All the bodhisattvas tried in vain to attain Buddhahood during the first 40 years or so of the Buddha’s preaching, beginning with the Flower Garland Sūtra, Therefore when the “concise replacement of the Three Vehicles with the One Vehicle” doctrine was preached in the “Expedients” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, “80,000 bodhisattvas who wished to become Buddhas as well as the Wheel-turning Noble Kings gathered from tens of thousands and millions of lands pressed their palms together in the form of gasshō to show respect to the Buddha, wishing to hear the perfect way.” Thereupon the Buddha expounded the “expanded replacement of the Three Vehicles with the One Vehicle” doctrine. “Listening to this doctrine, those bodhisattvas’ doubts all melted away,” says the sūtra.

Thereafter bodhisattvas from this and other lands as numerous as stars in the sky came together like clouds to listen to the Buddha expound the Lotus Sūtra. When the “Appearance of a Stupa of Treasures” chapter was preached, Buddhas of the worlds throughout the universe each leading limitless number of bodhisattvas gathered together; at the time of the “Devadatta” chapter, Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī emerged from the sea leading numerous bodhisattvas; and at the time of the “Encouragement for Keeping This Sūtra” chapter, there were 800 thousands million nayuta bodhisattvas. Moreover, there were bodhisattvas more numerous than the sands of eight times the Ganges River and also bodhisattvas as many as the number of dust-particles of 1,000 worlds emerged from the great earth (“Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground” chapter); bodhisattvas as numerous as the sands of 6,800,000 million nayuta times the Ganges River; bodhisattvas 1,000 times it in number; bodhisattvas as many as the number of the dust-particles of a world; of the “triple-thousand great one-thousand worlds,” of two middle-size lands; of 1,000 minor lands; of four times the “fourcontinents;” of three times the “four continents;” of two times the “four continents;” and of the “four continents;” and living beings as numerous as the number of dust-particles of eight worlds (in the “Variety of Merits” chapter). Besides, the 84,000 bodhisattvas mentioned in the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter, the 84,000 bodhisattvas and 42,000 sons of gods in the “Wonderful Voice Bodhisattva” chapter, the 84,000 persons in the “Avalokiteśvara” chapter, the 68,000 persons in the “Dhārāṇi” chapter, the 84,000 persons in the “King Wonderful Adornment” chapter, and the bodhisattvas as many as the number of sands in the Ganges River and those as many as the dust-particles of the “triple-thousand great one-thousand world” mentioned in the “Encouragement of Universal Sage Bodhisattva” chapter were present. When we add up all these bodhisattvas, they are as numerous as the dust-particles of all the worlds in the universe. They are as numerous as the number of all the plants, all the stars and drops of all the rains in the worlds throughout the universe. These incalculable bodhisattvas all became Buddhas, thanks to the Lotus Sūtra, and reside above in the “triple-thousand great one-thousand world,” or under the earth or in the sky.

Kitō Shō, Treatise on Prayers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 61-62