The living Aizen Myōō appeared to me in the glow of the sunset on New Year’s Day. I have become the twenty-third successor to the dharma transmitted from the Great Sun Buddha.

Twenty-fifth day of the sixth month in the sixth year of Kenchō (1254)

Nichiren presents this to the New Buddha.

The living Fudō Myōō also appeared to me in the light of the full moon from the 15th through the 17th day of the same month. I have become the twenty-third successor to the dharma transmitted from the Great Sun Buddha.

Twenty-fifth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of Kenchō (1254)

Nichiren presents this to the New Buddha

Fudō Aizen Kanken-ki, Record of Seeing Fudō and Aizen Myōō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Disciples, Volume 5, Pages 1

I am grateful to have been born a human with this precious body due accumulated causes and conditions in my past existences. According to the sūtra, I must have encountered and given offerings to ten trillion Buddhas in the past. Even though I did not place my faith exclusively in the Lotus Sūtra, thus slandering the True Dharma and being born poor and lowly in this life as a result, my merit of giving offerings to the Buddhas was so great that I was born as a believer of the Lotus Sūtra.

Interpreting this, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai (sic) states, “It is like a person who falls to the ground but does not stay there and rises from the ground instead.” Those who fall to the ground get up from the ground instead. Likewise, the grand master states, slanderers of the Lotus Sūtra fall on the ground of the three evil realms and the realms of human and heavenly beings; however, due to their reverse relationship to the Lotus Sūtra they will be led by the hand of the sūtra into the realm of Buddhas.

Hokke Shōmyō-shō, Treatise on the Testimony of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4,
Page 193

What kinds of doctrines are expounded in such a precious sūtra entitled the Lotus Sūtra? Beginning with the “Expedients” chapter in the first fascicle, the sūtra expounds that bodhisattvas, Two Vehicles (Śrāvaka and Pratyekabuddha) and ordinary people are all able to attain Buddhahood, though there is no actual proof yet. Suppose a guest visits you for the first time. He looks fine, speaks politely, and there is nothing dubious about his words, but until you confirm the truth about him, it would be difficult to believe him from merely his words. In such a case, if something important happens one after another to confirm his words, you can trust him thereafter without hesitation.

Although we believed the doctrine of attainment of Buddhahood by all living beings because it was preached by the Buddha, it was difficult for some to fully accept it because of the lack of actual proof. However, it all became clear when the most important doctrine of becoming a Buddha with one’s present body was expounded in the “Devadatta” chapter in the fifth fascicle of the Lotus Sūtra. It is like turning black lacquer into white or purifying dirty water by putting a wish-fulfilling gem in it. The Buddha helped a small snake, who was actually a daughter of the dragon king, attain Buddhahood with her present body. From that moment, no one could have the slightest doubt about all men attaining Buddhahood. Therefore, the Lotus Sūtra expounds attainment of Buddhahood by all people after the model of enlightenment of women. Grand Master Dengyō of Mt. Hiei, who first spread the true meaning of the Lotus Sūtra in Japan, annotated in his Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sūtra, “Neither the dragon girl, who became a Buddha to preach the dharma, nor the people who heard her preach the dharma needed a roundabout way to Buddhahood. They immediately attained Buddhahood with their present bodies by the power of the Wonderful Dharma.”

Sennichi-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Reply to My Lady Nun Sennichi, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4,
Page 152-153

Some of my disciples pretend to know the details of doctrines. They are mistaken. The odaimoku, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, is the essence of the Lotus Sūtra. It is like a human being’s spirit. If any other teachings were to be added to the odaimoku, it would be the cause of great trouble. It would be like the Empress marrying two Emperors or committing adultery. The teachings of the Lotus Sūtra did not spread far enough during the Ages of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma. This was because these periods were intended for other sūtras.

