Once upon a time when Śākyamuni Buddha was seeking the dharma as a bodhisattva, a leper approached him and said, “I know the right dharma which consists of 20 characters. If you will hug my body and massage it and lick it and give me three to four pounds of meat every day, I will share the teaching with you.” The bodhisattva did what he was told to do, and became a Buddha by hearing the dharma: “A Buddha achieves emancipation and forever extinguishes the sufferings of birth and death. If one listens to this teaching with heartfelt sincerity, the utmost peace of mind can be achieved.”

Nichimyō Shōnin Gosho, A Letter to Nichimyō Shōnin, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 137