QUESTION: If anyone associates with a false teacher, despite his faith in the Lotus Sūtra, he will fall into the three evil realms, won’t he?

ANSWER: If anyone without comprehension of the Lotus Sūtra, meets with “evil friends” of expedient teachings and retreats from the true teaching, he will without fail fall into the three evil realms because of his sin of putting faith in the wicked teacher. Those who despised and persecuted Bodhisattva Never-Despising, for instance, fell into the Hell of Incessant Suffering, though faithful to expedient teachings. Those who had associated with the Lotus Sūtra at the time of the Great Universal Wisdom Buddha have been unenlightened for as long as 3,000 dust-particle kalpa because they had retreated from the Lotus Sūtra, believing in expedient teachings.

Those who believe in the Lotus Sūtra, however, except for abandoning their faith in the Lotus Sūtra and following the teacher of expedient teachings, will never fall into the three evil realms for committing sins in worldly matters. It is because such sins are not grave enough to upset the merits of the Lotus Sūtra.

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 66