As we cannot see this with our own eyes, we may wonder whether or not there are sūtras superior to the Lotus Sūtra in India, the Dragon Palace, palaces of the Four Heavenly Kings, and the palaces of the sun and moon gods. Were not the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the gods of the sun and moon, the Four Heavenly Kings and the Dragon King present at the assembly of the Lotus Sūtra? If heavenly gods who were present at the assembly like those of the sun and moon say, “You may not know this but there is a sūtra superior to the Lotus Sūtra,” they are absolute liars. I, Nichiren, would charge them declaring:

It is due to their merits in keeping the precept of not telling a lie that the sun and moon stay high up in the sky as securely as we human beings stand on the earth. If they should utter such a lie as there are sūtras superior to the Lotus Sūtra, they would fall before the Kalpa of Destruction and this world would come to ruin. They would not stop falling until they hit the bottom of the Hell of Incessant Suffering. Such inadmissibly deceiving beings could not possibly remain in the sky even for a while orbiting the four continents which surround Mt. Sumeru.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 6-7.

[W]ithout the power of the Lotus Sūtra, it is impossible for any living being to attain Buddhahood, break through the six lower realms and be reborn in any of the Pure Lands of Buddhas throughout the universe. It is the same as a Japanese person who wishes to enter the Chinese Imperial Palace must first receive permission from the Japanese sovereign. You must rely on the power of the Lotus Sūtra in order to leave this Sahā World to enter a Pure Land. For example, if a woman, whether she be an ordinary woman or a daughter of the Imperial Regent, bears a king’s child, that child will someday become a king. On the other hand, if a daughter of a king bears a vassal’s child, that child can never become a king. Accordingly, all living beings including bodhisattvas, men of the Two Vehicles, human beings, heavenly beings and animals who will be reborn in Pure Lands throughout the universe do so as royal children of the Lotus Sūtra. It is because children of the Lotus Sūtra are all able to become Buddhas.

Shōjō Daijō Fumbetsu-shō, The Differences between Hinayāna and Mahāyāna Teachings, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 197

It is predicted in the Lotus Sūtra: “Many people hate this sūtra with jealousy even in My lifetime. Needless to say, more people will hate this sūtra after My death.” The difficulties the Buddha encountered were incalculable. Above all He was forced to feed himself with fodder for 90 days; a huge rock was dropped on Him; His toes were injured and bled; eight disciples of the Buddha such as Sunakṣatra sided with non-Buddhists and tried to attack Him while off guard day and night; King Virūḍhaka murdered countless members of the Śākya clan; and King Ajātaśatru killed countless disciples of the Buddha by making drunken elephants tread on them. However, these were minor difficulties during the lifetime of the Buddha when compared to what is to come. Major difficulties that was predicted by the Buddha to occur after “His extinction” have not been experienced by either Nāgārjuna, Vasubandhu, T’ien-t’ai, or Dengyō. If someone says that they were not the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra, for what reasons are they not? On the contrary, if we say that they were the practicers, why have they not shed blood like the Buddha? Much more than that, they have never encountered greater difficulties than those of the Buddha. How can we call them the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra? Otherwise, the scriptural statement “More people will hate this sūtra after My death” would be futile, and the teachings of the Buddha would be a big lie.

However, during my propagation of the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra in the past 27 years, I, Nichiren, encountered many persecutions. I was exiled to the Province of Izu on the twelfth day of the fifth month in the first year of Kōchō (1261), injured on the forehead and my left hand was broken on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in the first year of Bun’ei (1264), placed on the execution mat on the twelfth day of the ninth month in the eighth year of Bun’ei (1271), and exiled to Sado Province in the end. Moreover, numerous disciples of mine were killed, wounded, expelled, or fined. I do not know whether or not my difficulties may equal or surpass those of the Buddha, but those of Nāgārjuna, Vasubandhu, T’ient’ai, and Dengyō cannot compare to mine, Therefore, if I had not appeared in the Latter Age of Degeneration [as a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra], the Buddha would have been a big liar, and the Buddha of Many Treasures and the Buddhas in manifestation from all the worlds in the universe would testify to this great falsehood. In the 2,220 years or so since the passing of the Buddha, I, Nichiren, am the only one who has verified the Buddha’s Words in the whole world.

