Sakyamuni advanced at one step from the state of a human being to the Buddhahood, and thereby brought a thousand everlasting blessings into the world. Nichiren advanced at one step from the state of a human being to that of a Bodhisattva, or wise being, which is only one degree below the Buddhahood. The attainment of Bodhisattvaship by Nichiren constituted a great mission, the influence of which has continued unimpaired for seven hundred years*.

* As of 1893

If a believer in the teachings of our sect, sitting in front of the Mandala, recognises the identity of his own body with the real state of the Ten Worlds – if he annihilates in his consciousness all distinction between his own self and all others; if he frees himself from the passions of love and hatred – it is then certain that he will be able to exercise complete control over pleasure, cheerfulness, anger, sorrow and so forth whenever they arise, and to act justly and impartially to all with whom he may come in contact. His person will have already partly entered the region of Buddhas, even in this present life. How, then, can he doubt that he will attain to complete Buddhahood in the hereafter? Therefore Nichiren says, “The doctrines of our sect stand far above those of the other eight sects. They teach us that we can become Buddhas immediately. If one only sees that the mind, the Buddha, and all living beings are one and all embodied in his own thought, and are not to be found elsewhere, he can certainly attain to enlightenment in his earthly life however low his intellect may be. And if the man of low intellect can do so, how much more a man of higher intellectual status? He, surely, need stand in no doubt about the matter. A fortiori, then, must this be the case with those whose intellects are of the highest order of all. Since the doctrines taught by Sakyamuni all his life long are those which take the nature of a living being as the basis on which they stand, anyone who understands his own nature is called a Buddha, while those unable to do so are justly termed ‘the vulgar.’ ”

Now selfish motives and disinterested motives form the point of differentiation between the good and the bad. Therefore it was that Sakyamuni chiefly insisted on the doctrines that we ought to forget the difference between Self and Non-Self, that we ought to pursue the conduct of Fugen [Universal-Sage Bodhisattva] or the Personification of Reason, and that we ought to live in peace with all our neighbours.

The title of the [Lotus Sutra], which occupies the middle portion of the Mandala, is what represents [the Original Buddha’s] body proper, while the various figures that appear on either side represent its thousand transformations. These figures stand for the Ten Worlds of living beings. Therefore the body of any individual, when reflected in the Mandala-mirror, is the sum total of these worlds – nay, the sum total of all things and all phenomena in time and space; and the Ten Worlds are in reality one and the same body. And since good and bad ideas both arise from this one body, they pervade all its transformations – that is, the Ten Worlds of being. Hence, if one single thought be pure, and so identified with the mind of Buddha, these Ten Worlds become the Buddha’s mind. On the other hand, if one single thought is debased into the mind of an infernal being, the same fate happens to the Ten Worlds. In spite of its insignificance, a single thought has a wide and rapid influence. This influence may be compared to that possessed by water and fire. If water be received into the mouth, the whole body is immediately conscious of a sense of coolness. If the hands are held over the stove, warmth is felt to the very tips of the toes. So a single thought produces enlightenment if good, and darkness if bad. The reason of this is that, the essence being one and the same, the influence is universal. It is clear, therefore, how careful we ought to be in allowing the rise in our minds of even a single thought.

The Mandala, in fact, is a great mirror of enlightenment, in which all things and all phenomena are simultaneously reflected. If a man sits in front of this mirror, and views his own body reflected therein, he will find his body at once transformed into that of the Buddha of Original Enlightenment, and discover in his body the source from which all things and all phenomena in the external world have taken their rise.

Just as the waters of a thousand rivers, entering the ocean, all mingle with each other and acquire one and the same flavour in spite of their individual differences, so all entities, when once brought together in the great ocean of Buddha’s Truth, and perceived by the eye of Buddha’s intellect, are instantly fused into one, and show themselves identical with that very intellect itself — the great intellect of the Buddha of Original Enlightenment. In this way Sakyamuni showed that the Mandala, or Chief Object of Worship, was his own body. But his idea, in all its truth and fullness, does not stop here. He went further, and taught that the body of any ordinary person, nay of any living creature, may be the object of worship, since it is identical with the body of Buddha himself, “What is the real substance of the [Lotus Sutra]?” asks Nichiren. “It is nothing else than a human being, who, born of human parents, believes in this [Lotus Sutra].”

The Buddha of Original Enlightenment is universal and omnipresent. Earth, air, fire, water, colour, sound, smell, taste, touch, and all visible objects, form the Buddha’s Spiritual Body. Form, perception, conception, name and knowledge, as well as the functions of body, mouth, and will, are the Buddha’s Compensation Body. Head, trunk, hands and feet, eyes, nose, tongue and so forth, constitute his Transformation Body. Things and events are all interconvertible; they do not differ from each other in the smallest degree. When once the reason of this is understood, the three bodies of the Buddha of Original Enlightenment are displayed. Even the anger of infernal beings, the stupidity of beasts, the avarice of hungry devils, and all the base qualities inherent in other living beings, go to form the body of the Buddha of Original Enlightenment in its entirety. And it is the Great Mandala which represents and shows forth this mysterious inter-relation of entities.

The Mandala typifies the great truth that all things in time and space are in essence one and the same, and that in their reality, or actual nature, they are pure and eternal. In short, the Mandala represents the Buddha of Original Enlightenment, not the man Buddha of gigantic stature and the “glorious features.”

The Ten Worlds of Living Beings are as follow:

1. The World of Buddhas
2. Wise Ones (or Bodhisattvas)
3. Those converted by Buddha’s Voice.
4. Those who perceive (the Twelve) Causes
5. Devas
6. Human Beings
7. Evil Spirits, or Asuras
8. Beasts
9. Hungry Devils, or Pretas
10. Infernal Beings

These worlds, considered with reference to their degrees of enlightenment, are thus described:

1. The State of Mind where Virtue and Wisdom have been fully attained.
2. The State of Mind where one can save both himself and others from evil of all kinds.
3. The State of Mind where one saves himself only, and without effort.
4. The State of Mind where one saves himself only, but at the cost of great effort.
5. The State of Mind where one merely enjoys pleasure.
6. The State of Mind where one acts well for the sake of acting well.
7. The State of Mind where one acts well for the sake of one’s own fame and interest.
8. The State of Mind where one is a fool, and is not ashamed of it.
9. The State of Mind where one is covetous and sordid.
10. The State of Mind where one is lawless and hard-hearted.

The Three Secret Ordinances, which are peculiar to the Nichiren Sect, are as follow:
1. Honzon, or the Chief Object of Worship.
2. Daimoku, or the Title of the [Lotus Sutra].
3. Kaidan, or the Place for Learning Moral Precepts.

The Chief Object of Worship is a hanging chart, or scroll, called the Great Mandala. The Mandala is a symbolical representation of Sakyamuni and the Truth; it embodies them in visible form, and constitutes a focus and an epitome of the whole doctrine. In the middle of it are inscribed the characters [Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo]. This group of seven characters is called the Body-in-General of the Buddha, while on either side are arranged certain delineations of a pictorial nature, known as his Bodies-Separate, and representing the Ten Worlds of Living Beings.