The human body is equipped with two shoulders — left and right — and a god resides on each one. One of the gods is called Dōmyō-jin and the other is Dōshō-jin. The King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, Sun Deity and Moon Deity cause these two gods to protect us from the time of our conception in the womb to the end of our lives, by sticking near us like our shadow and eyes. They report to the heavenly beings about our misdeeds and virtuous actions without fail. This is preached in the Flower Garland Sūtra, which is expounded by Grand Master T’ien-t’ai in his Great Concentration and Insight, fascicle 8.

Shijō Kingo-dono Nyōbō Gohenji, A Reply to the Wife of Lord Shijō Kingo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7,
Followers II, Pages 121-122

The true Buddhist way does not exist outside of the truth in the mundane world. It is stated in the Sūtra of the Golden Splendor, “If one fully understands the worldly law, one knows the Buddhist law.” It is preached in the Nirvana Sūtra, “Non-Buddhist scriptures and commentaries in the secular world all were in reality preached by the Buddha. They are nothing but Buddhist teachings.” The Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 6, also declares, “All the activities and daily works of people in the secular world do not contradict the truth preached by the Buddha.” Collating the two scriptural citations from the Sūtra of the Golden Splendor and the Nirvana Sūtra with that from the Lotus Sūtra, Grand Master Miao-lê explains the mind of the Buddha. According to Grand Master Miao-lê, although the two sūtras (the Sūtra of the Golden Splendor and the Nirvana Sūtra) seem doctrinally profound, their doctrines are superficial when compared to the Lotus Sūtra. Namely, in those two sūtras the worldly law is explained in connection to the Buddhist law. In the Lotus Sūtra, however, the worldly law is interpreted as the totality of the Buddhist law. The pre-Lotus sūtras preach, “Everything is begotten from the mind, which is like the great earth. Grass and trees which grow on the earth is like all things that exist.” The Lotus Sūtra, on the contrary, states, “the mind is the great earth, which is grass and trees.” The pre-Lotus sūtras would say, “Mind is as clear as the moon, and as pure as a flower,” whereas the Lotus Sūtra would say, “The moon is nothing but mind, and flower is nothing but mind.”

Contemplating this, I am sure that the bale of polished rice you donated is not just a bale of rice; it is life.

Jiri Kyuō Gosho, Phenomenal Offering and Noumenal Offering, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice,
Volume 4, Page 105

Smiling gently, the master stopped the traveler and said:
They say that a knotgrass eater gets used to its sharp taste, and an insect living in a honey bucket does not smell its offensive odor. Affected by surroundings, people tend to lose their sense of judgement. So you take a good word for a bad one, call the slanderer of the True Dharma a holy man, and suspect the true teacher of being a false one. You are utterly confused and have committed a grave sin. Now listen carefully, I will explain in detail what caused your confusion.

Śākyamuni Buddha’s lifetime preachings in five periods were done in sequence and proper use of provisional and true teachings. He began with provisional doctrines which were easier to understand by less prepared people with lesser capacity. Gradually, the Buddha preached doctrines progressively closer to the truth and more difficult to comprehend, as the listeners became better prepared, until finally He revealed the ultimate truth in preaching the Lotus Sūtra.

Risshō Ankoku-ron, Treatise on Spreading Peace Throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Pages 113-114

The Buddha is a man of true words, and that is the reason why He is called a holy or great man. Wise men, sages, or non-Buddhist (geten and gedō) hermits must have been so named because they were men of true words. The Buddha is called a great man because He is superior to all these people. This great man, the Buddha declares in the second “Expedients” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra: “Buddhas have come to this world for the sole purpose of carrying out one important task.” He also declares in the Muryō-gi-kyō (Sūtra of Infinite Meaning): “The true teaching has not been revealed for some forty years since My enlightenment.” It is further stated in the second chapter of the Lotus Sūtra: “The truth will be revealed at long last, after preaching for a long time,” and “He will reveal it by casting aside all expedient means.” These words of the Buddha were attested to be true by the Buddha of Many Treasures in the “Appearance of the Stupa of Treasures” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, and various Buddhas in manifestation (funjin) also stuck out their long and broad tongues confirming the truth of these words in the “Divine Powers of the Buddha” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra. Under the circumstances who could cast doubt on the words in the Lotus Sūtra assuring that such Hinayāna sages (Two Vehicles) as Śāripūtra and Kāśyapa would be the future Flower Light Buddha and Light Buddha?

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 37

What sort of age is it, when such sagacious masters risk their lives in seeking and disseminating the dharma? Regarding this, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai teaches in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “Depending on the era, use an aggressive means of propagation at times and persuasive means at other times.” Grand Master Chang-an, T’ien-t’ai’s disciple, states in his Commentary on the Nirvana Sūtra: “Choose between the aggressive and persuasive means of propagation according to the age; do not stick to one means.” The Lotus Sūtra always preaches the same teaching, but there is a great difference in practicing or spreading its teaching depending on the ability of people and condition of the time. Then, what kind of teaching and in what way should we spread it in the Latter Age of Degeneration in this land of Japan?

Shuju Onfurumai Gosho, Reminiscences: from Tatsunokuchi to Minobu, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Disciples, Volume 5, Pages 24

Now we live in a Latter Age. People are not saints, astray in a dark alley leading to hell, and are forgetting all about the direct route to Buddhahood. How sad it is that no one awakens them! What a pity it is that only false faith grows rampant!