We are presently living in the Latter Age of Degeneration. The Lotus Sūtra and other sūtras are no longer efficacious in bringing about enlightenment. Only the odaimoku can accomplish this. This is not my arbitrary opinion. It was so-arranged by the Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, various Buddhas from all over the universe, and numerous great bodhisattvas from beneath the earth such as Superior Practice Bodhisattva.

It is a serious mistake to mix other teachings with the odaimoku. For example, when the sun rises, we no longer need to use lamps. When it rains, the dew is of no use. A baby does not need any nourishment except for milk. We do not need to add supplements to effective medicine.

Ueno-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 135

Deceived by Devadatta, King Ajātaśtru became an enemy of the Buddha but his Minister Jīvaka was devoted to the Buddha and continued to have faith, the merit of which seems to have helped King Ajātaśtru. In Buddhism there is an important teaching that virtue stored within will naturally rise to the surface. Never-Despising Bodhisattva in the Lotus Sūtra bowed to passersby, saying, “I have heartfelt respect for you.” The “Lion-Roaring Bodhisattva” chapter in the Nirvana Sūtra says that all sentient beings have the Buddha-nature. It is stated in the Awakening of Faith in Mahāyāna by Bodhisattva Aśvaghosa, “As the wisdom of enlightenment works within, delusions are exterminated and, in turn, the Dharma body of enlightenment appears.” The same is preached in the Treatise on the Stages of Yoga Practice written by Bodhisattva Maitreya. These passages all mean that the internally hidden virtue will spontaneously rise to the surface.

Sushun Tennō Gosho, The ‘Emperor Sushun’ Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 120

QUESTION: If someone chanted Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō without understanding its meaning will the benefit of understanding still be received?

ANSWER: When a baby nurses, it does not comprehend the taste; nevertheless, it receives the benefits of the milk naturally. Did anyone know the ingredients or formula for Jīvaka’s wondrous medicines? Water is without intent but it can extinguish fire; and even though fire consumes many things, can we say it does this deliberately? This is Nāgārjuna and T’ien-t’ai’s idea! I am merely repeating it.

Shishin Gohon-shō, The Four Depths of Faith and Five Stages of Practice, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice,
Volume 4, Page 112

QUESTION: Why don’t you encourage people to contemplate the three thousand existences contained in one thought, instead of only advocating the chanting of the daimoku?

ANSWER: The two characters in the name Japan bring together all 66 provinces, with all their people, animals, and wealth without a single exception. Likewise, don’t the two characters for India bring together all 70 of its countries? Miao-lê says, “As a summation of the whole sūtra the entirety of the Lotus Sūtra is included in the daimoku.” He also says, “By way of summary the ten realms or ten aspects are used to indicate the entirety of the 3,000 existences.” Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī and the Venerable Ānanda used the daimoku of Myōhō Renge Kyō to indicate the entirety of the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra in three assemblies over the period of the last eight years of the Buddha’s teaching; and to indicate that this is what they meant the sūtra begins with the words “Thus have I heard.”

Shishin Gohon-shō, The Four Depths of Faith and Five Stages of Practice, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice,
Volume 4, Page 112-113

When we worship gods or Buddhas, we begin with the phrase of “namu.” Namu is an Indian word that has come to mean “offering of life to Buddhas and gods” in China and Japan. Our social standing is determined in part by possessing a spouse and children, retainers, fiefs, and gold and silver, though some people do not have these. Regardless of whether we possess these or not, no one possesses treasure more precious than life. Accordingly, sages and wise men in the past have donated their lives to the Buddhas in order to attain Buddhahood.

That is to say, Young Ascetic in the Snow Mountains offered his own body to a demon in order to learn a holy teaching consisting of eight Chinese characters. Medicine King Bodhisattva burned his own elbow and offered it to the Lotus Sūtra as a light. In Japan, Prince Shōtoku peeled the skin of his own hand to write the Lotus Sūtra on it, and Emperor Tenchi burned his third finger as an offering to Śākyamuni Buddha. These are deeds of sages and wise men, which are impossible for us ordinary people to emulate.

