QUESTION: I see you have solid proofs in scriptures. Have T’ien-t’ai, Miao-lê and Dengyō also predicted the same?

ANSWER: Your question is out of order. You may ask for scriptural proofs to back up statements in later commentaries, but you may not look for proofs in later commentaries when statements in sūtras are clear. Are you going to side with commentaries against sūtras in case you find them contradictory?

INQUIRER INSISTS: You are absolutely right, but as an ordinary man I feel that the sūtras were preached thousands of years ago, while commentaries are closer to us because they are works of later people. As such if what is said in commentaries are made clear, I may be able to deepen my faith in sūtras.

ANSWER: Since your question is so sincere, I shall cite from some commentaries. Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “The wonderful way of the Lotus Sūtra will spread benefit far into the fifth 500-year period!” Grand Master Miao-lê explains it in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “Not necessarily will there be no divine favor of the Lotus Sūtra at the beginning of the Latter Age.” Grand Master Dengyō declares in his Treatise on the Protection of the Nation: “The Age of the True Dharma and that of the Semblance Dharma are about to end, and the Latter Age of Degeneration is around the corner. This is the time for the One Vehicle teaching of the Lotus to spread. How can we say this? We know it because it is stated in the ‘Peaceful Practices’ (14th) chapter of the Lotus Sūtra that it should be spread at the time when the dharma is about to disappear in the latter world.” He also says in his Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sūtra:

“The time is toward the end of the Age of the Semblance Dharma and the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration; the place is east of T’ang China and west of Katsu; when people live in the world of defilement and corruption, full of disputes and quarrels. The Lotus Sūtra, chapter 10, states that much hatred and jealousy existed even during the lifetime of Śākyamuni Buddha, not to speak of after His death. This is a meaningful statement indeed!”

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 195