It has already been more than 2,230 years since the Buddha passed away. What is more, India, China, and Japan are separated from one another by mountains, rivers, and oceans. As the people’s minds and lands are different in each country, so are their languages and customs. How then can we, ordinary people, perceive the true heart of Buddhism? There is only one way: by reading the letters of sūtras and comparing them, but there are so many volumes and different kinds of sūtras in all the scriptures of Buddhism. The Lotus Sūtra consists of eight fascicles along with one fascicle each of the Universal Sage Sūtra as transmission and the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning as introduction.

When we open the Lotus Sūtra, we can see its teachings as clearly as looking at our face in a mirror. It is similar to recognizing the color of grasses and trees as the sun rises. It is stated in the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning, “The truth has not been revealed during the first forty years or so.” At the beginning of the “Expedients” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 1, it is said, “The World Honored One will expound the true teaching after a long period [of expounding expedient teachings].” In the chapter of “The Appearance of the Stupa of Treasures” in the fourth fascicle of the Lotus Sūtra, “The Lotus Sūtra of the Wonderful Dharma … is nothing but the truth.” In the chapter of “Divine Powers of the Buddha” in the seventh fascicle of the Lotus Sūtra, it is clearly stated that the tongues of the three Buddhas (Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, and numerous Buddhas in manifestation) “reach the Brahma Heaven,” proving the sūtra to be true. Moreover, in the “Medicine King Bodhisattva” chapter, other sūtras preached before or after the Lotus Sūtra are compared to stars, rivers, petty kings or minor mountains whereas the Lotus Sūtra is compared to the moon, the sun, the great ocean, major mountains or a great king. These are not my own words, but the golden words of the Buddha and the words that Buddhas from all the worlds throughout the universe resolved. All bodhisattvas, Two Vehicles, the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, as well as the sun and moon that reside in the sky at present saw and heard the preaching of the Lotus Sūtra. The words of the sun and moon (vowing to spread the Lotus Sūtra) are also recorded in the Lotus Sūtra.

Sennichi-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Reply to My Lady Nun Sennichi, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 145-146