Nevertheless, ordinary people can become Buddhas by fully understanding the meaning of the word of “kokorozashi (intention)” and practicing it. What is the intention? When we consider this in detail, it refers to the doctrine of spiritual contemplation. What does the doctrine of spiritual contemplation mean? It means the way of practicing the teaching of the Buddha according to the intent of the Buddha, not necessarily according to what is literally said in the sūtra. For example, if a man donates his only set of clothes, which he wears for the cause of the Lotus Sūtra, this is the same as peeling his own skin for the sake of the Dharma. Suppose there is a man during the time of a famine who offers to the Buddha the only food he has to stay alive for a day. This is the same as offering his life to the Buddha.

These offerings are as meritorious as the offering of an elbow by Medicine King Bodhisattva or the offering by Young Ascetic in the Snow Mountains of his own body to a demon. Therefore, we can say that the self-sacrificial offerings of sages are phenomenal whereas the offerings of ordinary people according to the intent of the Buddha are noumenal. The doctrine of offering, one of the six practices for bodhisattvas to attain enlightenment, preached in the Great Concentration and Insight, part seven, refers to this noumenal offering, i.e. the practice of offering according to the intent of the Buddha.

Jiri Kyuō Gosho, Phenomenal Offering and Noumenal Offering, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4,
Page 104

Life is fleeting! No matter how many powerful enemies join forces against you, do not retreat and never be afraid. Even if your head is sawed off, your torso pierced through with a spear, and your feet shackled and drilled with a gimlet, you should continue chanting “Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō” as long as you have life. If you die chanting it, Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, and Buddhas in manifestation throughout the universe will immediately come flying, lead you by the hand or carry you on their shoulders to Mt. Sacred Eagle as they had promised at the assembly on Mt. Sacred Eagle. At that moment, two sages (Bodhisattvas Medicine King and Brave Donor), two heavenly kings (World Holding and Vaiśravaṇa), and ten female rākṣasa demons will protect you, upholders of the Lotus Sūtra, and various gods and deities will hold up a canopy over your head, wave banners, guard you, and certainly will send you to the Jeweled Land of Tranquil Light. Is not this the utmost happiness?

Nyosetsu Shugyō-shō, True Way of Practicing the Teaching of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 92-93

[T]he two Buddhas, Śākyamuni and Many Treasures, are functions of the substance, that is the five characters of myō, hō, renge, and kyō. In other words, the Lotus Sūtra is the Original Buddha. “The Life Span of the Buddha” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra mentions the Buddha’s “hidden core and divine powers.” The hidden core of the World Honored One refers to the substance of the Original Buddha possessing the threefold body (Dharma Body, Reward Body, and Accommodative Body). The divine powers mean the three bodies of manifested Buddhas as functions of the Original Buddha (substance). Also, we unenlightened people can fundamentally be the Original Buddha with three bodies of the substance, and the Buddha’s three bodies are functions and manifestations of the Original Buddha. If this is true, although we believed that Śākyamuni Buddha provided the three virtues of master, teacher and parent to us, instead it was we unenlightened people who provide three virtues to the Buddha. The reason why we say this is based on T’ien-t’ai’s interpretation in the ninth fascicle of the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra that, “The Tathagata (Thus-come One) is a common term for all Buddhas in ten directions in the past, present, and future, two Buddhas (True Body and Accommodative Body), three Buddhas (Dharma Body, Reward Body, and Accommodative Body), the Original Buddha and Buddhas in manifestation.” In this annotation, the Original Buddha refers to unenlightened people and Buddhas in manifestation mean Buddhas. However, there is a difference between unenlightened people and enlightened Buddhas, and those people are unaware that both people and Buddhas originally possess the same threefold bodies either as substance or function.

Shohō Jissō-shō, Treatise on All Phenomena as Ultimate Reality, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 81