Only the Lotus Sūtra is the unsurpassed one that subordinates all the sūtras which had been preached, are being preached, and be preached.” However, Buddhist masters before the time of Grand Master T’ien-t’ai interpreted that all Mahāyāna sūtras, including the Lotus Sūtra, confront Hinayāna sūtras. This is as if they did not know how to distinguish the king from his retainer, mixing up the superior with the inferior. These masters did not reveal the True Dharma, but rather committed an evil deed of foolishness.

Daigaku Saburō-dono, A Letter to Lord Daigaku Saburō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 211.

For those who are incapable of understanding the truth of the “3,000 existences contained in one thought,” Lord Śākyamuni Buddha, with His great compassion, wraps this jewel with the five characters of myō, hō, ren, ge, and kyō and hangs it around the neck of the ignorant in the Latter Age of Degeneration. The four great bodhisattvas will protect such people, just as T’ai-kung-wang and the Duke of Chou assisted the young ruler, King Chen, of the Chou dynasty, or the Four Elders of the Shang-shan attended child Emperor Hui of the Han dynasty in ancient China.

Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 164

Some people, who do not understand me, may call me self-conceited for what I say. I am not self-conceited. As a practicer of the Lotus Sutra, I must speak out. When what I say is proven to be true in the future, people will believe me. I write this now because I am certain that people in the future will recognize my wisdom.

Oto Gozen Go-shōsoku, A Letter to Lady Oto, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 124

QUESTION: Suppose such Buddhist schools as the Kegon (Flower Garland), Hossō (Dharma Characteristics), Sanron (Three Discourses), three Hinayāna (Kusha, Jōjitsu and Ritsu Schools), Shingon (True Word) and Tendai (T’ien-t’ai) perform prayer services, which school will have the most miraculous efficacy?

ANSWER: Prayers of every Buddhist sect are based to some extent on the Buddha’s teaching. We can say, therefore, that in some sense they are all Buddhist prayers. Nevertheless, the prayer service conducted according to the Lotus Sūtra is nothing but the true prayer which will be most efficacious.

QUESTION: What is the reason for this?

ANSWER: First let us consider the case of the Two Vehicles (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha). Even though they practiced the pre-Lotus sūtras of the first four flavors for an inconceivably long period of time (as many kalpa as the number of dust-particles of the great earth) they were regarded as incapable of attaining Buddhahood. In the Lotus Sūtra, however, they were granted the status of Buddhas in a short while. Therefore, beginning with men like Śāriputra and Kāśyapa, 1,200 or 12,000 in number, all those former Two Vehicles who attained Buddhahood should not fail to answer the prayers said by the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra.

Kitō Shō, Treatise on Prayers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 57

I pray that all my followers who read this writing may feel the joy of visiting, together with me, Nichiren, the Pure Land of Mt. Sacred Eagle to look up at the faces of the Eternal Buddha Śākyamuni, the Buddha of Many Treasures, and countless Buddhas in manifestation from all the worlds in the universe.

Kanjin Honzon-shō Soejō, Cover Letter of the ‘Kanjin Honzon-shō’, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 169

Just as high winds sway the grass and thunderbolts frighten the people, false creeds grow rampant to disturb human feelings in the world today. Nevertheless, you have steadfastly kept your faith in me all these years. I wonder what causes and conditions in the past brought about our relationship today.

It is said that deep-rooted plants will not lose their leaves and that a spring with a drop of water will never dry up. Likewise, your faith is deeply rooted and you embrace a drop of purity in your heart. It is noble, indeed.

Kubo-ama Gozen Gohenji, Response to My Lady, the Nun of Kubo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 90

From the eternal past, 500 (million) dust particle kalpa ago, this Sahā World has been the territory of Śākyamuni Buddha, Lord Preacher of the Lotus Sūtra. The earth, sky, mountains, and oceans, even trees and plants do not belong to other Buddhas. Moreover, all living beings are the children of Śākyamuni Buddha. At the beginning of the (period) of creation, one of the Brahma kings descended from the heavens and gave birth to the living beings of the six lower realms thus becoming the parent of all living beings. In the same way Śākyamuni Buddha is also the parent of all living beings. Lord Preacher Śākyamuni Buddha is the excellent teacher who shows all living beings in this country the right way. He teaches us justice such as our debt of gratitude to our parents and judgment of good and evil.

Ichinosawa Nyūdō Gosho, A Letter to Lay Priest Ichinosawa, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 163

It is said that the water of the Yellow River becomes clear only once in a thousand years; a saint appears once in a thousand years, but a Buddha appears once in innumerable kalpa (aeons). Even though we may see the Buddha, it is difficult to meet with the Lotus Sūtra. Even though we may meet with the Lotus Sūtra, it is more difficult for an ordinary person in the Latter Age of Degeneration to meet a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. For the practicer who expounds the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration is superior to more than twelve hundred Buddhas in the Flower Garland Sūtra, the Āgama sūtras, the Hōdō sūtras, the Wisdom Sūtra and the Great Sun Buddha Sūtra who do not preach the Lotus Sūtra. Grand Master Miao-lê explains in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “The happiness and prosperity of the person who makes offerings to the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra exceed those of Buddhas, while a person who harasses the practicer will have his head broken into seven pieces.”

Nichinyo Gozen Gohenji, Response to My Lady Nichinyo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 135-136

Now we are at the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration, when Hinayāna teachings strike down Mahāyāna teachings, provisional teachings destroy true teachings, east is taken for west and west for east, and heaven and earth are upside down. Under these circumstances the four ranks of bodhisattva-teachers who preach the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra remain in hiding. Gods desert the land which they are supposed to protect. Then for the first time those bodhisattvas from underground appear in this world attempting to encourage ignorant people to take the five characters of myō, hō, ren, ge, and kyō, the excellent medicine of the Latter Age. Many ignorant people would fall into hell by slandering the five characters, but they would be saved eventually. This is what is meant by Miao-lê in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “Slanderers of the True Dharma will fall into hell but they will inevitably be saved by virtue of having heard the True Dharma.”

Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 162