Among the 32 marks of the Buddha, His “Brahma’s voice” is foremost. The king of a country, be it great or small, and such kings as the “Wheel-turning Noble King” partly possess this “Brahma’s voice.” Therefore, a word of the king can govern the country or ruin it. An imperial decree is also in part like “Brahma’s voice.” Ten thousand words of the whole country cannot equal to one word of the king. The books of the Three Emperors and Five Rulers in ancient China are words of minor rulers. It was due to the strength of this “Brahma’s voice” that lesser kings govern small countries, that the King of the Mahābrahman Heaven is attended to by all living beings of the triple world (the realms of desire, form, and non-form), and that the Buddha is attended to by the King of the Mahābrahman Heaven and Indra.

The teachings uttered by the “Brahma’s voice” are all the scriptures of Buddhism to save all living beings. Among the scriptures the Lotus Sūtra in particular is the design of Śākyamuni Buddha uttered through His “Brahma’s voice,” which was written down in Chinese characters. The true intent of the Buddha, therefore, exists in the characters of the Lotus Sūtra. Just as seeds, seedlings, grasses, and rice plants differ in shape though they remain the same in spirit, Śākyamuni Buddha and the characters of the Lotus Sūtra are not the same in shape but they are one in essence. Thus, when you read the letters of the Lotus Sūtra, you must consider yourself in the presence of the living Śākyamuni Buddha.

Shijō Kingo-dono Gohenji, Response to Lord Shijō Kingo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 121

In my hermitage on Mt. Minobu there are at least 40 persons and as many as 60. No matter how I refuse them, they come in saying that they are the siblings of someone who lives here, making it difficult to turn them down face to face. In my heart, I wish to recite the sūtras in a quiet hermitage with only a young priest. This situation is almost unbearable. I am even thinking of running away somewhere in the coming year. There is nothing as annoying as this.

Hyōesakan-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Ikegami Munenaga, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 105

As you and your elder brother were born in the Latter Age of Degeneration in an outlying country and have faith in the Lotus Sūtra, I was sure that demons would possess the nation’s ruler or your parents and persecute you. But as I expected, despite your father disowning you repeatedly, you two brothers held onto your faith. Are you the reincarnation of Princes Pure Store and Pure Eyes, who led their father King Wonderful Adornment? Or is this through the discretion of Bodhisattva Medicine King and Bodhisattva Superior Practice [sic]? Your father’s disinheritance was revoked in the end and you were able to carry through with filial piety as before. Are you not filial sons in the truest sense of the word? I am sure the various heavenly beings are pleased, and the ten female rākṣasa demons, protectors of the Lotus Sūtra, accept your aspiration. Moreover, there is something heartfelt about you. When my doctrine spreads as widely as predicted in the Lotus Sūtra, I hope to share the joy with you.

Kōshi Gosho, A Letter to Filial Sons, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 106-107

Although you two have a difference in status, if you [Munenaga] were greedy and crooked in mind and had not understood the reason behind everything, your elder brother’s disinheritance would never have been lifted. Your elder brother, Munenaka may become a Buddha due to his fervent belief in the Lotus Sūtra. However, your father would certainly go to hell for disinheriting his own son, who is a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. In this case you would lose your older brother and father and become like Devadatta. However, as you are born wise and without greed unlike those born in the Latter Age of Degeneration, three of the Ikegami family attained Buddhahood together, saving everyone on the father’s side as well as the mother’s side.

Hyōesakan-dono Gohenji, Answer to Lord Ikegami Munenaga, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 100-101

The change of natural phenomenon such as the ebb and flow of the tide, the rise and setting of the moon, and the boundaries between summer and autumn or winter and spring is accompanied by something different. The same can be said when an ordinary person becomes a Buddha. Inevitably this change will be accompanied by the “three hindrances and four devils.”* Although the wise will welcome them, those who are foolish fear them and retreat.

Hyōesakan-dono Gohenji, Answer to Lord Ikegami Munenaga, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 96

*Three hindrances and four devils (sanshō shima): The hindrances and devils that block the way to Buddhahood. The three hindrances refer to evil passions, evil karmas, and painful retributions such as going to hell; the four devils refer to evil passions, physical pain, death, and king of devils. Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states in his Great Concentration and Insight, fascicle 5, that as practicing and understanding of the “tranquility and contemplation” proceed, “three hindrances and four devils” compete to interfere with the practicers, proving the doctrine to be true. Following T’ien-t’ai’s concept of “three hindrances and four devils,” Nichiren maintains that those who spread the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration are bound to be persecuted by the “three hindrances and four devils” and that only those who endured such difficulty proved to be the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra.