QUESTION: For whom was the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra expounded?

ANSWER: Two purposes are conceivable in preaching the essential section. First, the reason why Śākyamuni Buddha reveals the eternity of His life in passing in chapter 15 on the “Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground” (Concise Opening the Near and Revealing the Distant) is to enlighten His disciples who have been guided through teachings expounded for forty years or so before the Lotus Sūtra and in the first theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra. Secondly, one chapter and two half-chapters from the last part of the “Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground” chapter in which Maitreya raised a question, requesting the Buddha to preach for people after His extinction, through chapter 16 on “The Life Span of the Buddha” to the first half of chapter 17, the “Variety of Merits are exactly for clearly expounding the eternity of the Buddha (Expanded Opening the Near and Revealing the Distant). This is solely for the sake of people after the death of the Buddha.

Hokke Shuyō Shō, Treatise on the Essence of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 210-211

Thank you very much for the offering of 60 steamed rice cakes, a tub of sake, 50 yams, 20 tangerines, and one range of persimmons dried on skewers which you took the trouble of sending to me.

I respectfully put them on the altar of the Lotus Sūtra. It was on the third day of the New Year and I was so glad that I was able to put various offerings on the altar of the Lotus Sūtra. When flowers bloom, they are bound to bear fruits, the moon inevitably becomes full, and plants flourish when it rains. Likewise, people who do meritorious good acts will never fail to prosper.

Ueno-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 36

Regarding the Chinese character “myō” of the Lotus Sūtra, Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna states in his Great Wisdom Discourse, “It can transform poison into medicine.” Grand Master T’ien-t’ai also explains it this way, “The guarantee of future Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles in the Lotus Sūtra is the conversion of poison into medicine.” I am confident, therefore, even a misfortune can become happiness.

Dōjōjin Shugo-ji, Protective Deities for the Place of Practicing Buddhism, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 16

It has been 2,200 years or so since the passing of Śākyamuni Buddha. We are now in the Latter Age of Degeneration, when wise persons are gradually getting scarce just as a mountain slopes from the peak and fields are overgrown with weeds. Many people chant the nembutsu or observe precepts but few seek refuge in the Lotus Sūtra. Stars are many in number, but they cannot illuminate the depths of the ocean. No matter how many plants there are, they cannot be used as pillar for a palace. Likewise, no matter how many times one chants the nembutsu, it will never become the way to Buddhahood. No matter how many precepts one observes, they will never become the seeds of rebirth in the Pure Land. The seven characters of Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō alone are the seeds of Buddhahood.

Kurōtarō-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Kurōtarō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 153

In the fifth fascicle (chapter 14, “Peaceful Practices”) of the Lotus Sūtra it is said, ” Mañjuśrī! This Lotus Sūtra is the secret teaching of the Buddhas. This is above all the sūtras.” According to this passage the Lotus Sūtra is the True Dharma, the highest above all the sūtras including the Great Sun Buddha Sūtra. How did such masters as Śubhākarasimha, Vajrabodhi, Amoghavajra, Kōbō, Jikaku, and Chishō interpret this?

It is said also in the seventh fascicle (chapter 23, “Previous Life of the Medicine King Bodhisattva”) of the Lotus Sūtra, “The person who keeps this sūtra likewise is superior to any other living being.” According to it, the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra is like an ocean among various rivers, Mt. Sumeru among various mountains, the moon among many stars, the sun among various bright objects, and the Great King of the Brahma Heaven among various kings such as the Wheel-turning Noble King and Indra.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 27-28.

