Bimbisāra was a wise king and the greatest follower of the Buddha in the world (Jambudvīpa). Moreover, he ruled the kingdom of Magadha, where the Buddha was planning to preach the Lotus Sūtra. As the king and the Buddha were in one mind, it was expected that the Buddha would expound the Lotus Sūtra. However, Devadatta wanted to stop this plan by any means. As he could not think of any effective means to prevent this, Devadatta approached Prince Ajātaśatru, Crown Prince of King Bimbisāra. After befriending the prince for several years, Devadatta finally caused discord between the royal father and son and incited Ajātaśatru to kill his own father. As Devadatta and Ajātaśatru were united in one mind, non-Buddhists and evil men gathered from all over India to side with them like swarms of clouds and mist. Ajātaśatru gave them territories and treasures and flattered them. The king of Magadha thus became an archenemy of the Buddha. Catching sight of this, the King of Devils in the Sixth Heaven of the realm of desire, accompanied by his numerous followers, descended from the heavens into Magadha Kingdom and entered the bodies of Devadatta, Ajātaśatru, and his six ministers. They appeared to be humans but they had powers of the devils in the Sixth Heaven. They were more turbulent and horrible than a storm swaying trees and grasses, a typhoon raising big waves in the ocean, a severe earthquake shaking the great earth, or a conflagration consuming many houses. …

Thus, the Buddha endured all kinds of persecution, but He was somehow able to stay alive to preach the Lotus Sūtra. This Lotus Sūtra says: “Many people hate this sūtra with jealousy even in My lifetime. Needless to say, more people will do so after My extinction.” The meaning of this passage is that even in the Buddha’s lifetime, the enemies of the Lotus Sūtra arose like this, not to speak of those who will preach or believe in even a letter or a single stroke of the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration.

Reflecting on this passage, although it has been more than 2,200 years since the Buddha preached the Lotus Sūtra, no one has ever read and practiced it as the Buddha preached. Only he who has encountered great persecution can be said to have truly practiced the Lotus Sūtra. Even T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō, who have been considered to be practicers of the Lotus Sūtra, never encountered the kind of hardship which the Buddha did.

Ueno-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 111-112