Risshō Ankoku-ron, Treatise on Spreading Peace Throughout the Country by Establishing the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 111

The following are words of Grand Masters T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lê urging ordinary people in the Latter Age of Degeneration to have faith in the Lotus Sūtra. Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “A tree named kōken-ju has a thirty-three foot long bud in the ground. A bird named kalaviṅka twitters more beautifully than any other bird even when it stays in an eggshell.” This explains the merit of the fiftieth person who rejoices at hearing the Lotus Sūtra transmitted one after another by those who rejoice at hearing the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha graciously revealed the merit of the fiftieth person in order to preach that the merits of an ignorant person who rejoices at having an opportunity to hear the Lotus Sūtra for even a moment are hundred thousand billion times more valuable than the merit of a great saint who has upheld the expedient practices and teachings expounded in the pre-Lotus sūtras for aeons. This is why Grand Master T’ien-t’ai presented these sayings—to show the heart of this sūtra. The koken-ju tree grows thirty-three feet in height a day. The bird kalaviṅka, even when very young, twitters more beautifully than other birds, large or small. Thus T’ien-t’ai compared the long period necessary to practice the expedient teachings to the slow growth of various plants and trees, and the immediate attainment of Buddhahood through the practice of the Lotus Sūtra to the rapid growth of the koken-ju which grows thirty-three feet a day. He also compared great or minor saints who keep expedient teachings to various birds, and ordinary people who intently keep faith in the Lotus Sūtra to the cry of a kalaviṅka bird in the eggshell which is superior to that of other birds.

Ichidai Shōgyō Tai-I, Outline of All the Holy Teachings of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 76-77

Now in my humble opinion, there are many differences between those scriptures preached by the Buddha during the first forty years or so and the Lotus Sūtra, which was preached during the last eight years. However, what scholars consider to be most important, with which I certainly agree, are the concepts of nijō-sabutsu (obtaining Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles) and kuon-jitsujō (attaining Enlightenment in the eternal past.)

First, as for nijō-sabutsu, it is revealed in the Lotus Sūtra that
Śāripūtra is the future Flower Light Buddha (in chapter 3) while Kāśyapa will be Light Buddha in the future; Subhūti, Beautiful Form Buddha; Kātyāyana, Jāmbūnada Golden Light Buddha; Maudgalyāyana, Tamālapatracandana Fragrance Buddha (chapter 6); Pūrṇa, Law Brightness Buddha (chapter 8); Ananda, Mountain Sea Wisdom Buddha; Rāhula, Stepping On Seven Treasure Flower Buddha; two groups of arhats, 500 and 700 in number respectively, Universal Brightness Buddhas; 2,000 of those who have obtained arhatship and those who have not, Treasure Form Buddhas (chapter 9); and female disciples of Mahā-Prajāpatī and Yaśodharā will be Gladly Seen by All Buddha and Emitting Ten Million Ray Buddha respectively in the future (chapter 13).

These people of the Two Vehicles appear to be respected as future Buddhas in the Lotus Sūtra, but are often disappointing in scriptures preached before it, where it is considered that they are unable to ever obtain Buddhahood.

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 36-37

When I read all the Buddhist scriptures other than the Lotus Sūtra, they leave me without the slightest desire to become a woman. A certain sūtra declares that the woman is a messenger of hell, another sūtra preaches that she is a poisonous snake, one sūtra says that she is like a curved tree, while another sūtra preaches that her seed of Buddhahood has been scorched.

Degrading women is not only found in Buddhist scriptures but also in non-Buddhist scriptures. A man named Yung Ch’i-ch’i in ancient China celebrated the three comforts of life, listing not having been born female in heaven and earth as one of the three.

Moreover, it is said in China the source of misfortune lies with three women (who corrupted the three rulers of ancient China). However, it is preached in the Lotus Sūtra, “A woman who upholds this sūtra is not only superior to all other women but surpasses all men.”

A woman should be satisfied when the man she loves feels compassion for her, even if others slander her. Likewise, it matters little if people despise you, so long as Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, as well as the Buddhas of manifestation in the worlds throughout the universe, the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, Sun Deity and Moon Deity look after you, how could you be in pain! As long as the Lotus Sūtra praises you, there is no reason to feel ashamed!

Shijō Kingo-dono Nyōbō Gohenji, A Reply to the Wife of Lord Shijō Kingo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7,
Followers II, Pages 121

[W]hen the Buddha preached the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra, He displayed omens far superior to the omens presented when the pre-Lotus sūtras and the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra were preached. The severe quakes of the earth when the Stupa of Treasures sprang out of the earth (in the “Beholding the Stupa of Treasures” chapter) and the numerous bodhisattva disciples of the Original Buddha that emerged from the earth simultaneously (“Emergence of Bodhisattvas from the Earth” chapter) created waves as high as mountains that tossed sailing boats around in a stormy ocean as if they were tiny reed leaves.

Therefore, while Bodhisattva Maitreya asked Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī to explain the omens shown in the “Introductory” chapter, he asked his question to the Buddha directly regarding the great omens shown in the “Emergence of the Bodhisattvas from the Earth” chapter. Grand Master Miao-lê explains this in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 3, “As for the theoretical section, Mañjuśrī could be trusted, but the essential section is too profound for anyone to conjecture. Therefore, Bodhisattva Maitreya had no one but the Buddha to direct his questions.” Thus, Mañjuśrī had a general understanding regarding the teaching of the theoretical section though the Buddha did not preach it. However, even Mañjuśrī could not fathom the doctrine of the essential section. And yet great omens such as these occurred during the lifetime of the Buddha.

Zuisō Gosho, Writing on Omens, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 124-125