Shōnin Gonan Ji, Persecution Befalling Nichiren Shōnin, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 118

Rivers come together to form an ocean. Particles of dust accumulate to become Mt. Sumeru. When I, Nichiren, began having faith in the Lotus Sūtra, it was like a drop of water or a particle of dust in Japan. However, when the sūtra is chanted and transmitted to two, three, ten, a million, and a billion people, it will grow to be a Mt. Sumeru of perfect enlightenment or the great ocean of Nirvana. There is no way other than this to reach Buddhahood.

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 243-244

Suppose there is a common or a noble woman who conceived a child by the king, people who do not know who is the real father of the child may consider the child to be a son of a commoner or a nobleman. They will all realize, however, that the baby is a child of the king when the king himself declares the truth. By the same token, when the Lotus Sūtra informs you of those who are able to leave the triple world of birth and death or escape the cycle of the six realms and ascend the four realms through the pre-Lotus sūtras, it is all because the seeds of the Lotus Sūtra have been implanted within their lives throughout previous existences. Of the people who had planted the seed during their previous lives, those who are unresponsive and not able to attain nirvana through the pre-Lotus sūtras are able to attain enlightenment through the Lotus Sūtra during this lifetime. It is like a crown prince who was given birth by the queen but was raised by a wet nurse. The nurse is equivalent to the sūtras prior to the Lotus Sūtra.

Shōjō Daijō Fumbetsu-shō, The Differences between Hinayāna and Mahāyāna Teachings, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 197

I am an ordinary man. If I do not wear clothing, I will feel the cold. If I do not eat anything, I will not be able to sustain my life. Just as a lamp that is not refilled with oil or a fire that receives no fuel, how can the flame of life stay alive without refueling? If the power from life should die out, my voice reciting the Lotus Sūtra will stop, and the grass in front of the window where I expound the Great Concentration and Insight will grow thick.

I cannot express how much I appreciated your thoughtfulness in sending gifts to me under these harsh conditions. It is said that a rabbit offered himself to a practicer of Buddhism, which moved Indra to put the rabbit on the moon. This is why we see a rabbit on the moon now. Likewise, as you, a woman, make an offering for the sake of the Lotus Sūtra in this Latter Age of Degeneration, the King of the Brahma Heaven will see your meritorious conduct in his heavenly eyes, Indra will press his hands together in homage to you, the terrestrial gods will be happy to support your legs and Śākyamuni Buddha will pat your head by stretching His hand from Mt. Sacred Eagle. Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō!

Matsuno-dono Nyōbō Gohenji, Reply to the Wife of Lord Matsuno, the Nun of Kubo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 72-73

The statue of the Buddha you have erected this time is the living Buddha. Yours is exactly the same as the wooden statue made by Great King Udayana and another one erected by King Bimbisāra. I am sure that such heavenly beings as the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, Sun Deity, Moon Deity, and the Four Heavenly Kings will not fail to protect you and watch over you just as the shadow follows the body.

Shijō Kingo Shakabutsu Kuyō-ji, Opening the Eyes Service of Shijō Kingo’s Statue of Śākyamuni, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 133

To say the truth, if attaining enlightenment by the people of Two Vehicles had not been revealed, then all beings in the nine realms would never be able to become Buddhas. The essence of the Lotus Sūtra, as a reasonable dharma, is that each sentient being in the ten realms contains the ten realms within itself. For example, each person is composed of the four elements of earth, water, heat and air. If one of these elements is missing, there will be no human being. It is true that not only human beings but also all other beings and non-beings such as grasses, plants and dust particles throughout the ten realms each possesses the ten realms. If the beings in the realms of Two Vehicles are not able to become Buddhas, then none of the eight realms can become Buddhas either. This is like nine siblings whose parents are still alive. If two of the nine are determined to be inferior, the other seven will also be considered inferior. The Buddha and the Lotus Sūtra are like parents and the people in the nine realms are like their real children. Therefore, if the people of the Two Vehicles of śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha will never be able to attain Buddhahood, how then could the bodhisattvas and six other ordinary children become Buddhas? There is no doubt about this because Śākyamuni Buddha preaches in the Lotus Sūtra, “This triple world is My domain, in which all living beings are My children. There are many sufferings in this world…, and only I can save all beings.”

All bodhisattvas make the Four Great Vows. If a bodhisattva does not accomplish the first vow, how can he attain the fourth?

Shōjō Daijō Fumbetsu-shō, The Differences between Hinayāna and Mahāyāna Teachings, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 194