[T]he object of worship not only is held physically to embody the three thousand realms in one thought-moment but also represents an attempt to depict this reality visually. In the case of configurations of statues, this enlightened reality of the eternal Buddha, described in the Lotus Sūtra as the assembly in open space above Eagle Peak, is only suggested by the presence of the Buddha’s original disciples, the four bodhisattvas, or by the two Buddhas, Śākyamuni and Many-Jewels (Prabhūtaratna, Tahō), seated side by side in the jeweled stūpa. Nichiren’s mandala, however, is much more detailed. Namu-myōhō-renge-kyō is written vertically in large characters down the center. At the top, this central inscription is flanked by the two Buddhas, Śākyamuni and Many Jewels, who are in turn flanked by the four bodhisattvas. Below them, in the next row, are representatives of the bodhisattvas who are followers of the Buddha of the provisional and trace teachings, such as Fugen (Samantabhadra) and Monju (Mañjuśrī), and the great voice-hearers, Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana, flanked by the Buddhist tutelary deities Brahmā and Indra, and King Mara of the deva realm. In lower rows still are representatives of the six realms: the devas of the sun, moon, and stars, King Ajātaśatru, the wheel-turning king, the asura king, the dragon king, the raksasa Kishimojin (Hariti) and her ten daughters, and the Buddha’s cousin and traitorous disciple Devadatta. Also represented in the assembly are the sun goddess Tenshō Daijin and Hachiman Daibosatsu, who for Nichiren together represented the kami of Japan. Beside them, the patriarchs T’ien-t’ai Ta-shih (Chih-i) and Dengyō Daishi (Saichō) are also accorded a place. The four deva kings guard the four corners of the mandala, and to either side appear the Siddham “seed characters” for the esoteric deities Fudo Myōō and Aizen Myōō, representing, respectively, the doctrines of “saṃsāra is nirvāṇa” (shoji soku nehan) and “the defilements are bodhi” (bonnō soku bodai). Passages from the sūtra, expressing its blessings and protection, are inscribed to the right and left sides of the assembly; the choice of inscriptions sometimes varied according to the individual mandala. At the bottom is Nichiren’s signature and the words: “This is the great mandala never before revealed in Jambudvipa during the more than 2,220 years since the Buddha’s nirvāṇa.” (Page 277)