The fifth 500-year period, the period of destruction of the pure dharma referred to in the Sūtra of the Great Assembly, is without doubt today. After the destruction of the pure dharma, however, the great pure dharma of “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō,” the gist of the Lotus Sūtra, should spread widely among all the people and subjects of 80,000 kings of 80,000 lands in the world, just as today in Japan people all recite the name of the Buddha of Infinite Life. This has been decided by the Buddha, so we must make it a reality.

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 193