As Nichiren Shonin stated in the Ho-on jo, the first of the Three Great Secret Dharmas is the Gohonzon, or Essential Focus of Devotion, which is the all-encompassing life of the Eternal Shakyamuni Buddha. In the Lotus Sutra, prior to Chapter 16, Shakyamuni Buddha is no more than a historical buddha whose birth, awakening, and imminent death all occur within the confines of northern India over the course of a normal human lifetime. In Chapter 16, however, Shakyamuni Buddha clearly demonstrates the unity of the Three Bodies: the historical, the ideal, and the universal aspects of Buddhahood. For this reason, the Shakyamuni Buddha of Chapter 16 is differentiated from the historical Shakyamuni Buddha of the prior teachings by adding the title “Eternal.”