When the Lotus Sūtra was preached on Mt. Sacred Eagle, King Ajātaśatru, the most unfilial man in the world, attended the meeting; even Devadatta, who had abused the True Dharma throughout his life, was guaranteed to be Tennō (Heavenly King) Buddha in the future. Furthermore, a dragon girl, though females were considered incapable of becoming a King of the Brahma Heaven, an Indra, a King of Devils, a Wheel-turning Noble King, or a Buddha, became a Buddha without changing her dragon-body. Attainment of Buddhahood by men of the Two Vehicles, and those with fixed natures who had been considered definitely incapable of becoming Buddhas, was as wondrous as a toasted seed germinating, flowering and bearing fruit. When Śākyamuni Buddha’s “attaining Enlightenment in the eternal past” was revealed, the audience was so astonished as to wonder how a hundred-year old man could be the son of a twenty-five year old man. The “3,000 existences contained in one thought” doctrine explained that unenlightened beings in the Nine Realms and enlightened ones in the Realm of the Buddha are one and inseparable, opening the way for the unenlightened to attain Buddhahood. Therefore, each letter of this sūtra represents a wish-fulfilling gem that pours out 10,000 treasures; each phrase of it is the seed of Buddhahood. The preaching of these most profound teachings was not done because of the capacity of the audience, their intelligence to understand or faith to uphold them. It was because the time was ripe. The Lotus Sūtra, chapter 2 on “Expedients,” therefore says: “Now is the time to expound the Mahāyāna teaching definitely.”

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 189

Contemplating on these, I am convinced that ordinary people in the Latter Age of Degeneration commit sins more or less. Whether or not such a man can reach Buddhahood depends on not how serious his sin is but whether or not he believes in the Lotus Sūtra. As a member of a warrior family you are always faced with killing people, which is firmly prohibited in Buddhism. It makes you an evil man. If you cannot leave your family and escape from society, how can you avoid falling into the three evil realms such as hell? You had better think about it carefully.

The Lotus Sūtra preaches that ordinary people with sins and illusions can attain Buddhahood. Therefore, you too, can attain Buddhahood without changing yourself as an ordinary and evil person. T’ien-t’ai says in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “Sūtras preached before the Lotus Sūtra guarantee virtuous persons to obtain Buddhahood but not evil persons; however, both virtuous and evil persons are guaranteed to attain Buddhahood in the Lotus Sūtra.” Miao lê states in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “The perfect teaching of the Lotus Sūtra explains that the reverse can be the order as it is, but the other three teachings (piṭaka, common and distinct teachings) maintain that the reverse is the reverse, and the order is the order, clearly separating the virtuous from the evil.” You should think hard of their meaning.

Hakii Saburō-dono Go-henji, A Response to Lord Hakii Saburō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 188-189

[A letter of explanation written by Nichiren Shōnin on behalf of Shijō Yorimoto on the 25th of the sixth month in the third year of the Kenji Period (1277) and submitted to the lord of the Ema Family.]

In your same letter to me, Your Lordship wrote also that to accept wholeheartedly the idea of one’s master or parents regardless of whether or not they are morally right would please the gods and Buddhas, and it would be exemplary of world propriety. Yet as this is a matter of prime importance, I hesitate to express my own opinions directly. Instead, I would like to explain by quoting some passages from the works of ancient sages.

The Classic of Filial Piety states: “A child should remonstrate with his father if the father is wrong, and retainers should remonstrate with their lords if their lords are immoral.” Cheng-hsüan, a scholar in Latter Han in China, said: “If retainers and children do not remonstrate with their lords and parents when their actions are not righteous, their countries and homes will be destroyed without fail.” In the Hsin-hsii it is asserted: “Those who do not remonstrate with their tyrannical lord are not loyal retainers. Those who do not speak up due to fear of death are not brave men.” Grand Master Dengyō also stated: “If injustice has been done by their fathers and lords, children will have to fight against their fathers and retainers against their lords. Those who do not remonstrate are neither loyal retainers nor filial sons. In the same way, a disciple must remonstrate with his teacher in cases when his master is wrong.”

In the Lotus Sūtra it is further stated: “I have no concern for my life and body; I have only concern for the unsurpassed way.” The Nirvana Sūtra states: “When a man, who excels in debate and discussion, is sent to a foreign country by the emperor on a diplomatic mission, he should never have the imperial order insulted even at the cost of his life. Sages should act likewise!” Grand Master Chang-an interprets this passage of the Nirvana Sūtra to mean that as the dharma is greater than life itself, we should not hesitate to spread the dharma even at the cost of our lives. He further states that what undermines Buddhism is antagonism within Buddhism, and that seeing someone acting immorally, if you have no compassion to remonstrate with him, you will in the end become his antagonist. “Sternly reprimanding him and helping him overcome his misconduct is an act of parents,” said Chang-an.

Perhaps my fellow workers consider me, Yorimoto, brazen and disrespectful. We should obey our parents and lord on anything of worldly matters, but seeing my lord to whom I owe much, being deceived by practicers of evil teachings and about to fall into hell, how can I not lament? In ancient India, ever since King Ajātaśatru upheld Devadatta and the Six Brahman Masters as his teachers and stood against Śākyamuni Buddha, all the people of the Magadha Kingdom as well as his 580,000 relatives all became enemies of Buddhism. Among them, Minister Jivaka alone remained a disciple of Śākyamuni Buddha. King Ajātaśatru, just as Your Lordship is to me, Yorimoto, was displeased that Minister Jivaka continued to be a disciple of the Buddha. In the end, however, the king abandoned the evil teachings of his six ministers and became a devotee of the true teaching of the Buddha in which Jivaka believed. Likewise, I, Yorimoto, hope to save Your Lordship in the end.

