Now we come to the conclusion of the Kaimoku-shō. Over the course of this writing Nichiren has reviewed all the reasons why he believes that the Lotus Sūtra alone allows all people to sow the seed of buddhahood and why he believes that it is necessary to refute all those teachings that would cause people to neglect or reject it. He has also addressed the reasons why he and his followers have to face many hardships if they are to uphold the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of the Dharma. Nichiren concludes by reminding the reader that in chapter eleven of the Lotus Sūtra Śākyamuni Buddha, Many Treasures Tathāgata, and the buddhas throughout the universe all came together “for the purpose of making sure that the Lotus Sūtra would spread forever.” (Hori 2002, p. 113) He says of them that “their compassion seems greater than that of parents who see their only child faced with great suffering.” (Ibid, p. 113). Nichiren compares his own efforts to uphold the sūtra and refute those who would negate it to this great parental compassion of the buddhas saying, “l, Nichiren, am like a compassionate parent of everyone in Japan…” (Ibid, p. 114) In a later letter, Nichiren even said of himself that for the people of Japan he was a parent, teacher, and lord because of his efforts as the Buddha’s messenger: “Though I am a fool, I have declared myself to be a messenger of the Buddha and a practitioner of the Lotus Sūtra so that peace and tranquility may be established in Japan. … I am the father and mother of the people in Japan, their lord and their eminent teacher.” (Hori 2010, p. 166) As the Buddha’s messenger, Nichiren felt that he was sharing in the virtues of the Buddha as parent, teacher, and sovereign to those he was trying to correct and lead to the right path. In Kaimoku-shō, we see the thought process that Nichiren went through to come to his conviction that he was doing the right thing for the sake of the people of Japan and ultimately all beings.