“Nichiren is not the founder of any school,” he wrote, “nor is he a leaf at the tip [i.e., of the branch of some existing school].” The Lotus Sūtra as he understood it was Buddhism, the ocean in which the teachings and practices of the various schools would be absorbed. In later life, he distanced himself from the esoteric Tendai of his own day and denounced earlier Tendai prelates such as Enchin, Ennin, and Annen for adulterating the Lotus-based Tendai teaching with esoteric teachings. On the one hand, he clearly considered himself heir to the earlier tradition of Chih-i and Saichō: “Nichiren of Awa Province has reverently received the transmission from the three teachers [Śākyamuni, Chih-i, and Saichō] and assists the spread of the Hokke lineage in the Final Dharma age,” he wrote. “Together we are the four teachers in three countries.” Such passages have led some to see Nichiren as attempting to revive a “pure” Tendai independent of esoteric accretions. There is no doubt that Nichiren saw himself as standing within the Tendai tradition. Nevertheless, in claiming possession of a Dharma teaching that (1) was received directly from Śākyamuni; (2) was intended specifically for the Final Dharma age; and (3) was to assume a concrete form—as the daimoku, the object of worship, and the ordination platform—that had never before been revealed and transmitted, it appears that Nichiren was in effect establishing a new religion. This distinctive doctrinal basis, along with Nichiren’s fierce emphasis on devotion to the Lotus alone; the charisma of his image, which survived his death, as prophet, martyr, and messenger of the Buddha to the Final Dharma age; the establishment of ordination rites for his clerical followers independent of those of Mt. Hiei; and the formation among his followers of lay patronage networks independent of older religious institutions enabled the emergence and survival of a new sect. (Page 261-262)