QUESTION: The Sūtra of the Pure Land of Mystic Glorification states that it is “supreme of all the Buddhist scriptures.” The Great Cloud Sūtra claims to be the Wheel-turning Noble King of sūtras whereas the Sūtra of the Golden Splendor says of itself to be the king of sūtras. From these statements we can see that it is customary for Mahāyāna sūtras to claim they are supreme. How can you then say from only one passage in the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning that it is superior to all those sūtras preached in the forty years or so before it?

ANSWER: When Lord Śākyamuni Buddha preaches in each sūtra that it is the supreme sūtra, we cannot distinguish between Mahāyāna and Hinayāna or between provisional and true sūtras. If sectarian people merely talk about the differences among the various sūtras and compare the profundity of their doctrines when no actual differences exist, it will not only be the source of controversy but also cause the evil karma of slandering the True Dharma.

When those sūtras preached during the forty-two years of the pre-Lotus period claim that they are the prime sūtras, however, what they are compared with is not the definitive. Some sūtras claim to be supreme in comparison to Hinayāna sūtras; others claim to be first because their Buddhas have the Reward Body, enjoying eternal longevity instead of eighty years of life; still others say that theirs are first merely because they explain the triple truth completely: the truth of the temporal, the void, and the middle. They do not claim to be first of all the Buddhist scriptures. On the contrary, this Sūtra of Infinite Meaning states that it is the prime sūtra of all the sūtras preached in forty years or so before it was preached.

QUESTION: Which is superior, the Lotus Sūtra or the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning?

ANSWER: The Lotus Sūtra is.

QUESTION: How do you know this?

ANSWER: In the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning, neither the possibility of obtaining Buddhahood by Two Vehicles (two categories of Hinayāna saints: Śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha), nor the attaining Enlightenment by Śākyamuni Buddha in the eternal past are revealed. Therefore, in the “Teacher of the Dharma” chapter in the Lotus Sūtra, when it is claimed that the Lotus Sūtra is superior to all the sūtras, those already preached, now being preached and yet to be preached, the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning is included among those being now preached making it clear that it is so easy to understand and put faith in that it actually is less truthful than the Lotus Sūtra.

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 11-12