It is stated in a sūtra that Śākyamuni Buddha called such heavenly beings as the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the sun, the moon, the Four Heavenly Kings, and dragons of this Sahā World as well as other worlds together and had them make written pledges in front of Himself, the Buddha of Many Treasures, and various Buddhas from other worlds throughout the universe, stating:

“In the Ages of the True, Semblance, and Latter Dharmas after the passing of Śākyamuni Buddha, evil spirits such as the king of devils in the Sixth Heaven and devils will enter the bodies of the king and his subjects, causing trouble to disciples of the Buddha regardless of whether or not they observe precepts or break them. If those heavenly beings who made written pledges to Buddhas see or hear about the troubled Buddha’s disciples but do nothing to punish the king and his subjects, the King of the Brahma Heaven and Indra will inevitably send a messenger to the Four Heavenly Kings ordering punishment for them. In case the community deities do not punish the king and his subjects who trouble Buddha’s disciples, such deities will be dealt with by the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra and the Four Heavenly Kings. The same will be true with the King of the Brahma Heaven and Indra. The King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra and the Four Heavenly Kings in other worlds will never fail to punish their counterparts in this world, who do not carry out their promised duty. If they don’t, they will be unable to see Buddhas in the past, present and future lives, lose the ranks of the King of the Brahma Heaven and Indra forever, and fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering.”

Kangyō Hachiman-shō, Remonstration with Bodhisattva Hachiman, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 261-262

If you pass away before I, call yourself a disciple of Nichiren, the foremost practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in Japan, in front of the King of the Brahman Heaven, Indra, the Four Great Heavenly Kings, King Yama, and so forth. They will not treat you carelessly.

Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō-dono Gosho, A Letter to Lord Nanjō Hyōe Shichirō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 146.

Two different kinds of hell exist beneath the earth. The first is a hell of flame; the fire of this hell is like molten iron, which ignites charcoal, burns fields, and consumes all things. To burn sinners in such a fire is simple, exactly like throwing paper or wood chips into a bonfire. Those who commit arson-robbery, who attack their enemies with fire, or women whose hearts burn with jealousy fall into this flaming hell and must suffer the intense heat.

The second kind of hell is a hell of ice. There are eight hells of ice as explained by the Nirvana Sutra: “Eight hells of ice and cold exist. They are the Ahaha Hell, the Atata Hell, the Arara Hell, the Ababa Hell, the Ubara Hell, the Hazuma Hell, the Kumozu Hell, and the Fundari Hell.” The names of the eight hells of ice and cold arise from sinners’ different screams of pain and their different skin colors caused by the cold. The bitter cold of these hells is like the north wind of Lake Suwa in Shinano Province (Nagano Prefecture) or on Mount Tateyama in Etchū Province (Toyama Prefecture). Imagine the intense cold which causes the birds atop Mount Hakusan of Kaga Province (Ishikawa Prefecture) to huddle with their wings folded. Imagine the lonely cold of the widow’s feet. Imagine the desperate cold of the pheasant, forced down and surrounded by snow. Having to endure the cold, the sinners shiver with their chins chattering, and they say, “ahaha, atata, arara.” The cold causes the sinners’ skins to turn red, a condition called “red lotus” or “great red lotus.”

Those who fall into this hell are those who steal clothes, or who warm themselves while their parents or teachers suffer from the cold in this life.

Otā-dono Nyōbō Go-henji, A Response to the Wife of Lord, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 144-146

Filial devotion preached in Confucianism is limited to this life. Confucian sages and wise men exist in name only because they do not help parents in their future lives. Non-Buddhist religions in India know of the past as well as the future, but they do not know how to help parents. Only Buddhism is worthy of being the way of sages and wise men, as it helps parents in future lives. However, both the Mahāyāna and Hinayāna sūtras expounded before the Lotus Sūtra preach Buddhahood in name only, without substance. Therefore the practicers of such sūtras will not be able to obtain Buddhahood even for themselves, not to speak of helping parents obtain Buddhahood. Now coming to the Lotus Sūtra, when the enlightenment of women was revealed, the enlightenment of mothers was realized; and when a man as wicked as Devadatta could attain Buddhahood, the enlightenment of fathers was realized. These are the two proclamations of the Buddha in the “Devadatta” chapter, and this is the reason why the Lotus Sūtra is the sūtra of the filial way among all the Buddhist scriptures.

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 91

I understand that you are pregnant and that you’d like to have a charm for an easy childbirth. I have chosen one for you from among those charms which had been transmitted to me. Please have firm faith in the Buddha. Even a panacea would not do any good if it were mixed with poison; even a sharp sword would not help a coward. Especially since you both uphold the Lotus Sūtra, there is no doubt that you will have a child as precious as jade, who will inherit the Lotus Sūtra. Congratulations to you! Your child will inherit not only your flesh and blood, but also your hearts. Why should you not have an easy delivery? On top of everything else, this charm will help you out.

Shijō Kingo Nyōbō Gosho, A Letter to the Wife of Shijō Kingo, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 58-60

Tripitaka Master Kumārajīva used to say from his own pulpit:

“All the scriptures of Buddhism in Chinese do not represent the true meaning of the original Sanskrit. Hoping to reveal this, I have made a great vow: “I have made my body impure by getting married, but as far as my tongue is concerned, I will keep it pure and refrain from speaking falsely on Buddhism.” To prove it, cremate my body after my death. If my tongue burns together with my body, you should consider my translations of scripture as false and discard them all.”

Therefore, everybody, from the emperor down to the populace, wished to live long enough to see the death of Tripiṭaka Master Kumārajīva. Later, when he died and was cremated, his impure corpse all became ashes, but his tongue alone remained unburnt on the blue lotus that appeared in the fire. Radiating rays of five colors, it shone so brightly, that the night looked as bright as the day, and even the sun in the day paled in comparison. As a result, estimation of the sūtras translated by all other masters began to decline while those translated by Kumārajīva, especially the Lotus Sūtra, began to spread quickly in China.

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 211

A man called Nichiren was beheaded at one o’clock during the night of the twelfth day in the ninth month last year. His soul has come to the province of Sado and is writing this in the midst of snow in February in the following year to be sent to his closely related disciples from past lives. As such this writing of mine may sound to you frightening but it should not. How fearful others will be when they read this writing! This is the bright mirror in which Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, and other Buddhas in manifestation all over the universe reflected the state of Japan in the future, namely through the conditions of Japan today. Consider this as my memento in case I die.

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 91

The Sūtra of Transmission of the Buddhist Teaching relates the story of how a boy who had donated a rice cake made of sand to the Buddha in the past was reborn a hundred years later as the ruler governing one-fourth of the Jambudvīpa. This story refers to Emperor Aśoka. It is stated in the Lotus Sūtra, “The Teacher of the Dharma” chapter, that if we compare the merit received through making various offerings to Śākyamuni Buddha for as long as one kalpa (aeon) with that of helping a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra for a short while in the Latter Age of Degeneration, the merit of helping a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra is superior. Grand Master Miao-lê explains this in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “Donors to the upholder of the Lotus Sūtra are superior to those who make donations to the Buddha with the ten epithets.” Therefore, the merit of your donation to me is superior to the merit of making a donation to the Buddha. Accordingly, there is no doubt that you will attain Buddhahood.

Takahashī-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Takahashi, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Pages 82-83