The 16th chapter of the Lotus Sūtra on “The Life Span of the Buddha” states, “Various sūtras preached by the Buddha ever since His attainment of Buddhahood in the eternal past are nothing but the truth; none of them are provisional.” This is interpreted by Grand Master T’ien-t’ai in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 9: “All those who overcame illusions of the triple world through provisional teachings inevitably attained enlightenment. From this we can see that provisional pre-Lotus sūtras were expounded for the purpose of leading the people to the True Dharma of the Lotus Sūtra.”

Grand Master Miao-lê explains it further in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 9: “Overcoming illusions of the triple world through provisional teachings of pre-Lotus sūtras is provisional, not true, extinction. Therefore, it is termed ‘provisional extinction.’ Those who practiced three kinds of Buddhist practice (bodhisattvas, men of śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha) during the pre-Lotus periods all got rid of illusions of the triple world, and there exist no humans and heavenly beings who did not escape from the suffering of the three lowest realms (hell, realm of hungry spirits and that of beasts). Compared to the complete extinction of illusions of the triple world through the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra, however, theirs is merely a provisional extinction.”

Toki Nyūdō-dono Go-henji: Hongon Shukkai-shō, A response to Lay riest Lord Toki: Treatise on Overcoming Illusions of the Triple World by Provisional Teachins, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 276

[T]he official oppression of the followers of the Lotus Sūtra does not seem to end, and I am worried about what the future holds. Nevertheless, the fact that you endured the oppression till today is too surprising to be a reality. Please keep doing your best as it is preached by the Buddha that it is difficult to put faith in the Lotus Sūtra even for a moment during the Latter Age of Degeneration. This is so even though a person may be able to enter a fire without being burnt or jump into water without getting wet, even if a huge mountain were to fly to the sky or an ocean ascend to the heavens.

Emperor Hui-tsung, the sovereign of Sung China, was taken prisoner by the Mongols. Ex-Emperor Gotoba was the ruler of Japan, but he was defeated by Lord Hōjō Yoshitoki (Ukyō no Gonnotayū) and died on Oki Island as an exile. If these sovereigns had died for the cause of the Lotus Sūtra, they would have become Buddhas with their present bodies. As you know, people risk their lives for trivial matters, but no one is willing to undergo persecution for the cause of the Lotus Sūtra. Nevertheless, you have done so and experienced it yourself. How noble you are! How noble it is!

Ueno-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 46-47

They say when the roots of a tree grow deep in the soil, the branches of the tree flourish; and that when the source of water extends into the distance, the river covers a long distance. All the Buddhist sūtras are shallow-rooted and cover only a short distance. However, the Lotus Sūtra is deep-rooted and its source is afar. Therefore, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states that the Lotus Sūtra not only prospers during the lifetime of Śākyamuni Buddha but will also be transmitted and spread into the Latter Age of Degeneration.

Shijō Kingo-dono Gohenji, Response to Lord Shijō Kingo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 151

The “Teacher of the Dharma” chapter in the fourth fascicle of the Lotus Sūtra also states: “Bodhisattva Medicine-King, I am telling you that the Lotus Sūtra is the best of all the sūtras I have preached.” In the chapter on “Peaceful Practices” in the fifth fascicle, it declares: “Mañjuśrī, the Lotus Sūtra is the secret storehouse of all Buddhas. It is supreme of all sūtras.” The “Medicine-King Bodhisattva” chapter in the seventh fascicle states: “This Lotus Sūtra is supreme of all the sūtras” and “It is most brilliant and revered.”

These statements in the sūtra are not my own creation. They are the true words of the Buddha; there cannot be any mistake about them.

Ueno-dono Haha-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Response to My Lady the Nun, Mother of Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 178

Nobody has ever propagated this honzon in the world (Jambudvīpa) in more than 2,230 years since Śākyamuni Buddha expounded on it. Grand Masters T’ien-t’ai in China and Dengyō in Japan roughly knew about it, but did not at all propagate it. Today, in the Latter Age of Degeneration, it should be widespread. The Lotus Sūtra, states that Bodhisattvas Superior Practice (Viśiṣṭacaritra) and Limitless Practice (Anantacāritra) will appear in the world to spread it, but they have not yet done that. I, Nichiren, am not as great a man as those bodhisattvas, yet I have roughly understood it. So, as a forerunner, until those bodhisattvas appearing from underground emerge, I more or less propagated this sūtra and became the spear point of the passage that prophecies about the “time after My extinction” in the “Teacher of the Dharma” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra. It is my hope to transfer my merits to my parents, my teacher and all the people in the world.

