[L]ooking at the Lotus Sūtra, we find that the Buddha says, “Many people hate it (the Lotus Sūtra) with jealousy even in My lifetime. Needless to say, more people will do so after My extinction” in the “Teacher of the Dharma” chapter, and “In order to spread the Lotus Sūtra for a long time in this world” in the “Appearance of the Stupa of Treasures” chapter. Considering these statements, the Lotus Sūtra is expounded for those of us living in the Latter Age of Degeneration. Therefore, referring to this period, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai says, “Up to the fifth 500-year period after the Buddha’s extinction, people receive merit of the Wonderful Dharma afar.” Grand Master Dengyō also speaks of this period, “The Ages of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma have almost passed, and the Latter Age of Degeneration is shortly coming.” The Latter Age of Degeneration is coming shortly means that the time when he lived was not the time for the Lotus Sūtra to spread, but the Latter Age of Degeneration is.

Hokke Shuyō Shō, Treatise on the Essence of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 214

Fascicle four of the Annotations on the Great Concentration and Insight says: “Long ago in the great country Bima, a fox pursued by a lion tried to escape but fell into a dry well. The lion leapt over the well and ran on, but when the fox tried to climb out it couldn’t because the well was too deep. Many days passed and the fox was close to starving to death. At that time the fox cried out: “Woe is me! I am going to die miserably in this dry well. All things are impermanent. It would have been better if the lion had eaten me. Hail all the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten directions, with your wisdom see that my heart is pure and precious.”

At that time, the god Indra heard the fox’s cry and came down himself to lift the fox from the well and ask it to teach the Dharma. “This is all wrong,” said the fox. “The disciple is on top and the teacher is on the bottom.” All in the heavens laughed to hear this. When Indra, acknowledging that the fox was correct, nevertheless sat at his feet and asked him to preach, the fox said, “This is all wrong. It is not right for disciple and teacher to sit down together.” Thereupon Indra took all the heavenly robes and piled them up to make a tall seat for the fox, and again asked him to preach the Dharma. The fox said: “There are those who rejoice to live and hate death. There are those who rejoice to die and hate life.” Ignorant people are ignorant regarding future lives and so they hope to live and hate death. Good people know the truth of the workings of karma and retribution and so they hope to die and hate life. Indra learned this and followed the fox as his teacher. The Grand Master T’ien-t’ai said: “The Young Ascetic in the Snow Mountains offered himself to a demon to gain half a verse, Indra revered an animal and made him his teacher. No one discards gold because the purse stinks.” No matter how humble, if someone knows the True Dharma, you must not look down on them. Fascicle 8 of the Lotus Sūtra says: “Those who, upon seeing the keeper of this sūtra, blame him justly or unjustly, will suffer from white leprosy in their present life.” This means that if one accuses the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra of faults, whether one is justified or not, one will contract white leprosy in this life and in the next life will fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering.

Minobu-san Gosho, Mt. Minobu Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 128

Except for bodhisattvas such as Superior Practice and Limitless Practice, highest-ranking leaders of the bodhisattvas who emerged from the earth, no one is allowed to appear in the 500-year period at the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration and to spread the five letters of myō, hō, ren, ge, and kyō, which is the substance of all existing things. Furthermore, no one else can form the Most Venerable One (honzon) with the two Buddhas, Śākyamuni and Many Treasures, seated side by side inside the Stupa of Treasures. This is because these (daimoku and honzon) are the gist of the “actual three thousand existences contained in one thought” doctrine expounded in the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter in the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra, and it should be spread by bodhisattva disciples of the Original Buddha.

Shohō Jisso-shō, Treatise on All Phenomena as Ultimate Reality, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 75

The five characters of Myō, Hō, Ren, Ge, and Kyō are the precious doctrine preached by Śākyamuni Buddha when He entered the Stupa of Treasures sitting by the Buddha of Many Treasures. Buddhas in Manifestation gathered together from all over the universe. The Buddha then invoked bodhisattvas from underground, chose the essence of the Lotus Sūtra and expounded on it for us people in the Latter Age of Degeneration. There should be no doubt about its merit in this world.

Hokke Shuyō Shō, Treatise on the Essence of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 215

The minds of living beings dwelling in the nine realms and the six paths are different. For instance, the faces of people, regardless if they are in a small group of a few people or a large group of a hundred or a thousand in number, are all about the same size — about 30 centimeters — but there is no pair of faces completely identical to each other. As their minds are different, their faces, too, are not the same. If the minds of two or ten people are different, how much more so are the differences between the minds of all living beings in the nine realms and the six paths? As a result the inclinations of people are varied as well. Some love to watch flowers while others love the moon. Some like a sour taste while others a bitter taste. Some love the small-sized while others prefer the large-sized. People’s sense of value also differs. Some prefer the good while others indulge in wickedness. People are thus varied and diverse. However, when they enter the world of the Lotus Sūtra, they all become one body and their minds are one. It is like how the many river waters will have the same salty taste upon entering the ocean, or how the many birds become a single golden color upon nearing Mt. Sumeru.

Sennichi-ama Gohenji, A Reply to Sennichi-ama, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Pages 159-160

Śākyamuni Buddha did not feel safe to entrust great bodhisattvas such as Samantabhadra and Mañjuśrī to spread the five Chinese characters of myō, hō, ren, ge, and kyō in the Latter Age of Degeneration. The Buddha, therefore, entrusted the job to the four leaders including Bodhisattva Superior Practice among the numerous bodhisattvas that emerged from the soil. As I contemplate the religious meaning of this, I wonder if Bodhisattva Superior Practice entered your body in order to help me to spread the Lotus Sūtra? Or was it the Buddha’s discretion?

Shijō Kingo-dono Gohenji, Response to Lord Shijō Kingo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 142

The Lotus Sūtra is called “Zui-jii,” namely it expounds the true mind of the Buddha. Since the Buddha’s mind is so great, even if one does not understand the profound meaning of the sūtra, one can gain innumerable merits by just reading it. Just as a mugwort among hemp plants grows straight and a snake in a tube straightens itself, if one becomes friendly with good people, one’s mind, behavior, and words become naturally gentle. Likewise, the Buddha thinks that those who believe in the Lotus Sūtra become naturally virtuous.

Zui-jii Gosho, The Sūtra Preached in Accordance to [the Buddha’s] Own Mind, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 155

A pile of dung, even if shaped like sandalwood, will smell like dung when burnt. Piling up lies, even if someone claims them to be the Buddha’s teachings, he will only fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 31.

This Sahā World is 7,000 yojana by 7,000 yojana in area, and it includes 80,000 countries. In 2,000 years of the Ages of the True Dharma (shōbō) and Semblance Dharma (zōbō), the Lotus Sūtra did not spread widely. If it does not spread during this Latter Age of Degeneration (Mappō), Śākyamuni Buddha would be a liar, validation of the truth of the Lotus Sūtra by the Buddha of Many Treasures would come to nothing, and broad, long tongues of Buddhas in manifestation throughout the universe to praise the preaching of Śākyamuni Buddha would become as fragile as banana leaves.

Hokke Shuyō Shō, Treatise on the Essence of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 213

In Buddhism, the Buddha declares that one who sees the enemy of the Lotus Sūtra and keeps silent because he is afraid of persecution, is an enemy of Śākyamuni Buddha. No matter how wise or moral he is, the Buddha warns, such a man is bound to fall into hell; he is like a child who refuses to warn his parents of the attempt on their lives, or a subject who refuses to admonish his king, who is about to be dethroned, because he is afraid of possible persecution.

Myōhō Bikuni Go-henji, A Reply to Nun Myōhō, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 200-202