No matter how serious my sin is, I am nothing but a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. In the same way, a person who chants “Namu Amida-butsu,” is a “nembutsu practicer” no matter how serious the crime committed. Because I chant “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō,” I have been maligned, beaten, exiled, and even faced the loss of my life. Nevertheless, I have never stopped encouraging people to chant the daimoku. How can anyone say that I am not a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra?

Matsuno-dono Gohenji, Response to Lord Matsuno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 69