Honzon Mondō Shō, Questions and Answers on the Honzon, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 272

Although I knew that if I spoke of this my life would be in jeopardy, in order to repay the favor I owe to Bodhisattva Space Repository, I began speaking of this to Jōen-bō and a small number of people of the Seichōji Temple at the southern side of the Hall of a Buddha of the Dōzen-bō in the compound of the Seichōji Temple located in the Tōjō District of Awa Province on the 28th day of the fourth month in the fifth year of the Kenchō Era (1253). For 20 years or so thereafter I continued to speak of this diligently. As a result, I was chased out of my residence and sent into exile. In ancient times, Bodhisattva Never Despising was beaten with sticks and pieces of wood for spreading the Lotus Sūtra, and today, I, Nichiren, am pursued with swords on account of the Lotus Sūtra.

Seichōji Daishū-chū, A Letter to the People of the Seichōji Temple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 175-176

Unable to go against the order of Śākyamuni Buddha, the Dharma King, I, Nichiren, fought in the battle between the true and provisional Buddhism in accordance with the words of the sūtras. Donning an armor of endurance, holding the sword of the Lotus Sūtra in hand, carrying the banner with five characters of myō, hō, ren, ge, and kyō, the essence of the Lotus Sūtra in eight fascicles, drawing a bow of the scriptural passage stating that the truth has not been revealed in any sūtras preached before the Lotus Sūtra, notched with an arrow of the scriptural declaration that the provisional teachings should simply be given up, and riding a chariot drawn by great white oxen (namely the unsurpassed vehicle, that is, the Lotus Sūtra), I have defeated provisional teachings one after another. Seeking out enemies here and there, I have attacked eight or ten schools of Buddhism… . Some escaped, others retreated, still others were captured and became my disciples. No matter how many times I attacked and defeated them, my enemies are numerous while I am alone in defending the Lord Buddha. Therefore, the war has yet to be won.

Nevertheless, in the golden words of T’ien-t’ai, the Lotus Sūtra denounces the evil of provisional teachings by aggressive means of propagation. I shall eventually defeat all those who believe in them, without exception, and convert them all to be followers of the Lord Śākyamuni Buddha. When all the people under heaven and the various schools of Buddhism are converted to the One Vehicle teaching of the Lotus Sūtra, and when only the Lotus Sūtra flourishes and all the people recite “Namu Myōhō Renge” in unison, the howling wind will not blow on the branches, falling rain will not erode the soil, and the world will become as ideal as during the reigns of Emperors Fu-hsi and Shen-nung of ancient China. A time is coming when calamities cease to exist, people live long, and people and the land they live in become eternal. There should be no doubt about the peaceful life in this world as promised in the Lotus Sūtra.

Nyosetsu Shugyō-shō, True Way of Practicing the Teaching of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 83-84

The sixth of the eight major hells is the Hell of Burning Heat, which is located beneath the Hell of Great Wailing and is the same size. Various types of sufferings exist in this hell. Placed in the Jambudvīpa (the world), a tiny flame of fire in this hell, as small as a bean, will burn anything completely in no time, not to speak of the bodies of sinners, which are as soft as cotton. The intensity of heat from this hell fire is such that in the eyes of sinners in this Hell of Burning Heat, the fires in the five hells mentioned above will seem like snow. For instance in the human world, flames of hot iron and copper are hotter than those of firewood.

Suppose 1,600 years in the human world correspond to one day and night in the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven, the sixth heaven in the realm of desire, where the life span of heavenly beings is 1,600 years. Suppose 1,600 years in the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven are equal to one day and night in the Hell of Burning Heat, the sinners in this hell live as long as 1,600 years.

Ken Hōbō-shō, A Clarificaton of Slandering the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 109-110.

In the 25th chapter on the “Universal Gate of World-Voice-Perceiver Bodhisattva” in the Lotus Sūtra it is said that “the curse will return to the originators.” So, when we think about this, the Lotus Sūtra is the great way which allows us to receive benefit through punishment. Minamoto Yoritomo was able to destroy the Heike through the virtue of his constant recitation of the Lotus Sūtra, and that is definitely evidence that people will gain benefit in the present life.

The reason I, Nichiren, could discern this truth is due to the favors that I received from my parents and teachers. However, my parents have already died. The late Venerable Dōzen-bō was my teacher but, since I propagated the Lotus Sūtra, he was afraid of Steward Tōjō Kagenobu, a Pure Land believer, and made a show of hating me as an enemy though in his heart he must have been sympathetic to me. Later, I heard that he seemed to have faith in the Lotus Sūtra a little bit, but I do not know how he felt about it when he died. I am very much concerned about it. I hope that he has not fallen into hell, but I doubt that he could rid himself of the suffering of life and death. I am filled with regrets when I think of him wandering in the intermediate state between the present and future lives. When Steward Tōjō Kagenobu tried to kill me in rage, you and Gijō-bō escorted me safely away from Seichōji Temple. So even though you did not do anything specifically for the sake of the Lotus Sūtra, I regard this as a service to the Lotus Sūtra, and I am sure that you both will cut the chain of life and death.

Honzon Mondō Shō, Questions and Answers on the Honzon, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 271-272