Those who have lost sight of the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration believe themselves to have thoroughly understood the holy teachings preached during the Buddha’s lifetime but in reality they do not even know the difference between the provisional and true teachings. Yet they wear the three robes and carry an alms-bowl, stay in a monastery, and are revered as the great wise persons. Thus it is stated in the sūtra that those who are regarded by people as having a wide knowledge of the Lotus Sūtra and looked up to as though they were arhats who mastered the three supernatural powers and six supernatural powers will instead lose the Lotus Sūtra. …

QUESTION: May I ask you where the proof for this statement is?

ANSWER: It is stated in the “Encouragement for Upholding This Sūtra” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra that numerous (800,000 million nayuta) bodhisattvas made a vow before the Buddha to spread this sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration stating in verse, “Many ignorant people will speak ill of us and attack us with swords and sticks, but we will endure them all.” Grand Master Miao-lê explains this in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “The first line of this verse refers to evil people in general, namely self-conceited lay persons.” This means that laymen and laywomen misled by monks of provisional teaching persecute the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra as though they are their enemies. The verse continues, “In the evil world there will be monks who are crafty and perverse and crooked in heart. Thinking they have attained what they have not, they will be proud and boastful in mind.” Miao-lê interprets this in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “The next line refers to the self-conceited monks,” It means that monks in the Latter Age of Degeneration who are based on various sūtras other than the Lotus Sūtra boast themselves of having been able to perceive the dharma and go against the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra.

Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 9-10

Even if the “perfect teaching” expounded in the pre-Lotus sūtras is put in the “perfect teaching” expounded in the Lotus Sūtra, they cannot be the same teaching. The “perfect teaching” of the pre-Lotus sūtras included in the Lotus Sūtra is called not the True Dharma but just “an expedient teaching within the Lotus Sūtra.” When an expedient teaching is taken out of the Lotus Sūtra, and the “One Buddha-Vehicle is divided into three” (the second chapter of the Lotus Sūtra), it is called “the perfect teaching within the Three Vehicles.” (It can be said that because an expedient teaching is expounded based on the “perfect teaching” of the Lotus Sūtra, the expedient should be called the “perfect teaching,” but strictly speaking the “perfect teaching” of the Lotus Sūtra is different from that of other sūtras. That is why the “perfect teaching” as an expedient is called “the perfect teaching within the Three Vehicles.”)

Shoshū Mondō-shō, Questions and Answers Regarding Other Schools, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 166-167

Non-Buddhist religions in India claimed that this world was eternal, joyful, free and pure. On the contrary, the Buddha insisted that this world was impermanent, painful, empty and egoless in order to destroy their superficial views. The Two Vehicles (two kinds of Buddhist known as śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha) were stuck to the principle of emptiness preached by the Buddha and could not grasp the idea of eternity in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The Buddha, therefore, reproached them saying that even the five rebellious sins and evil passions could be a cause of enlightenment, but their inflexible belief in emptiness will never lead them to Buddhahood.

Jisshō-shō, A Treatise on the Ten Chapters of the Great Concentration and Insight, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 5

QUESTION: Which is superior, the Lotus Sūtra or the Nirvana Sūtra?

ANSWER: The Lotus Sūtra is.

QUESTION: Why do you say that?

ANSWER: In the Nirvana Sūtra the Buddha Himself declared, “Eight thousand śrāvaka were guaranteed to be future Buddhas in the Lotus Sūtra. It is as though a great harvest was reaped in autumn and stored in the warehouse for winter, leaving nothing else to be done in the Nirvana Sūtra.” Again, it is said in the “Teacher of the Dharma” chapter in the Lotus Sūtra that the sūtras to be preached, like the Nirvana Sūtra, are not as difficult to believe and understand as the Lotus Sūtra is. This means that the Nirvana Sūtra is not as truthful as the Lotus Sūtra.

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 10-11

It is preached in the Duration of the Life of the Tathāgata chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, “The scriptures that I, the Buddha, expound are all for the purpose of emancipating all living beings. For this purpose I guide them in various ways, sometimes speaking of myself, sometime of others. Sometimes I present myself, sometimes others. Sometimes I show my own actions, sometimes those of others.”

Accordingly, who among the great beings — Zentoku Buddha of the World Without Worry to the east; the Great Sun Buddha in the center of the universe; various Buddhas in the worlds throughout the universe; the past seven Buddhas who appeared in this world; various Buddhas in the past, present, and future; the direct disciples of the Original Buddha who emerged from the earth such as Bodhisattva Superior Practice; bodhisattvas of theoretical teachings, such as Mañjuśrī, Śrāvaka disciples such as Śāriputra, the King of the Mahābrahman Heaven who controls the triple world; the King of Devils who lives in the Sixth Heaven in the realm of desire; Indra who controls the Trāyastriṃsá Heaven; or Sun Deity, Moon Deity, Deity of the Stars, innumerable stars such as the Great Bear, twenty-eight stars, Five Stars, Seven Stars and 84,000 Stars; those who occupy the headship of various places throughout the world such as the King of asura demons, god of the heavens, god of the earth, god of the mountains, god of the ocean, god of the house, and god of the village — is not a manifestation of the Lord Teacher Śākyamuni Buddha?

