[I]t appears that in the pre-Lotus sūtras great bodhisattvas, gods, and men were guaranteed to obtain Buddhahood in the future. However, that guarantee is merely of color and shape without substance, just like trying to grab the moon’s reflection in the water or taking the shadow for reality. We might say that in those pre-Lotus sūtras they do not owe the Buddha as much as they seemed.

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 64