I wonder what the Buddha had in mind when He declared in the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning, “I had preached the Dharma variously through expedient means without revealing the truth for forty years or so.” The Buddha thus invalidated the teachings of all the sūtras preached in the first 40 years or so, including such teachings as “Rebirth in the Land of Utmost Bliss,” like an outdated living will of parents. The Buddha further stated in this sūtra, “With those teachings, no one can attain enlightenment even if one practices them for innumerable and incalculable kalpa.” In the second chapter on the “Expedients” of the Lotus Sūtra the Buddha also preached, “Honestly discarding the expedient teachings, I will expound only the unsurpassed way.” He preaches to us to discard expedient teachings. It means that we should abandon the teachings that were expounded during the forty years or so, …

Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō-dono Gosho, A Letter to Lord Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin,
Doctrine 3, Pages 128

In the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra, it was revealed that the Buddha had attained perfect enlightenment in the eternal past, making it untenable to assert that He attained Buddhahood for the first time in this world. Thus the Eternal Buddha doctrine destroyed the Buddhahood resulting from the Four Teachings (all Buddhist scriptures other than the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra). As the Buddhahood resulting from the Four Teachings became untenable, the way leading to Buddhahood shown in those Four Teachings proved to be invalid. Thus the Ten Realm doctrine preached in the pre-Lotus and the theoretical section of the Lotus was destroyed and the doctrine of causal relationship among the eternal Ten Realms was established in the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra. This is the doctrine of the “true cause and true result.” In this relationship the Nine Realms are all included in the realm of the Eternal Buddha, and the realm of the Buddha is in each of the eternal Nine Realms. This is truly the “mutually-possessed characteristics of the Ten Realms,” “100 realms and 1,000 aspects of existence” and “3,000 in one thought.”

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 47

Each of you who claims to be my disciple should never be a coward. Do not think of your parents, wife and children, or your fiefs for the sake of the Lotus Sūtra. Since numerous kalpa in the past till today, I have sacrificed my life more times than the number of dust particles on the earth for the sake of my parents, children and fiefs. However, I never lost my life for the Lotus Sūtra. Though I practiced this sūtra more or less in the past, I stopped it whenever I encountered any danger to my life. It is like adding cold water into a kettle of boiling water and ceasing to strike flints before starting a fire. We shall never have hot water or get the fire started.

Shuju Onfurumai Gosho, Reminiscences: from Tatsunokuchi to Minobu, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Disciples, Volume 5, Pages 25

Regretting that the Lotus Sūtra may be destined to be ignored in the Latter Age of Degeneration, Grand Master Miao-lê states in his Annotations on the Great Concentration and Insight:

“The Perfect teaching of the Lotus Sūtra that enables people to attain Buddhahood immediately has not been respected because those who study the Mahāyāna teachings during these times confuse the expedient teachings with the true teaching. Furthermore, in the Age of the Semblance Dharma or the Latter Age of Degeneration, the spiritual capacity of the people diminishes, and their faith weakens. Consequently, though there are libraries and chests filled with perfect and immediate teachings, it is disappointing that no one considers or studies them in the least. People are born with no purpose and die in vain without meeting Buddhism. How this is! Someone may say, ‘Just listening, without any type of practice, does not bring any merit.’ This person does not fully understand the everlasting merit that just listening to the Lotus Sūtra can cause one to become a Buddha. In the Zenjūtenshi Sutra, Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva told Venerable Śāriputra, ‘It is better to listen to the Dharma, slander it, and as a result, fall into hell than to make offerings to many Buddhas. For even though one slanders the True Dharma and falls into hell, his sin will become an ‘adverse condition’ causing him to get an opportunity to listen to the True Dharma after he emerges from hell.’ This compares the merit of those who listen to the Dharma to those who make offerings to the Buddha but do so without listening to the Dharma. Listening to the Dharma, even slandering it can be the seed for Buddhahood, though this will take a long time. Needless to say, this does not compare to the merit of those who listen to and contemplate the Dharma and strive to practice it.”

Ichidai Shōgyō Tai-I, Outline of All the Holy Teachings of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin,
Doctrine 3, Page 77-78

In the Lotus Sūtra proper, … the Buddha revealed the single path to Enlightenment, having synthesized three kinds of teaching (kaisan ken’itsu). He declared in the theoretical (shakumon) section of the Lotus Sūtra: “Only Buddhas wholly perceive the reality of all phenomena; truth will be revealed after preaching provisional teachings for more than forty years;” and “He will discard provisional teachings and will concentrate only on the supreme way.” The Buddha of Many Treasures then declared that those words of the Buddha in the eight (from the second to ninth) chapters in the theoretical section (shakumon) of the Lotus Sūtra were all true. What then should have been left unrevealed? Nevertheless, the eternal life of the Buddha was not revealed; instead it is said, “At first, He sat at the place of enlightenment, gazed on the tree, and walked around it meditating.” This is the greatest wonder of all.

