[B]eginning with Śākyamuni Buddha, such Buddhas as the Buddha of Infinite Life, Medicine Master Buddha, and the Buddha of Many Treasures as well as such bodhisattvas as Avalokiteśvara, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, Samantabhadra, and Mañjuśrī are compassionate parents to us. You should not forget that the ultimate doctrine of compassion with which these Buddhas and bodhisattvas guide the people is solely in the Lotus Sūtra. You should remember that the secret doctrine to save the evil, the stupid, women, and those without Buddha-nature is not revealed in sūtras other than the Lotus Sūtra. This is the very reason why the Lotus Sūtra is superior to all other Buddhist scriptures.

Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 15

When Queen Māyā became pregnant with her child, the future Śākyamuni Buddha, the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven saw through her womb and said: “The queen is pregnant with a sharp sword called the Lotus Sūtra, which is our sworn enemy. How can we eliminate it before it is born?” Pretending to be a great doctor, the Demon entered the palace of King Śuddhodana and talked the queen into drinking poison, saying it was medicine effective for easy childbirth. At the very moment when the Buddha was born, the Demon King caused a rain of stones to fall and mixed the baby’s milk with poison. When Prince Siddhārtha left the palace to become a monk, the Demon King, this time, pretended to be a black poisonous snake blocking the prince’s way. Furthermore, the Demon King entered the bodies of Devadatta, Kokālika, King Virūḍhaka, and King Ajātaśatru, making them throw huge rocks at the Buddha to draw blood or to kill members of the Śākya people and Buddha’s disciples. These almost fatal obstacles to the Buddha were the work of the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven to stop the Buddha from preaching the Lotus Sūtra. They are what is referred to when the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 10 on “The Teacher of the Dharma,” mentions, “Many people hate it with jealousy even in My lifetime.” These were the difficulties the Buddha experienced quite early in His lifetime, and many terrible difficulties awaited Him later. Since Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and the other great bodhisattvas could not believe in the Lotus Sūtra, they, in spite of living close to the Buddha, were the worst enemies in the forty or so years before the Lotus Sūtra was preached.

These things happened in the Buddha’s lifetime, and in the future, more horrible difficulties will probably occur as predicted in the chapter which says: “It will be worse after I die.” How can ordinary people bear those difficulties while even the Buddha could hardly bear them? How much more so, as the difficulties we are to face are said to be more tremendous than those that the Buddha had encountered! No difficulties seem more horrible than Devadatta’s attempted murder of the Buddha with a huge rock thirty feet long and sixteen feet wide or King Ajatasatru’s attempt to hurt the Buddha by releasing a drunken elephant. Nevertheless, according to the sūtra, we shall encounter difficulties greater than those. One who often encounters such difficulties, through no fault of his own, must be a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra after the Buddha’s death.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 7-8.

The distinct teaching is a Mahāyāna doctrine that expounds the Three Learnings: Buddhist precepts, meditation, and wisdom. The Buddhist precepts in this teaching, different from those of the Tripiṭaka or Common teaching, are the Diamond Treasure Precepts, which will never be broken.

Bodhisattvas of the distinct teaching are not intimidated by the Three Evil Realms of hell, nor are they afraid of the realms of hungry souls and beasts. Instead, they fear the practices of the Two Vehicles, regarding them as the true Three Evil Realms. For in the Three Evil Realms the seed of Buddhahood will not die out, while in the Vehicles practices of śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha the seed of Buddhahood will vanish. As it is written in the Commentary on Adornment of the Mahāyāna Teachings, “Though being always in hell is not the obstacle against attaining the great Buddhahood, it would be an obstacle if one seeks self-interest.” This means that the true evil realm lies in the burning pit of the three unchanging principles of Hinayāna Buddhism, and that the truly evil ones are the men of the Two Vehicles. Therefore, it is preached that it is preferable to commit evil acts than to keep the precepts of the Two Vehicles.

Ichidai Shōgyō Tai-I, Outline of All the Holy Teachings of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin,
Doctrine 3, Page 70

The Buddha preached the two doctrines … that those who slander the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra will fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering and those who praise and admire the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra will be rewarded with merit superior to that of those who embrace the Buddha, but they are difficult to understand. Just how, one may wonder, can serving an ordinary person be more meritorious than serving the Buddha? If, however, we say that these two doctrines are false, we call into question the golden words of Śākyamuni Buddha, neglect the testimony of the Buddha of Many Treasures, and negate the proof of the long, wide tongues of the numerous Buddhas in manifestation from all the worlds in the universe. We will then fall into the Avīci Hell. It is as dangerous as riding a wild horse running on the rocks. On the other hand, if we believe in these two doctrines, we will become Buddhas of great Enlightenment. We therefore must establish a firm faith in the Lotus Sūtra during this lifetime. Practicing this sūtra without having a firm faith is like trying to grab hold of a jewel in a mountain of treasures without hands or walking a journey of 1,000 ri (4,000 km) without feet. It is best for us to put faith in the Buddha by observing the objective phenomena.

Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 51

In the ninth fascicle of his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, Grand Master Miao-lê declares: “Before the eternal life of the Buddha Śākyamuni was revealed in ‘The Life Span of the Buddha’ chapter, the permanence of the three bodies of the Buddha had not been revealed. When the permanence of the Buddha’s lifetime was revealed in this chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, the unified threefold body in both the essential and theoretical sections of this sūtra was clarified.” In his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 9, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai preaches: “The three bodies of the Buddha have always been fused into one throughout the past, present and future lives. However, this was kept in secrecy and not revealed in the pre-Lotus sūtras.”

