For Nichiren, the “five characters of Myōhō-renge-kyō” were not merely the title of a sutra but the direct manifestation of ultimate reality itself. In various writings he equates Myōhō-renge-kyō with the universal Dharma nature, the Buddha nature inherent in all sentient and insentient beings, the wisdom of all Buddhas and the original cause (hon’in) for attaining Buddhahood. “All Buddhas throughout time and space invariably attain their enlightenment with the seed of the five characters of Myōhō-renge-kyō, he wrote. In the way of recitation that he taught, Myōhō-renge-kyō is preceded by Namu, an expression of devotion. In the act of chanting Namu-myōhō-renge-kyō, he asserted, the fusion of subjective individual wisdom and the absolute takes place, and the common mortal, just as he is, becomes Buddha.