Aśoka is the third king of the Maurya dynasty in Magadha in Central India (268-232 B.C.) who was responsible for building the Aśoka Pillars with inscriptions of Buddhist messages throughout the kingdom and ruled according to Buddhist ideals. It is stated in the Miscellaneous Āgama Sutra (Zō-agon-gyō), fascicle 23, that two small boys in the town of Rājagṛha offered a mud pie to the Buddha, who predicted that 100 years after His death these two boys would be reborn to be great kings to unify the country and restore Buddhism.

(Note 1, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 150-151)

1. sudaon, one entering the stream of enlightenment;
2. shidagon, one who has destroyed gross evil passions and will be reborn in the human and heavenly realms once more before entering Nirvana;
3. anagon, one who has destroyed more of his evil passions, and will not be reborn in the realm of desire (world of transmigration); and
4. arakan (arhat), who has destroyed all his evil passions.

(Note 10, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 143)

1. ability to go anywhere,
2. heavenly eye,
3. heavenly ear,
4. ability to read other people’s mind,
5. ability to know former lives, and
6. ability to destroy all evil passions.

(Note 9,  Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 143)

The period after the death of the Buddha is sometimes divided into three ages: in the Age of the True Dharma (the first ten-century period), the Buddha’s teaching is practiced and enlightenment can be attained; in the Age of the Semblance Dharma (the second ten-century period), the teaching is practiced but enlightenment is not possible; in the last period of 10,000 years (the Latter Age of Degeneration), the teaching exists but it is no longer practiced.

(Note 8, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 143)