Grand Master T’ien-t’ai had to engage in vigorous disputes against three Southern and seven Northern masters in establishing his new theology, and Grand Master Dengyō in Japan had to dispute against the six schools of Buddhism in Nara during the reign of Emperor Kammu. Whether or not Buddhist masters encountered hardships depended on whether their opinions were adopted by the wise king or rejected by the foolish king; it did not depend on whether or not their ways of propagation were in accordance with the intent of the Buddha. The situations were like this even during the Ages of the True and Semblance Dharmas, not to speak of the Latter Age of Degeneration! I, Nichiren, incurred the displeasure of the Kamakura Shogunate for the sake of the Lotus Sūtra. This is the greatest happiness that ever happened to me because it is like exchanging worthless pieces of tile and stones for pieces of gold and silver.

Hakii Saburō-dono Go-henji, A Response to Lord Hakii Saburō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 185-186