Practicers of the Lotus Sūtra should keep deeply in mind such scriptural statements as the following: “The truth has not been revealed in sūtras preached during the pre-Lotus, forty years or so” (the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning); “Of all the sūtras which have already been preached, are now being preached and will be preached, this sūtra is the most difficult to believe and understand” (the 10th chapter of the Lotus Sūtra) ; “What is preached by Śākyamuni Buddha is all true” (the 11th chapter of the Lotus Sūtra) ; and “Rely upon the dharma, not the word of persons” (the Nirvana Sūtra ). However, these should not be mentioned. When criticized by followers of other sects, you should conversely ask on what sūtras are their teachings based. If they answer your question by citing sūtras, you should ask them when, during the Buddha’s 50-year lifetime of preaching, their sūtras were preached— whether it was before, after or at the same time as the Lotus Sūtra, or undetermined.

If their answer is before the Lotus Sūtra, you should then challenge them with the passage, “The truth has not been revealed in sūtras preached during the pre-Lotus, forty years or so.” You need not ask about the content of their sūtras. If their answer is after, you should confront them with the statement, “Of all the sūtras which will be preached… ” If they answer at the same time as the Lotus Sūtra, you may confront them with the statement, “Of all the sūtras which are now being preached. If they answer they don’t know when their sūtras were preached, you should know that those which are not known when preached are unimportant expedient sūtras preached on particular occasions for particular persons; they are not worthy of discussion. Besides, even those sūtras without a particular date must have been preached either before, after or at the same time as the Lotus Sūtra. Even if those sūtras expounded hundreds, thousands, and ten thousands of doctrines, unless it is stated in them that the “during forty years or so” in the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning is untrue, you should not believe in them. This is because the Buddha bequeathed to us, “Do not rely on sūtras which do not thoroughly reveal the truth.” Even if followers of other sects accuse you by citing words of such Chinese patriarchs as Chih-yen of the Flower Garland Sect, Chia-hsiang of the Sun-lun Sect, Tz’ŭ-ên (K’wei-chi) of the Fa-hsiang (Hossō) Sect and Shan-tao of the Pure Land Sect, lauding their high virtue, you must not trust those Buddhist monks who contradict the teaching of the Lotus-Nirvana Sūtras. It is because you must stay firm with the words of the Buddha, “Rely on the dharma, not the word of persons.”

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Pages 74-75