Nichigen-nyo Sakabutsu Kuyōji, Construction of a Statue of Śākyamuni by Lady Nichigen, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 123-124

Once upon a time when Śākyamuni Buddha was seeking the dharma as a bodhisattva, a leper approached him and said, “I know the right dharma which consists of 20 characters. If you will hug my body and massage it and lick it and give me three to four pounds of meat every day, I will share the teaching with you.” The bodhisattva did what he was told to do, and became a Buddha by hearing the dharma: “A Buddha achieves emancipation and forever extinguishes the sufferings of birth and death. If one listens to this teaching with heartfelt sincerity, the utmost peace of mind can be achieved.”

Nichimyō Shōnin Gosho, A Letter to Nichimyō Shōnin, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 137

It is stated in the “Parable” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, “Seeing those who read, recite, copy, and uphold this sūtra, some will despise, hate, envy, and bear grudges against them; in the “Teacher of the Dharma” chapter, “Many will feel resentment and envy even during the lifetime of the Buddha, even more so after His death;” in the “Encouragement for Upholding This Sūtra” chapter, “(Such a person) will be killed by a sword, beaten by a stick, or exiled often;” in the “Peaceful Practices” chapter, “All the people throughout the world will feel resentment at the Lotus Sūtra and not believe in it.” These scriptural statements are the prediction of the Buddha, but they do not specify in what ages such difficulties will take place. We can say that such sages as Never Despising Bodhisattva and Monk Virtue Consciousness in the past actually practiced what is stated in these scriptural passages. However, when we limit the scope of consideration to the present Sahā World, putting aside the 2,000 year Ages of the True and Semblance Dharmas for now, I, Nichiren, am the only person who has proven the prediction of the Buddha now in the Latter Age of Degeneration, is it not so?

Tenjū Kyōju Hōmon, Lightening the Karmic Retribution, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 31

Now, when you decide to convert your faith to the Lotus Sūtra, you may be puzzled whether you should abandon the pre-Lotus sūtras preached in the first forty years or so, or whether you should still keep them and continue to chant the name of the Buddha of Infinite Life. We ordinary people should not decide this issue on our own. We should follow what our father Śākyamuni Buddha tells us. He declares in the “Expedients” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, “Having abandoned all expedient teachings, I will expound only the unsurpassed way (Lotus Sūtra).” Expedient teachings here means the expedient means mentioned in the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning stating, “The truth has not been revealed for forty years or so as an expedient means.” All words of all sūtras such as the triple Pure Land sūtras are included in the word ‘expedient’ defined by Śākyamuni Buddha.

Therefore, those who do not abandon the various sūtras preached during some forty years or so and convert themselves to the Lotus Sūtra must be called the most impious in Buddhism, no matter how proud they may be in secular society. This is the reason why it is preached in the “Parable” chapter of the second fascicle of the Lotus Sūtra, “This triple world is My domain, where all living beings are My children. There are many sufferings in this world and only I can save all living beings. Although I taught and told this to all living beings, they did not believe in me because they are at a loss.” Those who refuse to abandon the provisional sūtras preached during forty years or so or practice them along with the Lotus Sūtra do not follow the wishes of the ruler, teacher, and parent. The word ‘taught’ in the citation from the “Parable” chapter means what is taught by a teacher or a parent, and the word ‘told’ means what is ordered by the emperor. The Buddha is the wisest king, the most venerable teacher, and the smartest father in the world. Therefore, those who do not convert themselves to the Lotus Sūtra by abandoning the various sūtras preached during the forty years or so or those who do not abandon the provisional sūtras even after converting themselves to the Lotus Sūtra are those who do not follow the instructions of our father Śākyamuni Buddha, who has the three virtues of the ruler, teacher, and parent. They should not live in this world.

Hōmon Mōsaru-beki-yō no Koto, The Way to Refute the Evil Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Desciples, Volume 5, Page 147

QUESTION: How should we comprehend the statement in the chapter 3, “A Parable,” of the Lotus Sūtra, “You should not expound this sūtra to ignorant people”?

ANSWER: This applies to wise masters, who are able to discern the capacity of people, not to ordinary masters in the Latter Age of Degeneration.

We should also solely expound the Lotus Sūtra to those who slander the Dharma. This would establish the connection of a poisonous drum between the unfaithful people and the Lotus Sūtra as it is said that the sound of a drum smeared with poison kills a man who hears them. It is like the practice of Never-Despising Bodhisattva preached in the “Never-Despising Bodhisattva” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra.

If a person has the capacity of a wise man, though, we should teach him the Hinayāna sūtras first of all, then the provisional Mahāyāna sūtras, and finally the true Mahāyāna sūtra, the Lotus Sūtra. If a man is deemed ignorant, however, we should teach him the true Mahāyāna sūtra from the start, as it can plant the seed of Buddhahood in both believers and slanderers.

Kyōki Jikoku-Shō, Treatise on the Teaching, Capacity, Time and Country, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 90-91

Āgama (Hinayana) sūtras were preached following the Flower Garland Sūtra. … Regarding what sūtras were preached after the Flower Garland Sūtra, the “Introductory” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra states, “To those who suffer, hating old age, sickness and death, the Buddha preaches the teaching of Nirvana, showing ignorant people the way to tranquility and extinction of worldly passions.” In the “Expedients” chapter of the same sūtra, it states, “The Buddha went to the Deer Park in Bārāṇasī Kingdom . . . and preached the dharma to five monks.” It is also stated in the Nirvana Sūtra, “The Buddha preached on the Middle Way in the Deer Park of the Bārāṇasī Kingdom. ” This indicates what sūtras were preached after the Flower Garland Sūtra. According to these scriptural statements, it seems clear that it was the Āgama sūtras for śrāvaka disciples which were expounded after the Flower Garland Sūtra for great bodhisattvas.

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 6-7