Then the 15th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, “Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground,” states that Bodhisattva Maitreya wondered why the Buddha claimed to have taught the great bodhisattvas, who had never been seen before in the last forty years or so, and caused them to aspire for enlightenment. So, he asked: “When You, the Buddha, were the crown prince, You left the palace of the Śākya clan, sat in meditation under the bodhi tree not far from the city of Gayā and obtained the perfect enlightenment. It has only been some forty years since then. How could You, World Honored One, have achieved so much in a short period of time?”

It was at this point that Lord Śākyamuni Buddha decided to preach “The Life Span of the Buddha” chapter in order to dispel such doubts. Referring to what has been said in the pre-Lotus sūtras and in the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra, He said, “Gods, men and asura demons in all the worlds think that I, Śākyamuni Buddha, left the palace of Śākya clan, sat under the bodhi tree not far from the city of Gayā, and attained perfect enlightenment.” Then He answered the question squarely by declaring, “To tell the truth, however, it has been innumerable and incalculable kalpa since I attained Buddhahood.”

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 45-46

[T]he bad luck that comes with turning 33 years old will change to happiness for being 33, for this is what is preached in the Sūtra of the Benevolent King, “Seven troubles disappear instantly and seven good fortunes arise in a moment.” There is no mistake that you will grow younger and your happiness will increase. This is awe-inspiring, indeed.

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

We cannot determine what happens after death on our own. We can reach a decision on such matters only if we base our lives on the teaching of Śākyamuni Buddha, the true teacher of all the people.

Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō-dono Gosho, A Letter to Lord Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 127

Reason wins under the rule of a wise king, and unreasonableness gets the upper hand under the rule of an unwise sovereign. So remember it is the world of saintly people that the true teachings of the Lotus is revealed. Regarding this theology concerning whether or not it is possible for men of the Two Vehicles to become Buddhas, those sūtras preached before the Lotus Sūtra appear more powerful than the theoretical section (shakumon) of the Lotus. If the former, which insist that it is impossible, win over the latter, which maintains that it is possible, such men of the Two Vehicles as Śāripūtra will never be able to attain Buddhahood. How regrettable it would be for them!

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 44

Such chapters of the Lotus Sūtra as the “Expedients” say this sūtra should be expounded according to the capacity of people who listen while the “Never-Despising Bodhisattva” chapter insists that the sūtra should forcibly be spread among people who slander it. What is preached earlier and later in the same sūtra are as different as water and fire. However, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai interprets this in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra:

“People during the lifetime of the Buddha were virtuous in mind who had listened to the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra in a past existence. Therefore, the Buddha expounded the Hinayāna doctrines first in order to prepare them for enlightenment. Those at the time of Never-Despising Bodhisattva, however, had had no chance of listening to the Lotus Sūtra and were not virtuous in mind. Therefore, Never-Despising Bodhisattva preached the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra to them immediately in order to forcibly plant the seed of Buddhahood in them.”

This interpretation of T’ien-t’ai means that the Lotus Sūtra should be preached immediately to those who had a chance to hear the Lotus Sūtra in the past and are able to attain Buddhahood in this life. Of those in this category, people who slander the Lotus Sūtra upon listening to it again in this life should be prepared before-hand with provisional sūtras before being taught with the Lotus Sūtra. Those who had neither a chance to hear the Lotus teaching in the past nor the intention of putting faith in the Lotus Sūtra in this life will fall into evil realms anyway. Therefore, they should be forced to hear the Lotus Sūtra, causing them to slander the sūtra, which eventually enables them to attain Buddhahood in the future through the merit of reverse relationship.

Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice,  Volume 4, Page 23-24

Grand Master Miao-lê further interprets this in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “Those who misunderstand the Lotus Sūtra are convinced that the practicer of the sūtra in the advanced stages gains more merit and looks down on the practicing novice of the Lotus Sūtra, without knowing the great merit of beginning practicers of the Lotus Sūtra. Grand Master T’ien-t’ai, therefore, showed that even though the beginners have not practiced the Lotus Sūtra long enough, their merit is so deep that it can reveal the strength of the sūtra.” This statement of Grand Master Miao-lê describes the ignorant people in the Latter Age of Degeneration who praise the Lotus Sūtra but consider their own capacity inadequate to understand it saying, “It is true that the Lotus Sūtra expounds so profound a doctrine that it is not suitable for us ignorant people.”

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