Why can I say that [the Japanese people unintentionally have become the enemies of Śākyamuni Buddha]? The Lotus Sūtra states: “The whole world of the unenlightened is My domain. All beings living therein are My own children. Yet this place is filled with much great suffering. There is no one but I who can save all beings.” It means that Śākyamuni is the lord, the master, and the father of all the people in Japan. Even gods and kings during the reigns of seven generations of heavenly gods, five generations of earthly gods, and ninety generations of emperors are servants of Śākyamuni Buddha; and of course, ordinary people, who are servants of those gods and kings, are also His servants. All fields, mountains, rivers, oceans, trees, and grass in Japan today are the property of Śākyamuni Buddha. None belongs to Medicine-Master Buddha, Amida Buddha, or Buddhas of other domains. The heavenly gods, earthly gods, ninety generations of emperors, and all living beings are children of Śākyamuni Buddha. It is due to the teachings of Śākyamuni Buddha that heavenly and earthly gods, and rulers and subjects of Japan can distinguish between heaven and earth, water and fire, father and mother, lord and servants, man and woman, parents and children, and black and white. It is not due to the teachings of Medicine-Master or Amida Buddha. Therefore, we owe Śākyamuni Buddha a favor thicker than the earth, wider than the sky, and higher than heaven. That is why we, kings, his ministers and all the people, should respect the Buddha more than our parents and revere Him more than gods. Then the gods will protect us even if we are sinful, and the earth will not quake in rage.

Myōhō Bikuni Go-henji, A Reply to Nun Myōhō, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 192-194

And yet even though a finger might point to the great earth and miss it, a person tie up the sky, the ocean’s tide lack an ebb and flow, or if the sun should rises in the west, there cannot be a time when the prayer of a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra is not answered. If the various bodhisattvas, human and heavenly beings, eight kinds of gods and demi-gods who protect Buddhism, the two sage bodhisattvas (Medicine King and Brave Donor Bodhisattvas), two heavenly kings (Jikoku-ten and Bishamon-ten), and ten female rākṣasa demons, or even one out of 1,000, do not rush to protect practicers of the Lotus Sūtra, they commit the sin of fooling Śākyamuni and the other Buddhas above and in the nine realms below. Thus, they will protect the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra without fail regardless if the practicers are insincere, unwise, impure, and do not observe the precepts so long as they chant “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.”

Kitō Shō, Treatise on Prayers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 68

Except for the Eternal Buddha revealed in the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra, Buddhas all attained Buddhahood for the first time in this life and possess three kinds of bodies (the Dharma Body, Reward Body and Accommodative Body). Accommodative Buddhas are finite Buddhas who appear in this world, showing both beginning (attaining Buddhahood) and ending (entering nirvana). The Reward Body is obtained as the reward for completing the bodhisattva practice and having mastered the wisdom of the Buddha. Buddhas in this body (Reward Buddhas) therefore has the beginning (attaining Buddhahood) but no ending (entering nirvana). The Dharma Body is the body of fundamental truth, the Dharma to which the Buddha is enlightened, which is immaterial having no beginning or ending. The Vairocana Buddha of the Flower Garland School and the Great Sun Buddha of the True Word School are claimed to be the Buddhas in Reward Body and Dharma Body respectively.

The Buddha revealed in the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra is the One attaining Buddhahood in the eternal past. He, too, possesses the three kinds of the Buddha Body. In this Eternal Buddha, the three bodies are fused in one, having no beginning and no ending, and He lives forever from the eternal past to the infinite future to guide the people.

Ichidai Goji Keizu, Genealogical Chart of the Buddha’s Lifetime Teachings in Five Periods, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 250

We, sentient beings in this Sahā World, have all been beloved children of the Lord Buddha Śākyamuni since “500 dust-particle kalpa” ago. Because of our own fault, being undutiful to the Buddha, we had not been aware of being His children until today, but we are not the same as sentient beings in other worlds. The relationship between the Buddha and us, which was established in the remotest past of 500 dust particle kalpa ago, is like the moon in the sky reflecting on clear water by itself. Our relationship to other Buddhas, which has never been established, is like deaf people unable to hear the peal of thunder or blind people unable to see the sun and moon.

Hokke Shuyō Shō, Treatise on the Essence of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 209