Hasshū Imoku-shō, A Treatise on the Differences of the Lotus Sect from Eight Other Sects, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 15

Only honest people can have faith in the truth of the Lotus Sūtra, the true words of the Buddha. Since you are an honest woman, you are able to have faith in the Lotus Sūtra. You should know that even if we were to see a person holding up Mt. Sumeru while crossing an ocean, we could never see a woman like you. Even if we were to see a person who could transform steaming sand to rice, we would never see a woman like you. You should know that Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, Buddhas of manifestation throughout the universe, great bodhisattvas such as Superior Practice and Limitless Practice, King Mahābrahman, Indra, and the Four Heavenly Kings will protect you and follow you like a shadow follows a body. You are the greatest female practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in Japan. Therefore, following the example of Never Despising Bodhisattva, who gave everybody assurance of attaining Buddhahood, I present you a Buddhist name, Nichimyō Shōnin.

Nichimyō Shōnin Gosho, A Letter to Nichimyō Shōnin, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 141

When a man dies, his spirit leaves the body, allowing it to be occupied by demons, who destroy the future generations. This is the so-called hungry demon devouring itself. When a wise man praises the Lotus Sūtra and inspires the spirit into his remains, the spirit of the dead becomes the Dharma Body though his corpse remains human. This is the doctrine of “recognizing the immutable reality of all phenomena while alive.”

Mokue Nizō Kaigen no Koto, Opening the Eyes of Buddhist Images, Wooden Statues or Portraits, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 98

If those words of the sūtra prove to be empty, Venerable Śāriputra will not be Flower Light Buddha, as stated in the Lotus Sūtra. Likewise, Venerable Kāśyapa will not be Light Buddha, Venerable Maudgalyāyana will not be Tamalapatra-candana Fragrance Buddha, Ānanda will not be Mountain Sea Wisdom Supernatural Power King Buddha, Bhikṣunī Mahā-Prajāpatī will not be Gladly Seen by All Living Beings Buddha, and Yaśodharā will not be Endowed with Ten Million Glowing Marks Buddha. The teaching of the “3,000 dust-particle kalpa” expounded in the “Parable of Magic City” chapter will be a useless discussion; and that of the “500 (million) dust-particle kalpa” in “The Life Span of the Buddha” chapter will be a lie. Probably Lord Śākyamuni will fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering; the Buddha Many Treasures will be burnt in the fire in the Hell of Incessant Suffering; Buddhas in manifestation in all the worlds in the universe will fall into the eight horrible hells; and all the bodhisattvas will be tortured with 136 kinds of torment. How could such things happen? They will never happen, as I am sure that all the people in Japan will come to chant “Namu Myōhōrengekyō.”

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 53

I pray that people in the Latter Age may somehow discard the meaningless doctrines established by founders of various sects on feeble scriptural bases, putting faith in the significant teaching supported by Śākyamuni and the Buddha of Many Treasures as well as numerous Buddhas manifested in the worlds all over the universe with strong evidence in sūtras. How much less should they rely on latter scholars of various sects preoccupied with sectarian prejudices and the ignorant of the Latter Age who discard sūtras and commentaries according to such latter sectarian scholars?

Therefore, it is stated in the Nirvana Sūtra, the postscript of the Lotus Sūtra, which was preached last in the śāla forest, that the Buddha willed to Kāśyapa Bodhisattva: “Rely upon the dharma preached by the Buddha, not upon the words of the man; upon the true meaning of the Buddha, not upon the words and letters; upon wisdom, not upon knowledge; and upon the sūtras completely revealing the true meaning, not upon sūtras not completely revealing the true meaning not upon knowledge; and upon the sūtras completely revealing the true meaning, not upon sūtras not completely revealing the true meaning.”

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Pages 17-18

The third chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, called “A Parable,” states that this triple world is the Buddha’s world and all the people living in it are His children. We, ignorant people, full of evil passions, can be as meritorious as Śākyamuni Buddha because He bestows upon us all His merit. The Sūtra’s second chapter, called “Expedients” affirms also that we are equivalent to Śākyamuni Buddha. This proves that the believers of the Lotus Sūtra reach the same level as Śākyamuni Buddha. For instance, a child is born from the unity of his parents. Therefore, who could argue that the child’s body is not his parents’ body? A child of the king of oxen will become a king of oxen but not a king of lions. A child of the king of lions will become a king of lions but not a king of humans or heavenly beings.

Now, practicers of the Lotus Sūtra are Lord Śākyamuni’s children as he has said, “They are all my children.” It is therefore possible for them to become kings of the dharma just as Śākyamuni is king of the dharma. However, unfilial children cannot succeed their parents. The Crown Prince Tan-chu of King Yao and Prince Shang-chün of King Shun, who were unfilial, were disowned by their fathers and became commoners. On the other hand, Chung-hua and Yu were both children of commoners, but due to their filial piety, they were called respectively by King Yao and King Shun to succeed them on the throne. Thus, commoners instantly rose to the level of kings. A commoner instantly rising to the level of kings is equivalent to an ignorant person suddenly attaining Buddhahood. This is the essential point of the “3,000 existences contained in one thought” doctrine.

Nichimyō Shōnin Gosho, A Letter to Nichimyō Shōnin, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II,
Volume 7, Page 139