved. Please consider the issue carefully.
Hokke Gyōja Chinan-ji, Difficulty of the Practicer of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Disciples, Volume 5, Pages 15
[S]cholars today, while praising the Lotus Sūtra as superior to all other scriptures, maintain it is unsuitable for the inferior capacity of the people in the Latter Age, a contention that people accept. Are they not the slanderers of the True Dharma? You should wholeheartedly reject these scholars. After all, the text of the Lotus Sūtra can be broken up or cut up, but its spirit cannot be destroyed. Even if someone criticizes the Lotus Sūtra by comparing conducts of evil in the world with the practice of the Lotus Sūtra, people will not believe him. Only when someone slanders the Lotus Sūtra with the provisional doctrine similar to that of the Lotus Sūtra, will people be deceived.
Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 15
[T]hese two teachings – the Tripiṭaka teaching and the Common teaching – do not espouse the idea that ordinary people in the Six Realms originally have the Buddha-nature. They preach instead that one can be a śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, bodhisattva, or Buddha only by practicing the way leading to each of them.
Ichidai Shōgyō Tai-I, Outline of All the Holy Teachings of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 69
The 13th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the “Encouragement for Upholding This Sūtra,” declares, “Ignorant people will speak ill of us (practicers of the True Dharma) and abuse us.” I, Nichiren, have been as utterly despised as mentioned in the sūtra. Are not those who slander me the “ignorant people” referred to in the sūtra? The same chapter continues, “They (ignorant people) threaten us (practicers of the True Dharma) with swords and sticks.” I, Nichiren, have experienced what the sūtra preaches with my own body. Why don’t you, slanderers and persecutors, understand what the sūtra preaches?
It is also said in the same chapter: “They always try to slander us in the midst of the great multitude…, they speak ill of us to kings, ministers, Brahmans, and house-holders, or “they speak ill of us, frown at us, or drive us often out of our monasteries.” “Often” here means not a few times. I, Nichiren, was driven out of my dwelling several times and exiled twice.
Teradomari Gosho, A Letter from Teradomari, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 11-12
Essentially men and women have different characters just as fire is warm while water is cold. A woman diver is good at fishing and a male hunter is good at trapping deer. It is said in some sūtras that women are promiscuous, but I have never seen them say a woman was adept in the Buddha Dharma. All scriptures preached before the Lotus Sūtra contrast a woman’s mind with the wind because even if we can secure the wind, we cannot grasp a woman’s mind. The scriptures also compare a woman’s mind to letters written on water because the letters will quickly vanish. Women are also compared to people of unsound mind because sometimes they are honest but other times they are not. Finally, women are also compared to a river because all rivers bend. (Thus pre-Lotus scriptures demean women).
But in the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha states that He honestly discards expedient means, and the Buddha of Many Treasures affirms that Śākyamuni preaches only the truth. The sixteenth chapter of the sūtra, “Life Span of the Buddha,” preaches “straight and gentle minds” and a “gentle and straight person.” This is the sūtra believed by honest people, whose minds are as straight as a bowstring or a carpenter’s inked string. If you call dung sandalwood, it won’t smell like sandalwood. If you call a lie a truth, it won’t become true. It is said that all Buddhist scriptures are true because the Buddha expounded them. However, compared to the Lotus Sūtra, they are false, lies, distorted or double-tongued. The Lotus Sūtra is the supreme truth.
Nichimyō Shōnin Gosho, A Letter to Nichimyō Shōnin, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II,
Volume 7, Page 140
The Buddha is equipped with 32 marks of physical excellence, each of which is adorned with many blessings. A bump on top of the head and a white curl on the forehead that glows are like the fruit of a flower, namely, the merit of practicing the bodhisattva way as a bodhisattva resulted in the 32 marks of physical excellence of the Buddha. One of the 32 marks is that the top of His head is invisible. Śākyamuni Buddha is 16 feet tall, but non-Buddhists with bamboo sticks could not measure His height, nor could they see the top of His head. Neither Bodhisattva Ying-ch’ih (Ōji Bosatsu) nor the King of the Mahābrahman Heaven could see His top. Why couldn’t they? It is because the Buddha won this “invisibility of His top” mark as the reward for respecting His parents, teachers, and lord by bowing with His head touching the ground.
Shijō Kingo-dono Gohenji, Response to Lord Shijō Kingo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 120-121
You should consider that the Lotus Sūtra is like the king, parents, sun and moon, great ocean, Mt. Sumeru and heaven and earth while other sūtras are like regents, ministers, court nobles, or all the people in the country, various stars, rivers, mountains, trees and plants. We are the ignorant in the Latter Age of Degeneration committing sins and are not capable of accepting the Dharma. The king helps the people rather than his retainers; parents have compassion on their own children more so than unrelated persons; and the light of the sun and the moon is brighter than stars. Likewise, if the Lotus Sūtra is unsuitable to save the ignorant with inferior capacity in the Latter Age of Degeneration, you should realize there is no other sūtra.
Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 15
The Common teaching is the beginning of the Mahāyāna teaching, and it preaches the Three Principles: to observe the Buddhist precepts, to concentrate on meditation, and to gain wisdom. What is mainly taught in this teaching does not go beyond the Six Realms of the triple world. However, a few bodhisattvas with superior capacities may perceive the teachings beyond the Six Realms of the triple world by hearing the principle of the Common teaching. The śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha and bodhisattvas all learn the same teaching and eliminate the delusions in view and thought. In addition, some śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha may enter the state of turning the body to ashes and annihilating consciousness while others do not.
Ichidai Shōgyō Tai-I, Outline of All the Holy Teachings of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 68
