This daimoku chanting has not yet been spread in the world. For 2,225 years after the extinction of the Buddha no one has chanted this yet. I, Nichiren, alone have been chanting “Namu Myōhōrengekyō, “Namu Myōhōrengekyō without saving my voice.

As you know, the size of waves depends on the strength of the winds, the height of a fire depends on firewood, the size of lotus flowers depends on the size of the ponds, the quantity of rain depends upon dragons; the deeper the roots of a tree are, the wider its branches grow; and the farther away a river begins, the longer it flows. The Chou dynasty lasted seven hundred years because King Wen paid much attention to propriety and filial piety. Early destruction of the Ch’in dynasty was due to the tyranny of its First Emperor.

With Nichiren’s boundless compassion, “Namu Myōhōrengekyō” will be heard forever even beyond the ten thousand year-period. It has the merit of curing the “blindness” of all the people in Japan, blocking the way to hell. This merit is superior to those of Dengyō, T’ien-t’ai, Nāgārjuna, and Kāśyapa. Practice for a hundred years in the Pure Land is not worth the merit of chanting the daimoku for one day in this defiled world. Propagation of the daimoku in a two thousand year-period following the death of the Buddha is not worth as much as spreading the daimoku for even a short while in the Latter Age of Degeneration. This is not from my wisdom; it is solely due to the time in which I live. In spring, flowers bloom; in autumn, fruits ripen; in summer, it is warm; and in winter, it is cold; they all go along with the laws of nature.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 58.

Having concluded the Essay on Gratitude, I’m adding some of the notes for future reference:

• Precept dais—The platform where those who believe in Buddhism receive Buddhist precepts. During the lifetime of the Buddha it was set up in the Jetavana-vihāra (Gion Shōja), and in China it was set up in the city of Loyang. In Japan several precept daises were set up. The Platform for the Perfect and Suddent Mahayana Precepts was established soon after Grand Master Dengyō’s death on Mt. Hiei. In Nichiren Buddhism, some insist that the precept platform of the hommon should be established somewhere in Japan, while others maintain that the place where one keeps the odaimoku even if only for an instant and puts it in practice is the Precept Platform of the hommon.
• Triple world—All living beings are floating in the stream of samsära and experiencing a variety of different lives. They are generally divided into three realms: 1) the realm of desire in which living beings are subjected to desire for sex and food, corresponding to the “six realms of illusion,” that is, realms of hell, hungry spirits, birds and beasts, asura, human beings, and part of heaven; 2) the realm of “form” in which living beings have no desire for sex and food; 3) the “formless” realm in which living beings live beyond material existence.
• Indra—Skt.: Śakro devānām indrah Jp.: Taishakuten. Originally a god of Hinduism, Indra is a god who protects Buddhas and their followers. Living in Trāyastriṃśa Heaven (Tōriten), he is served by the Four Heavenly Kings.
• Mt. Sumeru—Jp.: shumisen. According to the Buddhist cosmology, this mountain is located in the center of the world 84,000 yojana in height, and all the heavenly beings live on it. The sun and moon circle this mountain, on top of which Indra has his castle. The continent called Jambudvipa, where human beings live, exists to the south of it.
• Four Heavenly Kings—Also called Four Great Heavenly Kings (Shidaiten-nō). They are kings of the “four-king heavens (shiō-ten)” around Mt. Sumeru. While serving Indra, they control the eight kinds of gods and demi-gods to protect Buddhism and those who put faith in it. As they vowed to protect this world and Buddhism in it, they are also called the “Four Heavenly Kings Protect the World (Gose Shiten-nō). They consist of four guardian kings: Jikoku-ten (Dhrtarāṣṭra) in the east, Zōchō-ten (Virūḍhaka) in the south, Kōmoku-ten (Virūpākṣa) in the west, and Tamon-ten (Vaiśravaṇa) in the north. Nichiren Shōnin highly esteemed the Four Heavenly Kings as protectors of the Lotus Sutra, placing large signs for them at the four corners of the great mandala honzon.