Nichiren is often compared to the Bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta, known in Japan as Jōfugyō Bosatsu i.e., the Bodhisattva Never Despise. Living in a time when the spiritual capacity of the people was at its lowest ebb, the Bodhisattva did neither read nor recite, expound nor copy the sutra, but merely honored and respected the Buddha-seed existing in all living beings. The Jōfugyō Bosatsu Chapter of the Hokekyō tells his story:

That monk did not devote himself to reading and reciting the Sūtras, but only to paying respect, so that when he saw afar off a member of the four classes of disciples, he would specially go and pay respect to them, commending them, saying: “I dare not slight you, because you are all to become Buddhas”. Amongst the four classes, there were those who, irritated and angry and low-minded, reviled and abused him saying: “Where does this ignorant bhikshu come from, who takes it on himself to say, “I do not slight you”, and who predicts us as destined to become Buddhas? We need no such false predictions.” Thus, he passed many years, constantly reviled but never irritated or angry, always saying: “You are to become Buddhas”. Whenever he spoke thus, they beat him with clubs, sticks, potsherds, or stones. But, while escaping to a distance, he still cried aloud: “I dare not slight you. You are all to become Buddhas”. And because he always spoke thus, the haughty monks, nuns, and their disciples dubbed him: Never Despise.

Nichiren, however, did not recognize the comparison, since he maintained that the practice of “receiving and keeping” was to be understood as the practice of the Original Buddha. Recitation of the Title by men was thus the voice of the Original Buddha; all men could realize the Buddha in themselves by reciting the Title.