It is preached in the Lotus Sūtra that we must uphold it and propagate it in the seventeenth and eleventh chapters respectively. What does propagating this sūtra mean? As it is said in the fourteenth chapter that the Lotus Sūtra is supreme of all sūtras, only those who insist that the Lotus Sūtra is superior to such sūtras as the Great Sun Buddha, Flower Garland, Nirvana, and Wisdom, are true practicers of the Lotus Sūtra. If this is so, practicers of the Lotus Sūtra except for Grand Master Dengyō and I, Nichiren, have not existed for more than 700 years since Buddhism was introduced to Japan. I have been wondering then why those who abuse and speak ill of me, a true practicer of the Lotus Sūtra, are left unpunished. I now know, however, why their “heads have not been split into seven pieces” or their “mouths have not been sealed” as predicted in the twenty-sixth and fourteenth chapters of the sūtra. Such punishments are relatively light and concern only a few people.

Nichiren is the prime practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in the whole world. Those who abuse me, hate me, and others who side with such people, should suffer from the severest calamities in the world. The great earthquake of the Shōka Era that shook entire Japan and the great comet of the Bun’ei Era that ran across the sky were such punishments. Think on this carefully! Many have harmed practicers of Buddhism after the death of Śākyamuni Buddha, but calamities as severe as the ones we have now never occurred before. This means that never before has there been a person admonishing all the people to recite “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.” Is there anyone in the whole world who can see eye to eye, and stand shoulder to shoulder with me, to evaluate the merits of spreading the Lotus Sūtra?

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 206-207