Yorimoto Chinjō, Yorimoto’s Letter of Explanation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 107-108

QUESTION: Is there evidence of meritorious acts in past lives?

ANSWER: The Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 2, chapter 3 on “A Parable” states, “He who believes in this sūtra in this life must have seen the Buddha, shown respect to Him, given offerings and listened to Him preach this sutra.” The sūtra also suggests in the tenth chapter on “The Teacher of the Dharma,” “Suppose there are those who, upon listening to even a verse or a phrase of the Lotus Sūtra, will rejoice even for a moment of thought after the extinction of the Buddha. (…) You should know that such persons made offerings to ten trillion Buddhas in previous lives.”

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 65

According to this explanation by T’ien-t’ai, since the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra is the essence of Buddhism, all other sūtras, be they Mahāyāna or Hinayāna, provisional or true, and exoteric and esoteric, such as the Nirvana Sūtra and Great Sun Buddha Sūtra, are Lesser Vehicle teachings. … Only the doctrines of the Tendai Sect comprise the Great Vehicle. It is because all sūtras except the Lotus Sūtra do not reveal the great dharmas of attaining enlightenment by persons of the Two Vehicles (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha) and the concept of the Eternal Buddha.

Shōjō Daijō Fumbetsu-shō, The Differences between Hinayāna and Mahāyāna Teachings, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 192

The original substance of both Goddess Amaterasu and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman is the Lord Teacher Śākyamuni Buddha. For instance, Śākyamuni Buddha is the moon shining in the sky whereas other Buddhas and the various bodhisattvas are reflections of the moon shining upon bodies of water at various places. Therefore, one who constructs a statue of Śākyamuni Buddha in fact also constructs various Buddhas in the worlds throughout the universe. When the head sways, the hair sways. When the mind is at work, the body moves. When a strong wind blows, plants stir. When the earth quakes, waves rise in the ocean. Likewise, when we construct a statue of Śākyamuni Buddha to His liking, can there be any plants that remain unmoved? How can there be bodies of water that do not form waves?

Nichigen-nyo Sakabutsu Kuyōji, Construction of a Statue of Śākyamuni by Lady Nichigen, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 124

[T]he Lotus Sūtra declares itself superior to the Nirvana Sūtra while it is stated in the Nirvana Sūtra: “In the Lotus Sūtra 8,000 śrāvakas are guaranteed to attain Buddhahood in the future. It is as if a great harvest had been reaped in autumn and stored for winter, leaving nothing more than gleaning for the Nirvana Sūtra.” Thus, the Nirvana Sūtra itself implies that it is inferior to the Lotus Sūtra. Though this statement in the Nirvana Sūtra seems clear enough, even the wisest Northern and Southern masters in China did not comprehend it. Scholars in the Latter Age must pay much attention to this. This passage of the Nirvana Sūtra not only seems to show the superiority of the Lotus Sūtra to the Nirvana Sūtra, but also reveals its comparative superiority among all the sūtras in the entire universe. Though it is understandable to doubt this puzzling statement in the Nirvana Sūtra, the superiority of the Lotus Sūtra among all the sūtras has already been proven by Grand Masters T’ien-t’ai, Miao-lê, and Dengyō. Men of wisdom should keep this statement in mind.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 5.

[I]n the 20th chapter on the “Never-Despising Bodhisattva” of the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha describes Himself in His previous lives: “Once upon a time, there was a bodhisattva named Never-Despising. … He propagated the Lotus Sūtra fervently despite persecutions.” The sūtra describes how evil people spoke ill of him, abused him or struck him with a stick or a piece of wood, and threw pieces of tile or stones at him. By showing such ascetic practices in His previous lives, the Buddha encouraged those who propagate in the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration. Propagating the Lotus Sūtra, Never-Despising Bodhisattva was persecuted, and was struck with a stick or a piece of wood but attained the rank of the Buddha instantly. As I propagated the Lotus Sūtra, my house was set on fire at Matsubagayatsu, and I was attacked by Tōjō Kagenobu at Komatsubara, exiled to Izu, and banished to Sado Island. Therefore, I will reach Buddhahood in the future without a doubt.

Hakii Saburō-dono Go-henji, A Response to Lord Hakii Saburō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 185

Of the Lotus-Nirvana period, the Nirvana Sūtra was expounded in one day and night while facing death. Śākyamuni Buddha passed away at the age of 80, but traditions also say that Śākyamuni was 79, 80, 81, 82, 105, or 120 years old when He died. The Sūtra of Clarification of the Age of Semblance Dharma, which foretells the decline of Buddhism during the Age of Semblance Dharma and advises the practice of almsgiving, was preached by the Hiraṇyavatī River just before the death of the Buddha. Thus, this sūtra is regarded to be the conclusion of the Nirvana Sūtra.

Ichidai Goji Keizu, Genealogical Chart of the Buddha’s Lifetime Teachings in Five Periods, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 244

Grand Master T’ien-t’ai had to engage in vigorous disputes against three Southern and seven Northern masters in establishing his new theology, and Grand Master Dengyō in Japan had to dispute against the six schools of Buddhism in Nara during the reign of Emperor Kammu. Whether or not Buddhist masters encountered hardships depended on whether their opinions were adopted by the wise king or rejected by the foolish king; it did not depend on whether or not their ways of propagation were in accordance with the intent of the Buddha. The situations were like this even during the Ages of the True and Semblance Dharmas, not to speak of the Latter Age of Degeneration! I, Nichiren, incurred the displeasure of the Kamakura Shogunate for the sake of the Lotus Sūtra. This is the greatest happiness that ever happened to me because it is like exchanging worthless pieces of tile and stones for pieces of gold and silver.

Hakii Saburō-dono Go-henji, A Response to Lord Hakii Saburō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 185-186