Considered from the point of view of the second half of the Lotus Sūtra, hommon or essential teachings, we are the real children of Śākyamuni Buddha since the eternal past, 500 dust-particle kalpa ago. However, we attach ourselves to worldly affairs and lose sight of the Lotus Sūtra, stick to old Hinayāna and provisional Mahāyāna Buddhism and discard the Lotus Sūtra, adhere to the first half of the Lotus Sūtra (shakumon) and forget about the second half (hommon), expect too much from the sūtras which will be preached and abandon the Lotus Sūtra, or are thinking only of the Pure Lands in other worlds in the universe or the Buddha of Infinite Life’s Pure Land of Bliss. Confused by evil monks of seven or eight schools of Buddhism, we have abandoned the Lotus Sūtra and have been unable to see Śākyamuni Buddha with three virtues for as long as 500 dust-particle kalpa. The 22nd fascicle of the Nirvana Sūtra preaches, “An evil elephant hurts only our body, but an evil teacher or friend destroys both our body and heart.” Grand Master T’ien-t’ai says, “If we keep improper company, we may lose the true purpose, falling into evil realms.”

Gochū Shujō Gosho, People in the World Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 203